Even though it comes with the impression of a whodunit, the thing that makes the latest Malayalam movie Golam passable is the “how” part of the mystery. Mounted ambitiously on a conceptual level, the production quality of Golam is high, while the writing is pretty basic for a larger portion. With the convoluted execution of… Continue reading Golam Review | An Ambitiously Mounted, Basically Written, Passable Thriller
Author: Aswin Bharadwaj
Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.
Little Hearts Review | A Typical Entertainer That Goes All Over the Place in the Second Half
When you look at the interval block of the new Malayalam film Little Hearts, you might get a feeling that it might deliver that Ayushmann Khurrana-type middle-class socially relevant comedy against the backdrop of the rural Kerala village. But when it reaches the second half, the movie acts like Bindu Panicker in CID Moosa, who… Continue reading Little Hearts Review | A Typical Entertainer That Goes All Over the Place in the Second Half
Garudan Review | A ‘Real’ Soori in an Unappealing Commercial Template Film
The synopsis of the new Soori starrer film Garudan, written and directed by RS Durai Senthilkumar and based on a story by Vetrimaran, is very interesting. It is about the rift between two men who started off like brothers and their confidant, who is going through a dilemma of whose side to take. The problem… Continue reading Garudan Review | A ‘Real’ Soori in an Unappealing Commercial Template Film
Mr. & Mrs. Mahi Review | A Tale of Finding Happiness That Got Crumpled Due to Its Silliness
When the trailer of the movie Mr. & Mrs. Mahi was released, there were these comments that sort of talked about how the film was glorifying the manipulative husband as a motivator. The only good thing about this Sharan Sharma film was how it presented the hero as a selfish and manipulative person who was… Continue reading Mr. & Mrs. Mahi Review | A Tale of Finding Happiness That Got Crumpled Due to Its Silliness
Once Upon a Time in Kochi Review | The Kind of Bland Creation That Would Give Writer’s Block to Reviewers
Towards the end of the film Once Upon a Time in Kochi, you have this self-referential humor featuring actors like Riyas Khan and Arjun Ashokan. After boring the audience with such a generic and outdated script for more than 2 hours, Nadirshah and Raffi sort of admit how lazy they were in the writing phase… Continue reading Once Upon a Time in Kochi Review | The Kind of Bland Creation That Would Give Writer’s Block to Reviewers
Panchayat: Season 3 Review | An Emotionally Hefty Season That Works as an Appealing Second Act
Season 3 of any series feels like a tricky space. The first season always has the advantage of something new being delivered to the audience. The second season has the edge of the premise and characters being familiar. The makers can either scale up the story or even repeat the same thing, and it might… Continue reading Panchayat: Season 3 Review | An Emotionally Hefty Season That Works as an Appealing Second Act
Mandakini Review | This Marriage Comedy Will Work if You Are Drunk as a Skunk
During the promotional interviews for his new film, Mandakini, actor-director Althaf Salim talked about how he is comfortable as an actor when there is space to improvise. Most of the acting gigs Althaf has done so far have not been annoying, as his soft-spoken counter dialogues only created laughter in the theaters. But in the case of Mandakini, the… Continue reading Mandakini Review | This Marriage Comedy Will Work if You Are Drunk as a Skunk
Thalavan Review | A Watchable Crime Thriller That Misses Out on the Wow Factor
The feel-good space has been the safe zone of director Jis Joy, and when he tried something different in Innale Vare, the response wasn’t that warm. Thalavan, his new film, a police investigation drama, is yet another attempt to crack a zone that Jis hasn’t explored. With two strong actors carrying their respective roles with the required heft,… Continue reading Thalavan Review | A Watchable Crime Thriller That Misses Out on the Wow Factor