fascination – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I have always believed in the capability of Venom to be a future vampire.

Vampire Bat: We are not taking applications from aliens right now.

Vampire Owl: So, we are receiving applications from the demons, but not aliens.

Vampire Bat: There are exceptions when both are just the same.

Vampire Owl: It was first talked about by Doctor Frankenstein, right?

Vampire Bat: I am sure that Mr Frankenstein had nothing to do with it.

Vampire Owl: He is the greatest scientist of the realm, and he has something to do every time.

Vampire Bat: He creates fiction works out of nothing really well.

Vampire Owl: So, you think that great discoveries can only be fictional.

Vampire Bat: Well, there is realistic fiction, but not in his case.

Vampire Owl: You fail to have respect for such great men.

Vampire Bat: If he is a great man, there is not much to say about greatness.

Vampire Owl: You should stop even talking about him. He has ears everywhere.

Vampire Bat: I know that he can do nothing.

Vampire Owl: He has not come this far by doing nothing in his eventful life.

Vampire Bat: Creating that useless Frankenstein monster do not count.

Vampire Owl: Not all monsters are forever.

Vampire Bat: Yet, we are immortals and monsters for humans.

Vampire Owl: Yet, that was one fine monster of science.

Vampire Bat: Science itself is a monster and murderer of many species.

Vampire Owl: Do you feel that it is soon bringing the apocalypse here too?

Vampire Bat: That is indeed a nearby possibility, not a distant one.

Vampire Owl: So, the humans will kill themselves and even take us with them to the grave.

Vampire Bat: We have come out of the grave. It is our chance to live again and again.

[Gets a box with cheese popcorn and three cups of ginger tea and moves into theatre].

Vampire Owl: The series remains a fine one, but I am not sure about this particular entry.

Vampire Bat: There was a lot more that a Venom movie could do.

Vampire Owl: This is basically supposed to be an epic conclusion.

Vampire Bat: Well, for this to be epic, there should have been such grandeur and a classic final battle, and in both cases, the movie struggles.

Vampire Owl: The battles here, despite scoring in between, often becomes a struggle.

Vampire Bat: It reminds me of X-Men: Days of the Future Past, where the mutants had no chance of survival against the newly created robots and keep dying. The case is the same with the symbiotes facing these monsters.

Vampire Owl: The performances have been really good though, especially from Tom Hardy.

Vampire Bat: Juno Temple also has a certain amount of mystery running through.

Vampire Owl: The different symbiotes seem to have a variety of attributes too.

Vampire Bat: The terror brought by the ruination of humans continues to work.

Vampire Owl: This time, there is a fine villain, but does not come to the front enough. He keeps sitting there like a hermit when imprisoned.

Vampire Bat: The terror of infinity of villains from space never ceases to amaze us.

Vampire Owl: Well, the idea that varieties of hell might me somewhere in space keeps everyone going to discover more out there through unparalleled creativity.

Vampire Bat: You are going back to the good old computer games in outer space. We remember even those shooting tournaments in other worlds of space, don’t we?

Vampire Owl: And those game to movie adaptations with Resident Evil scoring the highest with those box-office collections and never-ending fame.

Vampire Bat: You were not that much of a fan of those particular adaptions, and fought against the creation of game-based movies.

Vampire Owl: We see all these aliens, different types, coming right out of space, and symbiotes and transformers are only a few of them.

Vampire Bat: The human imagination has been everywhere these days, wandering through the stranger worlds and often not making that much of sense.

Vampire Owl: Human creativity has been messed up whenever sequels are involved.

Vampire Bat: Still, the details on the creatures are good, and the powerful villain leaves scope for more in the future.

Vampire Owl: There is no future for humanity and this film is supposed to be the end.

Vampire Bat: But we see the possibility for continuation in the end with the post-credits scene.

Vampire Owl: In a world where humans are bigger monsters than symbiotes, there is the infinite possibility of evil to bring new movies.

Vampire Bat: Well, Venom needs fear factor with humour, and the second one somewhat works in this particular movie.

Vampire Owl: I keep wondering why this movie could not improve from the previous movie, even when there were so many deviations that could have been chosen.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day because the clouds have done the trick, and awaits the darkest bloody night of the week].

Release date: 25th October 2024
Running time: 109 minutes
Directed by: Kelly Marcel
Starring: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Andy Serkis

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the previous English film review.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: But there are only two of us.

Vampire Bat: When we are there, the presence of four can be seen.

Vampire Owl: I don’t understand. How can there be four when we are only two people?

Vampire Bat: You need to count the guardian angel too.

Vampire Owl: Doesn’t that make the total as three?

Vampire Bat: No, my guardian angel and yours. It makes a total of four.

Vampire Owl: Are you sure that vampires also have guardian angels? It is never mentioned in the books at the great vampire libraries?

Vampire Bat: Yes, guardian angels are provided without discrimination.

Vampire Owl: Is it a new guardian angel or is it the same as we had before we died and became undead?

Vampire Bat: You are surely angelophobic. The fear for angels is quite common in the case of owlish vampires.

[Gets some potato chips and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: The three are best friends – Sam (Don James), Jithu (Steve Antony) and the more philosophical of them, Vishnu (Johns Mathew) who is living with the realization that change is necessary, and will happen, as they ponder about their life at Winnipeg in Canada, far away from home. It is a friendship which has been going on for a long time, and is what they consider is forever. Sam and Vishnu meet a restaurant over a cup of coffee, after which they go on a ride in former’s car who tells his friend that their destination is a place where he hasn’t gone, but needs to go at some point. The road through which the car goes is something of scenic beauty, and they enjoy the beautiful scenery on the way, and Vishnu is interested in the surprise which is in store for him in between the busy and rather too modern life they are living.

So, what happens next? :: Their families need them to come back home leaving their life away from home and settle down at their hometown, but they have settled down rather too much to make their return. On their way, their car meets with an accident, but there seems to be no big problem after the collision. At the same time, Vishnu gets a call from Jithu talking about the death of Sam which had just happened in a car accident. This leaves Vishnu confused about the person who is with him in the car and their destination. A rather weird and frightening feeling comes up right from within him. He then shouts to get the car stopped and runs away only to reach a cemetery which has only fallen leaves and tombstones to give company. So, is it true that Sam had died in a car crash? If it is so, who is the one with him? Which kind of demons or spirits are Vishnu hiding from? What is the thing with being at a cemetery far away from the city?

Soul exploration 1: A case of reality and illusion :: Coming up with the tagline “The Strangest Imagination is Reality”, the movie exactly about the same, bringing a mystery in which one is doubtful about what is reality and what an illusion would be. Along with the illusions spread by media and fake news, we also have our own personal illusions which come back to us depending on the situations – on some cases, it is even bigger. The line between reality and imagination is so thin in so many cases that illusions tend to take over. We ourselves have had such feelings more than once, but we are hesitant to talk further about it in fear of the world. We live in that kind of a world where logic gets a better spot compared to imagination and creativity; money gets more value than values – it is a world which is closer to chaos than order, even if it pretends to hold on to the latter.

Soul exploration 2: Friendship and alienation in a land far away :: It feels strange being away from your roots, and even if it is to another city just a few hundred kilometres away, there is that feeling to get back home – the nostalgia and homesickness are things that humans usually can’t live without. It makes people do stranger things, and despite denying the same, there is that feeling about our own lands that come back – unless you are orcs forced to leave your world like in Warcraft, or humans looking for hope in new planets like in the case of Pandorum and Passengers. You have seen similar complications in the underrated Ivide too. In a land a long way away from home, it is friendship that matters the most, and here we have three of them, and their friendship which has something strangely working within – it is what becomes nicely solved by the end. Alienation in an alien land is another level, when you look at it.

How it finishes :: Not to be confused with the 2006 movie Moonnamathoral, Mooniloraal is a short-film which keeps you wondering about what is to happen next. It is the perfect example of another short-film which is smarter than a good number of those full-length movies which have been arriving in the theatres with the labels of being thrillers. Malayalam short-films are coming up with more ideas these days, and Mooniloraal is the reflection of something that has even enough to be made into a full-length movie, as we notice the friendship, thrills and twists maintained in the right balance bringing the clarity between the two, but certainly not radically ending the cycle – it is fittingly established that there are a few things that will never end. Mooniloraal from Triune Productions is the kind of movie that brings the twists nicely, but not without leaving clues – the final twist brings things together, and we once again understand that there is more than what meets the eye.

[Walks into the balcony with another cup of tea].

Vampire Owl: This is why I told you that I am not going to the lands of the dark elves even if it is on a diplomatic mission.

Vampire Bat: Dark Elves play no role in such cases.

Vampire Owl: Dark Elves use dark magic to cause disruptions in the bridge connecting life and death, leaving some souls trapped in between. It is a crime.

Vampire Bat: But how is it related to this short-film?

Vampire Owl: Didn’t you see the supernatural forces affecting even technology? It is something which only the Dark Elves can do, joining magic with science.

Vampire Bat: You don’t have any proof for that. The other world always finds a way.

Vampire Owl: Yes, but when they are aided by Dark Elves, it is easier. As the Wood Elves, or the High Elves – they will tell you the stories.

Vampire Bat: There is caste-related violence going on between the three groups of elves – do you think that any of them will tell you the truth about the other?

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that they are no more united against the joint forces of orcs and goblins?

Vampire Bat: Well, you need to read The Great Vampire Imperial Times at some point. These days, they even have a special offer for free coffins.

[Walks into the silence of darkness].

Release date: 25th January 2017
Running time: 19 minutes
Directed by (DOP): Jessay Gopuran
Starring: Don James, Steve Antony, Johns Mathew, Rosamma Nelson (voice)

Watch the movie Mooniloraal here: