As the year comes to an end it’s probably a good time to reflect upon all the quality movies that helped me get through it. It was a good year for movie lovers, especially people who enjoy Malayalam movies.
While January was rather quiet, February made up for it. Premalu was an absolute laugh riot in the theatres and Brahmayugam with its black and white imagery gave something new and unique. Dune 2 exceeded expectations and became an adrenaline pumping action movie that will be remembered for the ages.
The momentum continued on to March when Manjumel boys came in with one of the most memorable theatre experiences I have ever had. It was exciting, thrilling, and enjoyable at the same time. Soubin and the boys acted their hearts out and Sushin did his magic with the background score keeping us at the edge of our seats throughout the second half of the movie. People were singing along to Kanmani Anbodu for the remainder of the year. The movie went on to become the highest-grossing Malayalam movie ever made. A title well deserved. Another worthwhile mention for March was Attam. A well crafted movie that left me thinking for hours, bringing about deep discussions with friends even months after watching it.
The Malayalam Industry was on fire and I hoped the momentum would continue through April. But then came Aadujeevitham, a rather disappointing affair considering all the hype the movie had been generating for years into its production. The gloom of goat life was however quickly forgotten as Ranga Annan and Amban came in with Avesham. A smash hit, the movie created sequences and characters that will be etched in the minds of common people for a long time to come. Avesham was accompanied by Varshangalku Shesham and Jai Ganesh both of which were good solid movies.
Things started slowing down in May. Guruvayurambala Nadayil while bringing about a few funny sequences was mostly cringe and forgettable. And Thalavan was only average at best. As things slowed down in Malayalam, the Tamil Industry came out with a banger in Maharaja. A simple story told in a non-linear timeline.
July was an interesting month. The much awaited Kalki came out with a unique concept and interesting world building. Inside Out 2 was solid as expected. The real surprise however was a movie like ‘Kill’ coming out from the Hindi Industry. The movie didn’t get the publicity it deserved.
August was again interesting with Deadpool&Wolverine and Stree 2 coming out with a bang. I would say both of them fell a bit short of expectations but still made for good theatre experiences. The most enjoyable expereince of August was however the re-release of Manichithrathazhu, a timeless classic.
September and October were rather quiet with average movies like Nunakuzhi and Bougainvillea. Joker2 had horrible reviews from Day 1, but I still went and saw it on the big screen to confirm what I already knew. Kishikinda Kandam was well made and brought about a unique concept. Caddo Lake, a MN Shyamalan production was a standout during this time.
November was eventful with me watching Lucky Basker, Amaran and Njan Kathalan on the same weekend. On a whole all of them were just average movies. But Amaran had some memorable scenes.
I missed out a few good movies during December. Sooksmadarshini being the biggest miss. Anyway, the year ended with a bang (pun intended) with me watching Rifle Club in theatre. It felt like watching a Tarantino classic in Malayalam.
Overall, it was a great year with a mix of exciting laugh riots (Avesham, Premalu), action-packed quality movies (Rifle Club, Dune2), edge-of-the-seat thrillers (Manjumel Boys), unique concept movies (Kishkinda Kandam, Brahmayugam) and well crafted thought-provoking works (Attam).
Read.Reflect.Repeat 