Malayalam Movie Reviews | Lensmen Movie Review Center

Varavu Review | A Stiff and Stale Thriller That Wastes a Fluid Joju George

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:02:19 +0000

I mentioned in one of my previous reviews that when we post on social media saying we miss a certain kind of film we used to see in our childhood, a segment of the filmmaking community mistakes that as us requesting they bring back that style of filmmaking. The reason for the success of many […]

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I, Nobody Review | Nisam Basheer’s Genre-Blending Thriller Is Fabulous and Flawed in Equal Parts

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:01:51 +0000

In I, Nobody’s prerelease interviews, Prithviraj had said that it is difficult to confine the film to a single genre. Well, when I watched the movie, that claim completely made sense as it was transitioning from one genre to another, and some of the genres have a very contrasting nature. Like you won’t expect a […]

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Uyir Review | A Tale of Empathy Derailed by Unnecessary Thriller Elements

Aswin Bharadwaj — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 14:05:24 +0000

Uyir, the latest Malayalam police story starring Roshan Mathew, is based on a true story, and the story credit is given to the police officer whose experience lies the foundation for this movie. The soul of the film is in the very last thirty-odd minutes, where the hero sets out on a journey to find […]

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Ananthan Kaadu Review | Murali Gopy’s Script Prioritizes Rhetoric and Rhyming Over Revenge

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:31:55 +0000

There is a moment in the final moments of the movie Ananthan Kaadu where one character shows his valor, and the lines in that part of the film, along with the build-up towards that moment, have that quintessential cinematic energy. But how scriptwriter Murali Gopy builds things towards that point feels like a generic imagination […]

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Chinna Chinna Aasai Review | A Conversational Character Drama That Needed More Refined Writing

Aswin Bharadwaj — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:43:20 +0000

Directed by Varsha Vasudev, Chinna Chinna Aasai centers on a character who was denied happiness or even failed to realize she was being denied several things for much of her life. There is a sort of freshness in seeing such a character at the center of a drama. But the movie is taking a huge […]

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Balan Review | A Delightful Combo of Character Exploration and Emotional Payoffs

Aswin Bharadwaj — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:09:53 +0000

If you look at the soul of the latest movie from Chidambaram, after Manjummel Boys, Balan, it captivates you by showing how one can add so many layers to a single line said by a character. It is not like you won’t realize the importance of that line when it is first mentioned in the […]

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Secret of Kalinga Review | An AI-Heavy Mess That Proves AI Can’t Substitute for Vision and Craft

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:03:55 +0000

In the early parts of the new Malayalam fantasy thriller Secret of Kalinga, it was almost like it was okay on paper, but the limitations in pulling off something like this on a minimal budget were causing the issue. But as the movie progressed, you slowly realize how mediocre the imagination is, and it was […]

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Mollywood Times Review | An Unapologetically Entertaining Film That Explores the Cynical Grey Zone

Aswin Bharadwaj — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:03:55 +0000

The director of the movie Mollywood Times, Abhinav Sunder Nayak, had said that this movie is part of the success trilogy he is planning, and Mukundan Unni Associates was the first in that. And he had also said that this one will not be as cynical as Mukundan Unni. If you were slightly disappointed by […]

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Karakkam Review | A Compact, Quirky Concept That Is Heavily Underwritten

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 28 May 2026 18:34:54 +0000

The hostel horror comedies have been tasting success of late in Malayalam, and the new movie Karakkam by Subash Lalitha Subramanian is also trying to explore a similar space, with the premise being a lodge. While the core idea that adds the horror element to the story sounds very interesting, the film, co-written by the […]

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Kattalan Review | A Bland Action Thriller With a Pointless Parade of Characters

Aswin Bharadwaj — Thu, 28 May 2026 07:51:33 +0000

I wasn’t a huge fan of the first action film of Cubes Entertainment, Marco, as I found it a hollow revenge thriller that used extreme violence and stylization as a shield to cover up a flat story. A hero who couldn’t save his big family, taking a shower, spraying perfume, wearing sunglasses, and going to […]

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