nimiltom Reviews

Sita Ramam (2022)

Sita Ramam

[7/10 · 2 October 2022]

Sita Ramam is a love story in the backdrop of war lacks some depth. It follows the same predictable love story pattern with a set of cringe fest but the writing includes enough incidents to keep us engaged and draws a liking to the movie. Its again the usual role for dulquer but his charm was enough for this one and he was able to handle it well despite a shaky start and will be one of the memorable performances in his filmography. The best for me was mrunal thakur. She was able to fit into the role and there was easiness and great screen presence and however felt her character had less to do towards the later half eventhough its prsence is always there. Rashmika might had a better role compared to her previous ones but acting wise didn't see anything notable except stiffness. The bgm was the best thing for the movie followed by cinematography. The visuals were good and had everything enough for a love story but sometimes felt it was overshadowing the same. There were overdose of songs along with overdose of ram devotion and ram slogans used by Pakistan official which didn't seem cool. Kashmir and military were easily accessible, not sure if it's because of the timeline but looked silly. We could also see woman wearing sarees in snow and its irritating to see such scenes even now. Overacting by one of the central character and the artificial props and effects can also be added to the irritating list. Despite these shortcomings, the final output qualifies as an enjoyable cinema owing to the genuine effort of the team.

Dopesick (2021)

Dope

[9/10 · 2 October 2022]

Dopesick: a miniseries streaming at hotstar explores the opioid crisis in USA caused by a drug. Its a moving and compelling watch. There are three parallel narratives across different timelines covering how this drug industry has boomed, how it was marketed and sold, the effect on people and how it destroyed their lives and affected the people around them. The cast was good and Micheal Keaton was impressive and won an Emmy for his performance. Having said that, considering the potential of the cast and the theme it had, somewhere felt the show hasn't delivered full justice. It could have been even better but its already a good one that has depth and details.

Meri Awas Suno (2022)

Repeating combo

[5/10 · 2 October 2022]

Meri awas suno is an over-dramatic movie that works in very few parts for me. Some drama would have looked better on paper, but the execution falls in same preachy, melodramatic area which is a hard watch. Prajesh Sen is kind of repeating himself with lesser effect each time and this time falling into a renjith sankar plus jis joyish zone. Even though jayasurya is in his typical character zone, it is his performance that carries the film and atleast help us to sit through the film. Shivada was also good but her character was also on and off, especially after considering the impressive wife characters in othrr prajesh movies. Manju warrier had the charm but nothing impressive to point out from her performance as the character doesn't offer much space.

Attention Please (I) (2021)

Long live the screen writers!

[9/10 · 1 October 2022]

Attention Please is highly political, dark and a situational thriller. There is a shift from conversational drama and humour to this gripping thriller and the stellar performance from vishnu govindan helps the movie stay consistent. He showed the frustrstation, desperation and the transition with ease. I am not sure if the further writing can progress without spoilers, so better to avoid the rest of the para if you haven't seen it yet.. The movie addresses casteism and the importance and the reason why such stories are being told and retold repeatedly. The screen play progresses through the narration of few scripts written by vishnu's character and the sound design for the same is too good and it elevates the experience. These stories has something in common and gives us an idea about the character and what he had gone through or what made him and his stories. The movie as a whole also utilizes this approach and open ended climax add more beauty as it allows us to rethink and revisits through the incidents and make us see through the stories in a different and deeper way. Its dark, thought provoking and ambiguous.

I have seen only work from.jithin issac before and that's the praa.thu.mu segment from freedom fight. Both his movies blends politics naturally and he was successful in conveying his politics without affecting the drama. Looking forward to his future works. This movie utilities its minimal set up to the fullest. It has only single location and 5-6 actors and every single one was convincing and performed well especially Anand and Sreejith. The acceptance they are getting. The movie is also a letter to the screen writers.it discusses their role, their problems, the restrictions they are facing and the acceptance they get for their work and the movie as a whole has this connection as well. Long live the screen writers.

Delhi Crime (2019– )

Season 2

[10/10 · 25 September 2022]

Delhi Crime season 2 is not as impactful as its first season, but is solid and intense enough and has gripping content to keep us invested. Its a decent crime thriller but is mainly driven by moral dilemmas of the characters. It addresses the structural social problems, conflict between professional and domestic life, the role of class divide in the increase in rate of crime, how such incidents are affecting the poor or underprivileged, attitude towards minority tribes etc. The fast paced screenplay is rich in detailing. Shefali shah is the soul of this yet again, use of her eyes is effective and impressive. Tillotama shome delivers an impressive performance with the meter always accurate. Sometimes there are no clear answers in the eyes of the criminal.

Fleabag (2016–2019)

Flea high

[10/10 · 20 September 2022]

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a genius. Fleabag is dark, sarcastic, and hilarious. The script is sharp and the breaking of fourth wall is impressive and it gets better. Almost all the characters that appear or atleast the main ones were well-written. It discusses the complexity of humans, their conflicts and the relationship they have with each other presented with humour on surface. Both seasons deals with different things but keeps us engaged by homour and make us wonder what the characters wish to accept for themselves till the very end. Its the journey of personal growth and shows how a person's attitude towards self can branch out to others. It normalises therapy, addresses mental health issues, discusses so many serious issues and has authentic feminism. Apart from phoebe, Olivia colman and Sian Clifford were terrific. The confession booth scene, dinner scene episode and the finales of both seasons is simply enough to mark its greatness.

Thallumaala (2022)

Double Barrel light

[8/10 · 18 September 2022]

Thallumaala is a pretty decent, vibrant out of box movie that is also trying to be an audience pleaser. There is no denial of the fact that there is cringe in the initial phase of the movie before it finds a balance, some glorification on all these fights, attitude and the relationships, and its certainly craft over content. It becomes more engaging and more fun in the later half and by that time the mood of the film is already set and emerges as a winner for me in totality. Editing and transitions and the comic book narrative structure helps to establish the quirkiness of the movie and the bgm and cinematography were too good to elevate the same. Use of colours is effective. Already a repeated listener of Ole Melody track but others were not so impressive on the first go but really enjoyed them along with the movie. Still has some disagreement with the placing of couple of them. Liked the word plays by Mu.ri. Khalid Rahman once again proves his control over craft and this time with his crew impresses mostly with the fight choreography. There are some top notch fight sequences and the production design also impresses. From the performance side, the first name i would like to call out is Lukman for his effortlessness. Shine Tom was the show stealer for me and i started enjoying the movie more after his character introduction. He was able to bring in a subtleness this time that makes this different from not so different role. Tovino was too good especially showing the different phases with ease and fun side of character and his looks and swag helps him. Binu pappu and gokulan were also good. Kalyani was okay but her character lacked depth and sometimes felt it was just brought for showing presence for some key connections. The non-linear narration works for me but the same could be confusing for some and can affect their viewing experience.

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974)

Flying high

[10/10 · 9 September 2022]

Overall loved the series. There were pieces which i didn't like, some where i didn't have any clue, and some that i loved and amused. Feels like it gets better and can be inspired with rewatch. Its silly, highly innovative, absurd, cleverly written, intellectual and surreal and most of the times a mix of all these and has some great sketches and animation. There are some problems with it being a 50 year old show but its the same thing that makes it best and obviously it was influential, had inspired many comedy shows and shaped a new style. Took some time to get in sync with it, but at the end it was worth and unique.

Crimes of the Future (2022)

Art and Dystopian fantasy

[9/10 · 25 August 2022]

Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future is a dystopian fantasy with his usual body horror and some sort of disturbing imageries but not that shocking as expected. In this futuristic world, pain has disappeared and bodies are dissected and surgery is the new sex. The protagonists ( lea seydoux and viggo Mortensen ) are performance artists who perform surgeries and showcasing it as art. The movie is about evolution of body, a new stage, intertwining it with technology, mutation, pleasure and art. Metaphors are all about art and the efforts of the artist to create an art and present it to the world. Felt like it will be a personal film for cronenberg. In Deep, its political and ecological, discussing the climatic change, pollution etc exploring the growing relationship with technology. All the lead casts were terrific and Kristen Stewart was more impressive among them even though she had less screen time. The cinematography was great and helped to set the mood of its world. The idea is great, the movie is ambitious and there is a surreal flow but still I felt something was lacking to call it a great movie...

Nna, Thaan Case Kodu (2022)

Courtroom drama that works

[9/10 · 23 August 2022]

Nna thaan case kodu is a hilarious movie that works because of the good script, the minimalistic humour and the believable performance. The main portions, the minister and pothole thing are those scenarios that kind of happen only in movies and we are aware of this. Ratheesh and team succeeds is where the effort they have taken to keep the script interesting and make the legal drama narrative possible and believable. There are no major twists and movie tries to find the root cause of case by exploring some characters and their emotions. The social commentary part is through characters and it gels with the narrative and the situational humour works effectively. There was a feeling of the case getting stretched out a bit towards the ending and an overload of dialogues but I think it was kind of necessary for the finale. Kunchacko boban and kunhikrishnan as magistrate delivered the best performance imo. Gayathri, Rajesh Madhavan and many new faces were notable among the other cast.

Hawk's Muffin (2022)

Must watch

[10/10 · 21 August 2022]

Praappeda or hawk's muffin is an impressive movie to be experienced..one of a kind in Malayalam....it has rich visuals, footages, clips, interesting texts/titles, a mix of genres - a dystopian sci fi tale, post-war fantasy, dark humour and a silent film as well... open to interpretations..it gives a whole idea but hard to stick to single understanding and its designed such a way to interpret differently and try to resolve with multiple viewings.... because of this nature it won't be a crowdpleaser but definitely a treat to those who likes to invest them and involve into the film's world...the premise is Post-war world and the basic idea is liberation...animal/birds used as symbols of war and peace..the breathtaking visuals and the sound plays key role in the fragmented narrative....the sound Design brings out a parallel storytelling...ketaki Narayanan was impressive and Rajesh madhavan was my favourite among the top performers... cinematography was top notch and score was the soul ..we could see reflections of tarkovsky, Guillermo del toro, Miyazaki ...in a good way...this debut from krishnendu khalesh is a must watch!

Memoria (I) (2021)

Experience

[10/10 · 21 August 2022]

Memoria (2021) is a Columbian movie directed by Weerasethakul where the narrative is driven by sound and we have the great Tilda Swinton Playing the lead. Haven't seen any prior works of this Thai director but heard about his style of slow paced and unconventional narrative that demands close attention, about conceptd of after life and parallel reality. This movie is also slow paced, having long takes, refined dialogues and taking its time to settle in. Its about a loud sound heard by the protagonist and she trying to find the root or meaning of the same. Its memories mixed up appearing linear but non-linear. Its also about reanimation of memories, ignore of nature or something in its original form, modernisation, history and roots, alienation etc in my reading. Tilda was awesome and her way of conveying the unsettledness,and not being scared, was a delight to watch, sticking to the soul of the movie. Its more of an experience and must try for those who love to invest time and highly recommended to experience with good sound system.

The Arbit Documentation of An Amphibian Hunt: Aavasavyuham (2022)

Genre Blender

[10/10 · 21 August 2022]

Aavasavyuham is a fantastic movie that is framed as a mockumentary discussing some very important topic and politics....this explores the relationship between man and nature...its art and at the same time has the moments and ability to connect with wider audience as well....the background music helps in elevating the film and achieve this connection.. it has quality cinematography and some great performance..by the mysterious central character, actors who played lissy, vava...then geethi Sangeetha etc....its a simple revenge story on surface with a surreal treatment..but was able to convey the social commentry and politics without being preachy through a rich narration, which i really loved, wrapped with dark humour...This is a genre blender and an offbeat superhero movie which offers visual and verbal metaphors...

Malayankunju (2022)

Malayankunju

[10/10 · 21 August 2022]

Loved the movie. What i loved most is how they set the premise in first hour of the movie with lot of detailing and the way fahad's character was explored and how it expanded by introducing other characters with the non-linear storytelling. The survival thriller is like a subplot and they kept it minimal and its just not surviving physically but mentally as well. Its the journey of a man, his transformation. Its a good character study and great cinematic experience. Production design, art and sound design/mixing were excellent... debut of sajimon as a director and Mahesh as cinematographer are commendable. Fahad was brilliant and great memorable performance from actors who played his mother's role and neighbour guy, Jafar idukki and so on...ARR's presence elevated the movie for sure but at few places, felt bgm was above the scenes but didn't affect my viewing experience..