Tag Archives: hope

Moana 2

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Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time we watched a Moana movie?

Vampire Bat: That was surely an eternity ago.

Vampire Owl: I wonder why it took so much time to release the second one.

Vampire Bat: Maybe they were thinking about how to make this one have an even heavier environmental message.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that there can ever be a message that will work in real life?

Vampire Bat: The environmentalists these days are basically against the nature themselves.

Vampire Owl: Well, the pretenders to the love for environment, aren’t they?

Vampire Bat: They can still act really well as environment lovers.

Vampire Owl: This is a world of actors, who become leaders?

Vampire Bat: The human world rarely has any person who is honest.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: Three years have passed since Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) and demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson had their last adventure together and achieved the impossible, which involved life-threatening situations. With the demigod nowhere to be found, Moana has been on a solo adventure, even though her followers in the form of a pig and chicken continues to be around wherever she wanders to. She has been searching for people living near her home island of Motunui connected to the ocean. On her partially successful return from one of similar explorations, Moana is provided the title of tautai, the master pathfinder – this is a title which has not been bestowed upon anyone from the island in a thousand years. It is then that she has a vision of Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey) who had travelled and discovered the paths of the oceans. He talks to her about the legend of Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i).

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: He tells her that Nalo, a god that controlled the storms of the oceans had sunk a grand, legendary island called Motufetu, which connected all of the islands, right down to the depths of the ocean. This action had made the people of the islands disconnected, and if the connection is not made in time, her people would not survive to see a future. The choice was now simple, to find a way to raise Motufetu from the depths of the ocean, or face extinction, not just for their people, but also of whoever might exist in other parts of the world. In response to this vision, Moana assembles a crew of people from the island of Motunui — craftswoman Loto (Rose Matafeo), historian Moni (Hualālai Chung) and an expert elderly farmer Kele (David Fane). With the pig and the rooster added to the list as usual, this does not seem like a strong team, but is expected to be the best for the situation.

And what more is to follow in another ocean adventures with an angry god and clueless humans that go all around? :: At the same time, Maui is on his own adventure against the same god, as he moves forward only to be captured by Matangi (Awhimai Fraser), an enforcer of Nalo who controls bats and can even transform into one if needed. Maui had decided to go on this mission alone without asking Moana as it was thought to be a very dangerous one. At the same time, Moana and her team are captured by the Kakamora, a group of savage coconut-like pirates who also wishes for the island to be raised from the depths of ocean, as they are also disconnected from their island. One of the pirates also volunteers to fight with them. Meanwhile, Matangi is not really happy with her dealings with Nalo and Maui has almost escaped. Between them and their mission, stands a giant monster and a long path ahead with terrible creatures controlled by a hateful god. Can they go past all these troubles and save the world?

The defence of Moana 2 :: The visuals of the movie remain stunning, just like the previous ones, and the main characters continue to be solid. We never stop feeling the need to see The Rock around, whether in animated form giving voice, or with that full power as in Hercules, Black Adam, Red Notice, Jumanji, Jungle Cruise, Journey to the Mysterious Island or those never-ending franchises like The Fast and the Furious and spin-offs. Auliʻi Cravalho stays strong as the leading voice yet again. There are also more interesting characters around here, and the danger that they face are more real than ever, as the opponent here is a god that wishes to bring terror upon on humans and stop them from uniting and progressing. The emotional side also seems to be getting stronger and so are the entertaining sides with humour as much as action. One cannot deny the strength of whatever is seen on the screen, as we keep looking, and we keep being entertained.

Positives and negatives :: Comparison to the first movie, the freshness is still not felt and the big villain never really makes a straight attack. Some new characters are also lost, especially the young sister seems to be just a random addition to get more emotional support. I do not remember any mention of her having any younger sister, and with this addition, the movie seems to go a step backward with its ability to go for content and instead makes it feel the Bollywood drama effect for a change. But we know that it was something created for a purpose and not required at all. The first movie’s innovation seems to have disappeared. Family theme remains strong, and the environmental message stays somewhat there, but we know how much Avatar itself came down from the classic first movie. The beauty of the world, even when animated feels so good here, and as long as the sequels hold on to the basics, this one is surely here to stay.

How it finishes :: Among the animated movies that have stayed with us for a long time, this one will stand tall as a sequel. We remember the earlier movie releasing close to another interesting animated flick, Zootopia. Also, among the movies on the seas, with an environmental message, this one holds a fine place. So, while this movie dazzles with its design and continues the titular character’s tale with more emotional layers, it doesn’t quite match the original. It remains enjoyable with all the fun, and maintains its quality. After watching this movie, and seeing the scope for sequel, we know that something big might be coming. We also wonder if such a movie with an environmental message can be made in the God’s Own Country, as nature is all that matters in this part of the world too. One would keep wondering if such a fine myth can be created with focus most on the ancient green past. For now, we will enjoy this world.

Release date: 27th November 2024
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: David Derrick Jr
Starring: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk, Gerald Ramsey, Remuera Morrison, Awhimai Fraser

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Thalavara

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Vampire Owl: So, this is what humans call destiny related to a mark on the head.

Vampire Bat: There is no destiny that humans can create in any world.

Vampire Owl: They could still seal their own fate.

Vampire Bat: They are the fates that the world is forced to endure.

Vampire Owl: You remind me of the cursed fates of the northern witches.

Vampire Bat: Still, humans come up with motivating movies with some feel-good.

Vampire Owl: Humans do not really make any species feel any good.

Vampire Bat: Well, feel-good is that mask which humans need.

Vampire Owl: Yes, they need that reason to live.

Vampire Bat: Well, you do not need any reason to live forever.

[Gets a Kadai paneer puffs and three cups of Darjeeling tea].

What is the movie about? :: Jyothish (Arjun Ashokan) suffers from a skin condition called Vitiligo which provides visible white patches on the skin due to loss of pigment, clearly visible on his face. His dream is to become an actor, and had won many accolades for his efforts during school days as a leading drama performer. He had left all of these behind and after taking a graduation in commerce, started working in a mobile shop, only to be fired from there due to his movie craze leading him to take day off on almost every Friday on the day of movie releases with some lame excuses. Now jobless, he is forced to work with his mother Asha (Devadarshini) in the supermarket where she works in the sales, as the new person supposed to the home delivery. He is ridiculed by people for his skin disease, and even his best friends call him names and make fun of him, despite their close connection with each other. His father Kannappan (Ashokan) has been movie enthusiast who had planned to go abroad, but ended up jobless at home due to the same craze for cinema much to dismay of the family.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is then that Jyothi (Athira Mariyam), Jyothish’s sister elopes with his friend Ganesh (Sarath Sabha), who had full freedom in their home, leading to Asha, as the breadwinner of home, disowning her. It is then that a new girl Sandhya (Revathy Sarma) arrives near home in Palakkad, from the other side of the state border, Coimbatore. She works at an agency which deals with foreign education, focusing on UK, and Jyothish ends up meeting her in her office as well as the supermarket. Even though everyone around seems to be attracted to her, she falls for Jyothish, and their love story slowly blossoms. But without a good job, her family is surely not going to agree to this wedding, and the family history of her sister eloping with someone was not going to help the cause at all. He gets a small role in a short-film which becomes viral on YouTube, but is humiliated for his looks while looking for a role in the upcoming movie. Can he go beyond the restrictions imposed on him by the society which do not accept the divergent or will there be a union of bad luck events for him?

The defence of Thalavara :: The movie nicely addresses something which is not usually shown in the mainstream cinema — the life of a person with vitiligo and how he has to go beyond the opinions of society and achieve something. Here, we can see that the same is done without adding that much of a melodrama, which would have been the main thing if this was taken in Bollywood. The romance here is also very well managed in a realistic manner. It should be considered as a fine quality as most of the other industries of the nation would have clearly overdone the same and might even add a quick dance in a nation with a lot of snow with greenery and classic streets. Its reflection of a common man’s life and the regular problems which becomes part of the crisis will never leave our attention. The idea of accepting oneself and living with dignity work very well. Even the romantic scenes show that understanding, and it just becomes a usual thing rather than a glorified piece of garbage – it is there and it an extended form of friendship and not a stalking, lusty, infatuated absurdity like in movies like the lesser appreciated Maine Pyar Kiya and for that undeserving very much appreciated Annayum Rasoolum.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does deviate the main concerns at times, maybe to try and make it feel more entertaining, and it is also a little bit too long for this kind of a content, as one and half hours would have been perfect in this case. When we consider that it does not take into account, the psychological side that much except for the negative feeling and lack of confidence, something might feel left out. The movie just goes through the simple journey, which makes it feel no need to go in a more intense manner or launch that dramatic punch which will leave a big difference. The ending does not really solve the problem, but makes one feel good enough that there could be a better future soon. Even a movie which dealt with a lesser problem like Mili had an even more consistent solution to its crisis. The movie’s beginning might have also left many people with not much of an interest in the journey forward, as it just feels too ordinary a start to the kind of message it would intend to deliver with that special dose of motivation.

The performers of the soul :: Arjun Ashokan strikes gold with this performance, and it is as realistic as one could be, with him maintaining a common man’s feelings throughout the journey – this might also he his best work in a leading role till now. Revathy Sarma plays the Tamil girl whom we might remember even more than the one we had with Sai Pallavi in Premam with the realistic touch rather than that overstretched one. She plays the role with so much realistic touch, and remains a lovable character – something which she achieves with so much of ease. Among the friend characters, Muhammad Rafi stands as the most notable one, as he has always been in that television show of Flowers channel which keeps coming back to us. Sarath Sabha also remains very much notable. Athira Mariyam’s realist work will also have our attention. Then you see how good is Devadarshini in the mother role and how well Ashokan supports in the father role, with a little bit of humour and emotions also present in the journey.

How it finishes :: The movie does manage to finish off the whole thing well, and there is closeness to humanity that works like a dream here. This is the kind of movie that works with motivation really well, and reminds people that there could be those journeys with some type of crisis which is often overlooked in favour of some others which get all the attention. We remember that some problems get more attention than others, but it is to be remembered that for some people, some troubles are bigger, and that it has to be individual-centred. Well, not all people are the same, and the problems of some people are just of a grander scale than one would think. The movie reminds us that it is all about the individual, and if there is some support when required, things can only get better – it is important to keep everyone close to the heart as we are all in this together in one way or the other. This is no blockbuster material with scenes to get fans clapping, for a human tale that inspires and gets some feel-good into the scene.

Release date: 22nd August 2025
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Akhil Anilkumar
Starring: Arjun Ashokan, Revathy Sarma, Shebin Benson, Ashokan, Devadarshini, Athira Mariyam, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Prasant Murali, Sam Mohan, Harish Mohan, Sohan Seenulal, Shaju Sreedhar, Vishnu Reghu, Muhammad Rafi, Manoj Moses, Aswath Lal, Amith Mohan, Naseer

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Murphy

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Vampire Owl: And after a long time, we get to watch another Kannada movie.

Vampire Bat: Well, this is not the usual kind of mass masala movies that comes here from that particular industry.

Vampire Owl: There are so many movies which we have missed, right?

Vampire Bat: Yes, just because some movies were too mass masala, we ignored the rest. And Mythri was bilingual. The other movie which we mistakenly added to the list was actually Telugu – Konda Polam.

Vampire Owl: Some industries just have too much nonsense in the form of mass masala.

Vampire Bat: But such a world feels too relevant for the audience who do not think.

Vampire Owl: In most industries, the best-grossing movies are not the best.

Vampire Bat: I would also add that the best movies are never sent for the Oscars from India.

Vampire Owl: You are surely talking about Kumbalangi Nights now.

Vampire Bat: And many others, which are more relevant to a classic status than most of the others. The movies which have mass masala content should never qualify for any awards, whether of national or state level.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: David Murphy (Prabhu Mundkur) is a young man who lives a simple life under the care of his grandfather Richard (HG Dattatreya) after his mother left him just years after he was born, post which his father also met with an accident and died. He is in love with Jessie (Ila Veermalla), his best friend for years, now studying in the same college and also hailing from the same small neighbourhood. David only has a few memories of his past, and he wishes that he could repair that one radio which remains a souvenir of the time he had spent with his father, but Richard always keep it locked and do not wish to have anyone touch the same. One day, David manages to sneak through to the room where the radio is kept and using a radio manual makes it work, only to hear voices from the device and also find replies coming from the other side to his own talk. To his surprise, the voice on the other side is that of a girl who tells him that she studies in the same college as he and Jessie do.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: A storm which seems to have caused some electrical event feels like the reason for this as David communicates with Janani Chandrasekhar (Roshni Prakash), who promises to meet him at a specified time and date at the college, but both at baffled by the fact that the other was not found at the same place. While they both accuse each other of not coming to the location in time and of not studying in the same college, Janani’s talk about an ongoing World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka where Sachin Tendulkar was opening the innings makes him feel that she is not from the year where he exists. He understands that she is talking about the Cricket World Cup semi-final match between India and Sri Lanka which was abandoned due to crowd misbehaviour, following which Sri Lanka was declared the winner and advanced to the finals. As he predicts the outcome of the match in clarity, she understands that they are from two timelines, and the story begins to unfold and connect both of them through common thread.

The defence of Murphy :: The movie which seems to bring magical realism in the form of science fiction, is indeed a world of magic that comes to the usual scheme of things uninvited. Into this world, we have those characters whose journey are so beautifully portrayed, and we see them as people who carry the emotional weights, never having a stereotype in store here. The stunning visuals and the soothing music keep us interested at all times, and we see that even in loss and regret, there is that goodness which is never lost. Any other movie with a radio connection between two youngsters from the past and present would have the tendency to make a romantic world with some ridiculous dance scenes and that mass silliness which creeps in out of nowhere, but not in this one. The ability to not think not for a group of movie-watching zombies, but to go for the heart of the true cinelover, makes this one a spectacle of the soul. It also comes up with a satisfying ending which also stays, and so we know this world lives on with joy.

Positives and negatives :: The movie is known to be based on an older Korean movie, but it never provides the feeling that it is not blending into this part of the world. If it is original, this is the kind of movies that should be sent for the Oscars from India. As it released in 2024, the concept also does feel a little bit old as so much of time traveling science fiction with romantic or dramatic additions have been done, and a few things might feel predictable, but the fine visage does hide the same up to an extent. The characters seem to be taken right out a real world with magic realism on one side, something which we have appreciated in movies like Amen and Philips and the Monkeypen in a corner, but here, the science fiction element adds the magical thing directly around here. There is a certain amount of beauty about that, as radio remains the most beautiful and magnificent thing here, as something so powerful to determine fate and destiny, during an age when television and then computer and internet replaced it – that nostalgia of a powerful antiquity will remain with us through this movie, especially for those who were born till the beginning of this century.

The performers of the soul :: Prabhu Mundkur is amazingly good as a man of two ages, going from one to the other as two characters, not the same in any way, but bound together with similar elements of human mind. Both characters differ in priorities, but love unites them both, as we will realize, not just the romantic love, but also that of a father and son. His characters are living feel-good factors in a world which is confused about where the true joy lies. It is his display of vulnerability of a kid who did not have the best of childhoods that brings this movie to a peak with regret and the need to change the past creeping into more than one character through his actions. Roshni Prakash who plays Janani plays an emotional role in such a believable way, and her chemistry on the radio is remarkable, and the abiding sadness is so well portrayed as her love and sacrifice which serves as a guiding light. H G Dattatreya remains a veteran pillar who seems like he is guiding everyone. Ila Veermalla as Jessie should also be appreciated, and her character is one reflection of selfless love, that is not given the deserved importance in comparison.

How it finishes :: I have not watched many Kannada movies, and it can be understood from the list of movies which are provided in the menus and drop-down lists of this website, and it might also be the least watched language of movies among the South Indian movies. This one though, is a movie that would change them all, and that too without any unnecessary appendage meant to make things appeal to the common audience. The beauty of this movie is not just one screen, but also underneath, as we watch this one with our soul rather than anything else. This is the kind of movie that keeps us so much invested in the characters even when this is not at all a new tale by any means. The life in this movie which takes on science fiction is more than any flick that takes the so-called realistic tales. Well, not all realities are for everyone, right? Some of those romantic and drama movies have been too unrealistic, even less close to life than the horror and apocalyptic movies that we watch. But this one is beautifully close to life, and leaves us feeling better than most feel-good movies, with a tear happily in our eyes. Well, anyone with a lot of money can make a spectacle on screen, but only a few can make something like this for the soul.

Release date: 18th October 2024
Running time: 136 minutes
Directed by: BSP Varma
Starring: Prabhu Mundkur, Roshni Prakash, Ila Veermalla, HG Dattatreya, Ashwin Rao Pallakki, Mahantesh Hiremath, Rramprasadd Banavara, BSP Varma, Master Dhawan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Hridayapoorvam

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Vampire Owl: So, this is the one other movie of the Onam season.

Vampire Bat: Yes, the movie that came up with the second position.

Vampire Owl: And the movie which received what remained at the box office.

Vampire Bat: The second movie of a festival also does well enough.

Vampire Owl: Unless there are movies from other languages also coming in.

Vampire Bat: We have managed to keep it our own this time.

Vampire Owl: This Onam has been pretty well managed as we see it.

Vampire Bat: Onam is for the Malayalam movie industry.

Vampire Owl: What Lokah Chapter One: Chandra achieved has been remarkable.

Vampire Bat: Well, Avengers or Justice League of this world is ready to go.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Ceylon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Sandeep Balakrishnan (Mohanlal) is a wealthy and successful businessman who runs a popular restaurant chain in Cochin named Lunch Box, and has been spending most of his time for the same. This group of restaurants are known to be the cleanest and the tastiest around. But he is forced to keep away from the business as he need to undergo a heart surgery, and receives the heart of a colonel who recently passed away. Even though his brother-in-law OK Panicker (Siddique) and other relatives around, they do not usually visit him except for when there is need, and the hospital assigns him a male nurse Jerry (Sangeeth Prathap) so that things are under control. It is then that a young woman named Haritha (Malavika Mohanan) contacts him as the daughter of the man whose heart was donated. She invites him to Pune for her engagement, and there he meets her mother Devika (Sangita Madhavan Nair). The function is grand, as they family have been settled there for many years, and Haritha is also an established architect.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: But not that much into the ceremony, Haritha declares the ceremony cancelled, leading to a quarrel, and Sandeep sustains a back injury while trying to intervene in the matters. Unable to return to Kochi due to this condition and he has to remain with Colonel’s family and Jerry to support him. Sandeep is not really happy about it in the beginning, as he feels the need to be back to his daily routine. But soon, he starts to get closer with Haritha and Devika. There he meets Haritha’s family friend Jacob (Lalu Alex) and Devika’s brother Manoj (Baburaj), which leads to him knowing more about his life as well as his habits. Despite his early feeling that a heart is just an organ, he feels the love and memories of the heart donor. Maybe this is the change that Sandeep needed, but how long can he stay in Pune and remain like the person who had donated the heart? How far will his world be changed, and how much does it change for the people around her?

The defence of Hridayapoorvam :: The movie goes on well with the feel-good idea. The movie would appeal to the family audience more than any other, and the director himself is reflected around here. There is a certain amount of happiness related to this movie, which stays on with us as we move away from the movie. The emotional side is also pretty strong for most of the time, and the mood with the death of a person and his hearth living inside another person keeps us going. There are also those light moments without even a pinch of dark that works, and the humour has itself moving in the right way. The background music and the songs keep working well for the overall mood of the movie. The people going for this movie because of the other two releases of the time being at the extremes, one becoming the industry hit and the other not getting audience, has kept the audience choosing this movie when the tickets for the all-time blockbuster was not available, getting this one to one of the top hits of the year.

The claws of flaw :: The movie feels a little bit too long for the content that it serves. It keeps on moving on and on even without much happening in between. Many things that happen in between seems to be not too relevant, and even then, they just keep happening in front of us, leaving us not focusing on the whole thing. The predictability factor is too high, and we know what is happening and feel like what could happen next can also be known in advance, with characters also acting in the ways we feel that they are going to act. Some jokes which seem to have been added here might serve no purpose at all, as a few dialogues and situations just fall flat, and were really not needed around here. Some characters just seem to have come out of nowhere, and never really even needed the big names to play them. The emotional loss is also seen at times. There are no real ups and downs here, as the movie keeps on going on in an average level, and sometimes gets just above average during its journey.

The performers of the soul :: Mohanlal, as expected, holds the movie together. His screen presence remains the biggest thing about this movie, and both humour and emotional depth stays strong within his arms it is due to him that simple moments become so strong and situations that would look dumb and absurd are converted into an effective side. His ability to turn the meaningless to the relevant with a certain amount of charm is on display here. Malavika Mohanan is a perfect addition as this character as she seems to blend in with cent percent accuracy. Sangita Madhavan Nair on another appearance after that memorable Anand Sreebala brings the charm of the past and our own nostalgia. Sangeeth Prathap brings the humour after Premalu, and this time, most of it comes smoothly and blends into the usual. Siddique and Lalu Alex, even though going on well, does not get their characters at full potential, and Janardhanan along with Baburaj only have a limited screen presence. The focus never really comes to the side characters, as it remains at one space, and the central character remains the heart.

How it finishes :: Lokah Chapter One: Chandra won the Onam in style, remarkably bypassing Lucifer 2: Empuraan unlike what was predicted, rising above all expectations. It does not bring anything new and with the old model of feel-good factor brought into the new world, manages to keep the audience interested, especially those who like similar flicks. There might be question if the movie could have been something bigger, but it keeps on being stuck to the safe mode – something greater is just kept away because it could be, to keep the family audience happy. If you are into this kind of movies, and stay happy with moments that bring nothing negative, pessimistic and disappointing, this is really the movie that keeps you there, even though that length might pull things back. The Onam mood nicely reflected here for sure, and we stay close to the same due to the mood never getting dark, and there seems to be the happiness that keeps on growing with hope for the better. We see that this is one of those paths that work, and that kind of audience will be watching it on the OTT and survive.

Release date: 28th August 2025
Running time: 151 minutes
Directed by: Sathyan Anthikad
Starring: Mohanlal, Malavika Mohanan, Sangeeth Prathap, Sangita Madhavan Nair, Lalu Alex, Baburaj, Nishan, Janardhanan, Siddique, Sabitha Anand, Saumya Bhagyan Pilla, Chandu Naik, Faheem B

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Sector 36

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Vampire Owl: Have you travelled through Sector 36 of the extended castle?

Vampire Bat: It is not an extension of the castle, but our graveyard.

Vampire Owl: Nowadays, we consider it as part of the building itself.

Vampire Bat: Why are you making the castle feel bigger?

Vampire Owl: A bigger castle means better respect.

Vampire Bat: It also means more taxes for all of us.

Vampire Owl: Aren’t we the government? So, we are paying ourselves, right?

Vampire Bat: It is not that direct. There is a procedure for it.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that we do not get most of it?

Vampire Bat: Well, we can only explain it as part of a system.

[Gets a sambar vada and three cups of extra light tea].

What is the movie about? :: In the busy city of Noida, the number of missing kids has been on the increase. A lot of cases reach the police station, but the cops are not much bothered about them as the lost children are of migrants from villages around the city. Inspector Ram Charan Pandey (Deepak Dobriyal), the corrupt inspector of the police station is not interested in anything, and does not even lodge an FIR for these cases, as the life of these commoners do not matter to him, and is of no profit either. His senior officers also ask him not to bother about the same and work with those which matter. Prem Singh (Vikrant Massey) is the house help of a wealthy and powerful businessman Balbir Bassi (Akash Khurana), and is involved in kidnapping the kids, whose bodies are not found later. He murders them and chops them into pieces without remorse, and no remains are usually found. When part of a skeleton is found, the police dismisses the same as the bones of a monkey which came through the sewers.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Ram Charan gets serious only when Prem attempts to kidnap his daughter, but fails. Prem had misunderstood that the girl was a migrant’s child, and leaves her behind when chased. This leads to Ram Charan going on a hunt for the person who has been trying to kidnap the kids, with the help of Constable Shravan Kumar Pathak (Ajit Palawat). But DCP Jawahar Rastogi (Darshan Jariwala) stands on his way, as he would not let anything bad happen to the owner of the house, Balbir. He asks Ram Charan to leave the idea of any investigation near that house, and soon gets him suspended. But he would not stop, and will come up with other plans. But it remains to be seen if he can stand against one of the richest men around, and get to his house worker. This also puts his own family in danger, and the cops of his own police station are now against him. Can he stand as one unstoppable force against them all or will he be destroyed like many others before him?

The defence of Sector 36 :: The movie follows a realistic mode from the beginning itself. There is nothing that seems to be not possible as far as this particular movie is concerned, especially due to taking inspiration from a real-life incident featuring killings. It keeps a chilling mood with the realism that keeps the audience expecting more all the time. There is also a grim, claustrophobic setting that brings the unease and dread with ease. The fear stays on, and the tentacles of the serial killer keeps the movie going forward, and with the police officer finally ready to face him, the audience is left with those high expectations. It also serves as a reminder that the poor never really stands a chance when the highly influential is on the other side. Even though it is not shouted about, the world indeed belongs to the rich, the ones who belong to the one percent or even ten percent. The middle class that tries to side with the poor, would also suffer, as shown here. Well, if you need support, you need money, and that is indeed the point here and the core of realism.

The claws of flaw :: The strength of thrills is low in this one, as the pace itself is low, and that seems to align with the need to keep the whole thing realistic. The transformation of the protagonist also sems to be too quick, and that pace also seems to confuse the writing related to the character, who does not become any smarter despite getting out of the chains that were binding him. The system feels like having no loopholes at all, as if there is no way to escape – there should be some flaw in the design to keep the optimism alive. The ending is also weaker than one would expect, and even if it was done so for the purpose of supporting a sequel, there would be better options. With serial killers or psychos in hand, even within the realistic mold, more is always possible. The absence of a real good figure outside the subaltern is rather disappointing too. The terror her is implied, but the escape is never shown as an option.

The performers of the soul :: The move rests on Deepak Dobriyal and Vikrant Massey to do the expected work, as they play the two characters getting the most screen time, and both needed to perform on different layers. Both characters undergo many changes and are not the same people that we see in the beginning of the movie. While the former is successful in showing the cop being the father and undergoing a positive change, which he emotes really well, the latter who is damaged from the beginning to the end, shows the different shades of his character. There is a lot of depth related to the two characters, and we see the effectiveness with which they are portrayed, and how the same elevates the movie to another level even when it is just going on and on in the usual manner. Akash Khurana plays his role exactly as one would expect from such a character. Darshan Jariwala plays the corrupt side that makes us believe with ease. Ajit Palawat also shows a similar side that works. In comparison, the female characters are to do less work.

How it finishes :: Sector 36 might not be as interesting as the other movies featuring psychos and serial killers, for movies like Memories, Abraham Ozler, Forensic, Anjaam Paathira, Kooman, Antakshari and others will always be above this one by some way. The pacing is slower, and there is no attempt to make it that thrilling. Yet, the fantastic performances and a realistic feeling runs through this one more than ever. As it is based on the 2006 Noida Sector 31 serial murders, that feeling will be more. I do not remember much of it, but the movie follows the realistic mode and the connection is not something that we can think about now. If you are looking for a slow-moving and realistic story about serial killings, this could always be the right movie for you. Then, it also gives a reminder about the system, and how it works, for there will always be something missing and something beyond repair, something about which it is good to be reminded at times.

Release date: 13th September 2024 (Netflix)
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Aditya Nimbalkar
Starring: Vikrant Massey, Deepak Dobriyal, Akash Khurana, Darshan Jariwala, Baharul Islam, Saikia Ihana Kaur, Tanushree Das, Subir Bisawas, Kacho Ahmed, Ajit Palawat, Mahadev Lakhawat, Fareed Ahmad, Trimala Adhikari

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Nokturno

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Vampire Owl: This should surely be about us.

Vampire Bat: Why do you keep feeling that so many movies would be about us?

Vampire Owl: Well, because we are the true nocturnal creatures?

Vampire Bat: Even zombies walk around only at night.

Vampire Owl: I have seen a few like a smaller army in daylight though.

Vampire Bat: They are not zombies, but humans without brains.

Vampire Owl: There are many humans like that?

Vampire Bat: Yes, mostly the fans of some celebrities and blind supporters of political ideologies.

Vampire Owl: I did not know that they were not extinct.

Vampire Bat: Well, they are surely rising in power, stronger than ever in the human world which faces many apocalyptic events at the same time.

[Gets a packet of Milk Bikis and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Jamie (Nadine Lustre) has been working as an overseas worker in Dubai and has returned to her hometown of San Sebastian following her younger sister Joanna’s (Bea Binene) mysterious death. Her mother Lilet (Eula Valdez) feels that a sinister curse which is part of the Filipino folklore of the kumakatok is haunting them and also took her daughter to the grave. According to the folklore, these are ghostly figures that knock on the doors after midnight, and those who open them are doomed to be die or at least lose a loved one within three days. Jamie does not believe in any of these, and feels that her mother is mentally sick, in need of treatment. Joanna’s boyfriend Manu (Wilbert Ross) feels that the curse is real, as his girlfriend had talked about the same before death and he has also been having some hallucinations after her death. He wishes to stop this, but is too afraid to do anything about it.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The explanations of the police officers do not seem to satisfy any of them. Most of the locals think that it was a suicide just like those self-proclaimed logical ones. It seems that the curse has bound itself to the family, and escape only gets more and more difficult as time passes, and someone or the other is taken from among their beloved, and their father was just one of them. These kumakatoks need lives and they are not going to stop, as it is told by more than one person who have heard about the folklore. Jamie is still not a person of villages and small towns of the country. She had left this lesser-known simple world a long time ago and would not have come back there under any circumstance. But is this the beginning of the end for them? Can the family stick together and fight against this centuries-old pure evil that takes souls to another world? Is there really some kind of supernatural force or is there some sinister person or mental disorder at work? Is it already late to act and find a solution or can the protagonist return in peace?

The defence of Nokturno :: The Kumakatok myth from the folklore of Philippines has been used well, and it is something that our world is not aware of, and is not seen that much around. The atmospheric horror works really well, and the focus on rural areas makes some moments even more interesting with the mysterious supernatural side. The sound effects also add nicely to the horror, and it seems to be around at all times in the background. The connection between modernity and a largely ignored world of the past can be easily seen. The mystery is present at all times, and we know that the danger awaits, even though there is nothing directly shown around here. The folklores of all nations should be part of a knowledge system based on horror, and it is something that we should keep learning as part of understanding different cultures and traditions. After all, myths based on demons are stronger than any other, as we are all driven by fear and the lack of understanding of the supernatural, which drives this movie too. To add to the same, there is an emotional side around here too.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is still too slow as it moves forward, and the horror is not that much mainstream terrifying, as the common audience look at it. This means that the commercial side will not keep the movie going forward. The smooth transition to horror is not always there, and slowing down seems to come naturally to this movie. There is a little bit of too much talk around here instead of getting the horror wings. We never really get to see a monster with all its glory, and most of the time it is all about finding the knocks at night and being afraid of something which might happen because there is this folklore about which the mother-figure believes so much. There is too much left to the imagination, and the problem with the same is that some people might end up choosing not to imagine at all, and there is lies the true lack of horror, and a curse that could not be fully effective. There are a few things that will always work in the case of horror movies, and this one seems to forget that with a certain amount of convenience.

The performers of the soul :: The movie has an outstanding performance by Nadine Lustr who connects to both the horror and emotions really well. She provides the character with the much-needed emotional depth, as it is that kind of a character who returns home after such a long time, and some grief and regret are to be present. Bea Binene has her moments in the first few minutes, and we would wish to have seen her for a longer period of time. She seems to suit a scream queen situation quite well, and would suit bigger roles in many horror movies which are to come. Eula Valdez adds further emotional depth to the tale, and the tragic side of this story remains close to her performance. Wilbert Ross has also come up with an emotionally memorable performance. JJ Quilantang as the younger brother also has something do around here, and the same is done well. Ku Aquino’s work also remains memorable, as his character creates a certain amount of hope against all odds.

How it finishes :: This only the second movie from Philippines being reviewed here, and the first one was also quite an emotional horror work in the form of Outside, with the presence of zombies and the world almost reaching an end. I had heard a lot about this movie, and I was sure that it had to be watched sometime soon enough – it could have been the first Filippino movie to be reviewed, but missed the same in the first attempt. This one might not be everyone’s cup of demon, but in a world of evil humans, we need all the demons we can take, and taking them from folklore would always be the best option. The movie might not that much be liked for the pace, and people would have wanted to see more scary things on screen, but this remains strong enough, even without the same. The soul of the horror here lies in the certainty of loss and the absolute grief that will haunt them for an eternity, if they survive. Well, horror has always been the true human reality, unlike most of the fantasy that they show with romantic and feel-good movies.

Release date: 31st October 2024
Running time: 99 minutes
Directed by: Mikhail Red
Starring: Nadine Lustre, Eula Valdez, Bea Binene, Wilbert Ross, Ku Aquino, JJ Quilantang

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Apocalypse Z

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Vampire Owl: Are we going to watch the end of the world again?

Vampire Bat: We are never tired of watching it.

Vampire Owl: Would this be like World War Z?

Vampire Bat: Well, there is never really a shortage of movies showing the end.

Vampire Owl: How beautiful can the end of the world be?

Vampire Bat: I would say that it would be a life with less anxiety and depression.

Vampire Owl: Train to Busan showed a lot of anxiety.

Vampire Bat: It was lessened with Peninsula, right?

Vampire Owl: You know where Resident Evil stands.

Vampire Bat: Still, not all sequels of Resident Evil stands at the same level.

[Gets a paneer puffs and three cups of Sikkim tea].

What is the movie about? :: Manel (Francisco Ortiz) and his wife Julia (Iria del Río) returns home after visiting his sister Belén (Marta Poveda) and her husband Mario (Oriol Ruiz), and meets with an accident on road while losing focus during an argument about having children. Following the incident, he leaves the town and lives in isolation with his cat. Due to the same reason, he does not care about a new virus called TSJ which has spread around the nation and even outside the continent like COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Then, the one thing which is not said in the news is that this particular pandemic differs from the corona virus and would cause people to turn into flesh-eating zombies. The whole Europe has been under attack and going down for some time, and the Germans had already evacuated Berlin. As Belén’s family is evacuated to the Canary Islands, Manel tries to join them, the government closes the borders, and declares a general state of emergency which cancels all the flights and leaves people where they are.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: With no option to join his sister and brother-in-law, and having all routes closed, he promises her that he will stay there safe and within the house, only to lose all internet and communications soon enough. While going out to collect supplies, he finds out that people are quickly turning into zombies, and finds even police officers turning into zombies or killing themselves to escape from the terrible fate. Running out of supplies and while searching for food in nearby homes, he comes across an old lady named Gabriela (Amalia Gómez) who has also run out food herself. They help each other, as she knows where he could find the food and he get them with relative ease. Soon, they are able to intercept a radio transmission which has a message from the survivors who feel that they would be evacuated soon and it is safe where they were staying. This provides hope for both of them, even though Gabriela is not sure if she would survive the journey.

And what more can follow in a zombie-infested world? :: Gabriela understands that she would only slow him down and could end up being a burden, and commits suicide when Manel comes to get her on the next day. This leaves him and his cat to go through the journey to the place which might be a safe haven. With the cat Lúculo, and with a diving suit and a speargun for defense, Manel barely manages to escape from a zombie horde, but finds all larger boats either taken away or unusable. After finding a little zombie toddler, he is only able to use an inflatable dinghy to travel to his destination, with all roads taken over by zombies. On the way, he finds a few Russians who asks for his help while on the way and offers him a cabin to stay in their big boat. But Manel feels that the Russians are not that straightforward as they claim to be, even though the only person in the ship who can speak Spanish denies his suspicions. Now, it seems that it would not be that easy to get away and reach the new place which is claimed as a safe house. Can he somehow do what he has been planning to?

The defence of Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End :: Some of the most interesting foreign movies which I have watched were in Spanish, and the movies like The Platform has always gained the attention of a wider audience. As the main character grapples with the zombie-powered societal collapse and fights to reunite with his only family, this movie remains strong both as an emotional as well as terrifying one, with an adventure that keeps us going. The man’s survival from a tragic loss makes this another journey of a flawed character who wishes to finally get back to his family from that self-inflicted solitude. All those real‑world COVID-19 pandemic responses like acts of selfishness which are not limited to panic buying, along with those lockdowns and quarantine that we have experienced will keep us close to the movie’s reality, for it does not give away the fact that there are zombies involved until quite some time into the film. The terrifying elements do follow, and they are pretty much effective along with the emotional side.

Positives and negatives :: There might be similarities to the other titles dealing with similar topics, and it is not easy to come out of that feeling that we know what would happen, and it is know how this would keep going. Yet, powered by the performance provided by Francisco Ortiz, the movie rises above the usual expectations. One cannot help wondering how well the Spanish movies have managed to keep its side strong, no matter what kind of a genre it deals with. The support is really good too, even from the kids and one cat. There is a certain amount of realism when the zombies are shown, as they also seem as much desperate as humans for food, seemingly emotional too, unlike the usual mindless displays. It is also based on the novel by Manel Loureiro, and how much this one stay close or deviates from the original, is something we can only understand from the fans of book. The heartfelt zombie film seems to be appreciated enough to bring more viewers to the same on OTT.

How it finishes :: We are never short of some fine zombie movies, and the apocalypse is something we can never stop waiting for, whether in fiction or in reality as an inevitable fate. There is a fine journey through the world affected by the terrifying zombie reality which is slowly destroying the world as it is known. The terrible situation is shown with a fine scary side as much the emotional moments which makes this one a thriller drama as well as part of the genres of horror and adventure. This movie becomes another addition to that fine list. The ending makes sure that a scope for sequel is there to be taken, and from what is heard, it is there to come soon enough. Among the movies about the end of the world, it seems that the Spanish has managed to get on a higher level. We can have many similar movies to follow, but in between the earlier movies and those which are to come, this one has maintained some fine class while keeping the entertaining side high enough.

Release date: 31st October 2024
Running time: 118 minutes
Directed by: Carles Torrens
Starring: Francisco Ortiz, José María Yazpik, Berta Vázquez, Iria del Río, Marta Poveda, Amalia Gómez, María Salgueiro, Yuri Mikhaylychenko, Oriol Ruiz

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Platform 2

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Vampire Owl: Do you remember the last time a platform was lowered in the castle?

Vampire Bat: I am sure that we have different kinds of platform here.

Vampire Owl: Like a platform to display the skills?

Vampire Bat: All vampires have the same special skills.

Vampire Owl: There are no two vampires belonging to the same species.

Vampire Bat: One a vampire, always the same species.

Vampire Owl: The undead is not a species, for it is a status.

Vampire Bat: We are beyond all status in all territories.

Vampire Owl: There is something more running underneath.

Vampire Bat: You are listening too much to the blasphemy by Mr. Frankenstein.

[Gets a kadai chicken puffs and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: In the first movie, it was seen that a number of inmates are housed in pairs on different numbered levels of a very massive tower-like structure without doors which seems to have no beginning and the end. It was also seen that a platform filled with food descends once per day from the top to the bottom, stopping for a very short time on each level’s cell. Each floor had two occupants with a central hole for the platform to pass. The top floors used to get a lot of food while the lower floors got nothing – nobody was allowed to hoard the food either. A young woman named Perempuan (Milena Smit) and and a big man called by the name Zamiatin (Hovik Keuchkerian) find themselves in the same floor as partners in the food which is to come from above in the structure which is known to have 333 floors. The reach level 24 this time, which means that they can have some food now, until a change occurs. Next month, they could end up having more, or most probably much less food going nowhere.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: This vertical prison would need more than just a random plan to survive. The two new members are introduced to the informal rules of the prison – they should join the loyalists who follow the rules, and only eat what they had chosen as the favourite food before entering the prison. This would ensure that the maximum levels of people can get the food and nobody would die. They call those people who are against these rules as barbarians because they eat as much as they want, leading to food shortages due to the platform not being bigger than a usual dining table. As the new entrants try to keep the law as much as possible, they gather more information like on the existence of The Messiah, a mythical figure that could survive without food and then sacrificed his own leg to feed others who were going to die by starvation. His followers known as the Anointed Ones, keep the loyalist laws alive and punish those who violate these rules after appearing all of a sudden without invitation.

And what more is there to surprise us? :: Zamiatin who understands that he had broken the laws and will be punished along with his cell partner, sets himself on fire and jumps into the pit to death. This saves Perempuán from the possible punishment, and the very next month, she is paired with a one-armed woman named Sahabat (Natalia Tena) on level 51. She talks to Perempuán about Dagin Babi (Óscar Jaenada) who is the Anointed One that punishes everyone who makes even the smallest deviations from the law. She shares the story of how her arm was cut off and the girl who was her partner was stripped naked and tied to the platform in a spreadeagle position after removing all the food, to be eaten alive by the people of lower levels. She hopes to end this fearful existence by faking their deaths by consuming portions of an oil painting at the lower level, which would also make them immune to the gas which knocks out all prisoners. But can she succeed or will both of them face similar fates as their predecessors who did not obey the rules?

The defence of The Platform 2 :: The two big performers lead the way, Milena Smit and Natalia Tena, and the former making an impact in the least amount of time. Hovik Keuchkerian also leaves a mark in the process. The movie successfully becomes a reflection of our society where some people get them all and succeed through selfish ways, while the selfless remain without success. Selfishness and dehumanization are natural in the movie, just as reflected in human world. The world is once again nicely detailed, and so is the brutality, and if it was not shown well enough, the same would have been lost in the process. The movie does not take a step back in most of those cases, as the world begins to feel real despite the fictionality in which it is placed. This makes the film the perfect survival movie. There has never been a movie that has better shown so many selfish humans in one place, with all the terrifying sides present.

The claws of flaw :: The movie feels like a repetition of the first movie, and struggles to bring that innovation which has kept this franchise apart. This time, some part of an explanation could have been shown about this particular vertical prison and how it has existed and the reason for its inception along with who controls the same like a lab. The movie leaves one with no hope, as the world seems to continue in the same way, with no hope for redemption to the inmates. Even though one feels so many genres within this movie, there seems to be the lack of satisfaction with most of them. The movie could have also developed the character of Natalia better, and a certain flashback could have been shown to further spread the uneasy fear. All the violence in the movie may not be suitable for everyone, but nobody can doubt its requirement within the film – considering the background tale, the gore cannot be considered as that much.

How it finishes :: I have liked The Platform 2 as much as I liked The Platform. There was the feeling of innovation with the first movie, and with version, the feeling of terror seems to be elevated with the presence of even more cruelty and hopelessness even without bringing more innovation. The reality of the present world is more or less reflected yet again, as the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. It is that kind of a world which was shown in the Malayalam film Mukundan Unni Associates long ago, as those who find themselves in control and with success here are those who manipulate the system, ruthlessly exploit others’ misfortunes and find no morality in actions. The truth about humanity and their hoarding of wealth remains the same, and it would never change. The movie symbolically points to the same many times, and we are not tired of watching any number of movies with platforms of food.

Release date: 4th October 2024 (Netflix)
Running time: 101 minutes
Directed by: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Starring: Hovik Keuchkerian, Milena Smit, Natalia Tena, Óscar Jaenada, Iván Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan

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

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Little Hearts

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Vampire Owl: Do you remember those days when we were eating Little Hearts without limits? Those were the most approved biscuits.

Vampire Bat: Those were the days of fine nostalgia. We were not even limited to Little Hearts as we continued lives focused on the little moments of joy.

Vampire Owl: So, they have named a movie after a packet of biscuits. It is a good idea to keep the focus on the food.

Vampire Bat: On the greatest packet of biscuits that we will ever know. Not just us, the greatest that humans will ever know.

Vampire Owl: So, you mean to say that the greatest of them all is not Bourbon or Hide and Seek with those classic looks?

Vampire Bat: There is nothing that matches Little Hearts, and there are not many that matches the old model of Milk Bikis.

Vampire Owl: I am assuming that you are going through a biscuit induced nostalgia, not focused on tea for a change.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have been among the people who have eaten so much of biscuits that we are close to breaking records.

Vampire Owl: We have also waited for this movie to release for a little too long.

Vampire Bat: Well, the first proposed date of release was much earlier.

Vampire Owl: The release should have happened during the vacation.

Vampire Bat: Well, the holidays had seen some strange films creating records with collections.

Vampire Owl: I will never know how these new generation and mindless movies make so much of collection.

Vampire Bat: Well, human taste has always been strange.

Vampire Owl: Trusting their taste is the strangest thing a vampire can do.

Vampire Bat: At least the trailer of this movie did a pretty good job in making an impression.

Vampire Owl: You know that making a trailer is often too easy a job if there is not that much of a content to show in the full film

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

Vampire Owl: This is an interesting movie, even though there is no attempt at variety. It goes on well, as if it was just determined to move on.

Vampire Bat: After RDX: Robert Dony Xavier and Vela, Shane Nigam seems to have quite a different role here and has nailed this one too.

Vampire Owl: Shane Nigam and Mahima Nambiar team has returned as a pair quite well, even though latter should have been there for more.

Vampire Bat: Well, the romantic side of Shane and Mahima has the least focus among the romances shown in this movie.

Vampire Owl: The three romances here face problems due to different reasons, and none of them seems to be ready to be accepted by the society.

Vampire Bat: Well society, economic well-being and sexuality will always have roles to play in the society forever.

Vampire Owl: Well, I would say that these are rather eternal, like Uncle Dracula.

Vampire Bat: The tale of Baburaj and his relationship with the son played by Shane Nigam makes the biggest impact though.

Vampire Owl: Yes, with both the humour as well as the emotional side has been managed so well, reminding one of those early days of moving into humour from villainy.

Vampire Bat: Yet, it could not further develop on the same, and manages to travel just on the usual and predictable path.

Vampire Owl: The feel-good path is the one road too much travelled, and without trying too much to make things better.

Vampire Bat: There are still those moments with Little Hearts packets, and there is the certainty of tea being shown again and again.

Vampire Owl: The one who played the migrant worker from the North really did a great job, and brings humour being second only to Baburaj. Yet, rest of the humour goes through a struggle at times.

Vampire Bat: Shane’s avatar in a different style works well, even though he should have more of romantic side with Mahima. The deviation was not that much needed, at least with this much of an effect.

Vampire Owl: Well, even in their previous movie together, they had parted way too soon. At least with the feel-good mode one, that would not happen.

Vampire Bat: For the same, it seems that the end was forced to reach that destination of feel-good for the common soul.

Vampire Owl: In a world of viewers where they are strangely addicted to drugs and alcohol like never before, can we ever have enough feel-good?

Vampire Bat: Can you blame them with so many superstars trying to put them into a world of nonsense far away from a righteous reality?

Vampire Owl: Well, I would trust this simple feel-good film with nice green visuals and some interesting songs which are there to stay for long. There is no real danger in the happenings of this one, and the light-hearted side keeps the darkness away.

[Disappears into the darkness of the day because the clouds have done the trick to hide the sun and bring the much needed darkness].

This is the YouTube video with the second film review there. The video reviews have had the focus since the last one, and tries to make interesting comments about the selected movies. The writing will also go on through its path, but the visual side also has its say more than ever, as the YouTube channel “Scholar Nomads” intends to explore more areas of interest. For both blog and vlog, there will be films reviews and even more to be seen.

Release date: 7th June 2024 (Theatre)
Running time: 134 minutes
Directed by: Anto Jose Pereira and Aby Treesa Paul
Starring: Shane Nigam, Shine Tom Chacko, Baburaj, Mahima Nambiar, Renji Panicker, Shammi Thilakan, Jaffer Idukki, Aima Rosmy Sebastian, Ramya Suvi, Maala Parvathy, Parvathy Babu, John Kaippallil

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

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

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<<< Click here to go to the review of the most underrated film of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Nowhere

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Vampire Owl: We have always loved nowhere.

Vampire Bat: No place is nowhere for vampires.

Vampire Owl: The witches live in the middle of nowhere.

Vampire Bat: Nowhere is a myth. They live in the very next territory.

Vampire Owl: It is not the same with the Witches of the North.

Vampire Bat: They live in the north. It is why they are called so.

Vampire Owl: The north has always been the true nowhere.

Vampire Bat: An addiction to nowhere can be dangerous.

Vampire Owl: Do you expect demons of nowhere to come through the portal?

Vampire Bat: The portal leads to nowhere as there is no such a place.

[Gets a choco-vanilla cake and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: A dystopian situation has emerged in Spain after a global crisis causing shortage of basic necessities, and the new government in the country turning completely totalitarian in nature. Mia (Anna Castillo) and Nico (Tamar Novas) decides to make an escape from the country due to fear for their unborn child, as children, elderly and pregnant women were targeted by the military who tries to eliminate whoever becomes a burden during a time of resource shortage. The decision is to escape to Ireland in container taken on a cargo ship, and for the same, they use every resource that they have with them including money and gold. But they are separated on the way and are left inside two containers with Mia’s container attacked, leaving her as the only survivor. Nico’s container is left outside the city with nowhere to go. Her container gets on the ship after some difficulty, but it falls into the sea as a storm strikes. The container slowly fills up with water, but she manages to keep the process slow with what she can get.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The container has some materials, but nothing to keep her and the unborn child alive until help arrives. After some difficulty she has contact with Nico who promises to come and help her even though he does not know how. All the other containers have already perished under the sea, taking many people with them. The government continues to take measures to make sure that nobody escapes from the lands or turn against the government with regular checking, which halts the progress of Nico considerably. There would be no revolution coming up to change things around, and there are only a few democracies left in the world. She soon gives birth to a daughter on a stormy night. Injured and weakened like never before, she feels the desperate need to find help from anywhere. At the same time, she realizes that Nico is severely injured and there is no hope for him to come to her, as time runs out for all three of them, and there might also be another storm coming soon.

The defence of Nowhere :: We have the feeling that there is something extraordinary about this movie at times with the work done behind it as much as in front of the camera. The realistic take makes the feeling of danger have more effect, and we keep hoping for the protagonist to do whatever it takes and make it to the end. The visuals within a small world with the support of graphics work so well, and the fear feels so much real with one fine performance in the lead. The movie leaves us with the message of never giving up, and always having hope for a better future. As the husband tells her wife, he would always love her more on the next day and the dialogue is a reminder that those are the better coming days that we need to look out for, in a world of chaos and destruction as humans descend into hatred and ultimate evil. After all, an end of the world scenario after a totalitarian government has not been that distant a probability. We all know that we are quickly moving towards that end.

The claws of flaw :: Nowhere had infinite scope to be the classic that we have all been waiting for. This could have been something of epic proportions. It does not go that long, as we look at it. There is a certain amount of drag here, and it could have been a better movie with the length reduced. The opportunity to create a spectacle is also avoided in the process. When we are dealing with hope trying to inspire further, there should always be something bigger in scope. These are the time when people expect more from survival thrillers, as there have been many of them, from The Shallows to Meander, as different situations have come to us in the last few years testing human willpower to survive. In this particular movie, the protagonist would seem to have the least chance for survival, which makes us wonder if this would be more of a fantasy rather than anything else. The ending also seems to have just meant to finish the job with the required survival.

The performers of the soul :: With Anna Castillo and Tamar Novas as two names that we see everywhere among the cast, and with the former left to deal with the whole thing, there is no doubt about the fact that performances need to come from one side. With her around, the danger and the struggle seem real. Living in a floating and slowly sinking container while at the middle of the sea seems like an idea easy to talk about, but would not be that easy to work with. Tamar Novas also seems to be playing a main character in the beginning, but only have the voice to work with in the later stages. His character seems to be as expendable as the others around there after the first few minutes. It can be seen that Tony Corvillo has a fine evil presence there. During these times, one would wonder if sea is also a character, always listening to the probable victims and taking whoever it can. The container is also more like a living thing that provides life to what lies inside.

How it finishes :: If we keep looking, it is evident that Nowhere basically comes out of nowhere to make an impression. It is the title which most of us have not heard about, but all of a sudden, we feel that we should have heard about it earlier itself. If we read the synopsis of the story in this movie, the same is evident as we develop that sudden interest. This is not something new for the Spanish movies which never ceases to amaze us especially when least expected – there have been many examples for the same from The Platform to Adios, and from Cross the Line to Two and The Wasteland. But it could have still been more of a classic that would stay forever with its content. We can consider this partially as an opportunity missed, and still creating enough impact to become a movie that would be much talked about. The effort here is to be appreciated the most. This is not an idea which is easy to execute, and the result of the effort can be seen here. If you are going to start with good Spanish movies, this will be a fine start.

Release date: 29thSeptember 2023 (Netflix)
Running time: 109 minutes
Directed by: Albert Pinto
Starring: Anna Castillo, Tamar Novas, Tony Corvillo, Irina Bravo, Lucia Soria, Edu Bulnes, Mariam Torres, Victoria, Teijeiro, Mary Ruiz, Antonio Buil, Paula Roy, Jose Lucena, Saorla Wright, Kaabil Sekali, Andrew McGurk, Tonu Sureda Luther, Victor Boira

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Old

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Vampire Owl: I wonder if they are trying to say that Uncle Dracula is old.

Vampire Bat: Everybody knows that he is very old.

Vampire Owl: But nobody ever dares to mention that.

Vampire Bat: Why should they keep mentioning that when it is well-known?

Vampire Owl: There might be vampire apprentices who wish to know.

Vampire Bat: They are have joined as vampire apprentices because they know.

Vampire Owl: They still don’t know enough, do they?

Vampire Bat: Well, you can’t expect them to know that much until they reach the next level.

Vampire Owl: You know that Uncle Dracula is planning to dismiss those partial vampires before reaching the next level, so that he doesn’t have to give them a bigger salary.

Vampire Bat: It is expected from the oldest miser in the realm. His habit goes back by so many centuries and vampire resurrections.

[Gets a green apple cake and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: Guy Cappa (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca Cappa (Vicky Krieps) are going through a situation which makes a divorce on the way. They decide to go on a vacation with their children Maddox Cappa (Thomasin McKenzie and Embeth Davidtz) and Trent Cappa (Alex Wolff and Emun Elliott) for the one last time, and then talk to them about the upcoming separation. Prisca does seem to have a medical condition, but is adamant about the divorce. The family is treated very well at the beach resort which they visit, and the children are really happy to be there, despite having to listen to their parents shouting at each other regularly. The next morning, the manager of the resort invites the family to a beach located further away, where not many people goes. They are taken to the area with a few others, who also join them on the journey. The others are also really happy to be there, as it seems like a really beautiful area, with no rush at all, a world where they could actually do whatever they wanted.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: But the place doesn’t seem to be that serene as they had thought earlier, and earlier told by the van driver (M Night Shyamalan), who is not ready to come to the beach with them, even though the tourists surely need some help. They find a fully naked woman (Alejandra Useche) in the sea, and they soon realize that it is a dead body. Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), who is oldest member of the group dies, and the children quickly turn into teenagers, making them difficult to recognize even for their parents. Kara (Eliza Scanlen), the smallest among children come up with the biggest surprise. At first, it seems like a problem with the kids, and the old woman seems to be just having those old-age diseases. But it soon seems that everyone there are aging rapidly, like one year in every thirty minutes. They try to get out of there, but ends up having blackouts and waking up where they had started. Almost everyone out there seems to have a medical condition out there. When they have injuries, they quickly heals. The dog out there also dies.

What more would happen in a situation from where there might be no escape? :: Jarin Carmichael (Ken Leung) and Patricia Carmichael (Nikki Amuka-Bird) are from the medical field, but they don’t seem to have any clue about what has been happening. Brendan (Aaron Pierre), a famous rapper is also there, but it seems that he has been there for longer than any of them, and has no clue about what is happening around there. Prisca is revealed to have cancer in her stomach, which also grows very quickly, and it has to be taken out. Charles (Rufus Sewell), a surgeon with schizophrenia is the only person who seems to be qualified enough to save her, but is not in a state which will prove to be helpful to anyone. His wife and Kara’s mother Chrystal (Abbey Lee) has low calcium level and is continuously suffering as she gets older. They think about swimming all the way around the beach, but that seems to be a really difficult task, and a person had already died while swimming.
Climbing the steep hills also seems to be a difficult task, as they are not really the healthy adults required at the stage. Now, is there a way out before all of them will be dying soon enough?

The defence of Old :: M Night Shyamalan always has something different for us, and he seems to choose from such topics or materials which possess such a scope. This seems like a divergent thriller for sure, and has some interesting moments in the form of not just an adventure and struggle for survival, but also as a distant science fiction. As it nicely moves towards what awaits us, we are surely engaged early. The strange incidents at the beach also keeps us guessing, and the characters from different backgrounds nicely adds to the same. Along with the same, the scenery is nothing less than enchanting, and it surely feels like that unexplored beach which we really needs to explore, even if it means that we are all going to get older quickly and die around there. Well, all of those rich celebrities having crores which they need to somewhere might really want to check out this place – after all, they escape nicely from India whenever there is a problem here. In the current situation, being a big film star, cricketer, politician or political businessman is necessary to survive around here, unless you are a government-salaried employee.

Positives and negatives :: The execution cannot be considered as that perfect, as there seems to be some problem with how it has been edited, and regarding how a few things seems to be intentionally left out, but as we see the aging process done so well, there is a lot of smartness involved. Some dialogues also seem to be strange, and a few male characters seem rather unnecessary in comparison to the female characters who come up with something to note throughout the movie’s run. There could have also been something special added around here, as it is a movie set on a strange beach. But none of these seem to matter when we look at the entertainment level of the flick. The best performers here are the children jumping to their teenage – Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff and Eliza Scanlen are the ones we look out for, as they deal with their too quick a jump. Vicky Krieps and Gael Garcia Bernal makes a good couple around here too. Abbey Lee’s work is also notable, as she plays one character who has always been in trouble. In the end, the movie seems to come up with the message that we don’t really have that much time as we think in our lives, and it is always best to do what we need to do as early as possible – instead of gaining regret late.

How it finishes :: M Night Shyamalan seems to be the right kind of director who comes up with the movies which feels so beautifully strange – the last one I remember is The Visit, a movie which remained divergently different in its own way and style. We also remember how well he managed to finish with the two movies of one interesting series, Split and Glass, with some special qualities. This one is based on Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy, which he received as a gift for the Father’s Day a few years ago. Even though most of us do not know that much about the original work, we can be sure that he has managed to recreate the world in his way, as he has done in many other films. Well, if Shyamalan would do a movie on Corona virus pandemic, that would be very special, unlike any other film on the same topic. When we consider the same, we know that this movie surely has something special from his imagination, adding to the original material – as we won’t be reading that one, for now we will just have to think it is so, and enjoy the very interesting adventure here.

Release date: 23rd July 2021
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: M Night Shyamalan
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Gael Garcia Bernal, Abbey Lee, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, Aaron Pierre, Embeth Davidtz, Emun Elliott, Alejandra Useche, M Night Shyamalan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

A Quiet Place II

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Vampire Owl: Well, this one is quite a place.

Vampire Bat: They are talking about quiet places only.

Vampire Owl: Well, our castle is quiet enough, especially during day time.

Vampire Bat: There is too much of murmuring in there.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about the intellectual voice transfer.

Vampire Bat: How can you give it such fancy names?

Vampire Owl: It is the name which the vampire elders preferred.

Vampire Bat: The vampire elders are too old to call anything by any name.

Vampire Owl: It is also another Dr Frankenstein approved thing.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frankenstein can’t even approve himself as a doctor.

[Gets a vancho cake and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt), Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) and their children, along with other spectators, witness the arrival of a strange object resembling an asteroid landing on Earth, while attending a little league game. Even though it lands some distance away from them, it scares them due to the size and sound being involved there. People in the town seems to be already in a state of panic. The police seems to be heading there, but already, some strange extraterrestrial creatures are attacking people. As the aliens cause chaos everywhere, the vehicles on the street are out of control, and people look for shelter. It turns out that the creatures are extremely hostile, tearing people into pieces using their extreme speed and strength, while being protected by what seems to be armoured skin. But the creatures are blind, and yet with hypersensitive hearing, would attack anything that makes even the slightest noise. The police seems to be ineffective against them, as their skin can stand the gunshots with ease.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: An year later, the alien creatures have brutally murdered most of the Earth’s population. With her husband dead while trying to protect her, Evelyn tries to survive with her kids, while their Regan Abbott (Millicent Simmonds)m their dumb and deaf daughter discovers a high-frequency audio feedback which can make the aliens vulnerable, and the same could be transmitted from her implant through a microphone. Her son, Marcus Abbott (Noah Jupe) also hopes to make something out of it, while also searching for a new home. On the way, the group accidentally triggers a sound alarm, alerting the creatures. At the same time, Marcus also steps into a bear trap and screams, thus alerting the creature again. They manage to one creature using the audio device and gun, while escaping from the other. They are taken to a soundproof hideout by one of their old friends, Emmett (Cillian Murphy) who lives in an abandoned steel foundry.

And what more is to follow in a world infested by ruthless alien creatures? :: Emmett had turned cynical and with no hope at all about future after all members of her family died, leaving him to survive for no reason. He feels that the humans who are left are not worth saving at all, even if there is something left. He also asks them leave the very next day, but after hearing the song, “Beyond the Sea” which according to Emmett has been playing continuously for four months, Regan feels that it is a signal which is telling them where to look, and it is on an island. She wants to go to that tower and use her high-frequency signal there, using it as a special weapon against the alien creatures. But it won’t be that easy, as the path in that direction is infested by many creatures, and Regan’s idea of going alone wouldn’t get the support of anyone. Yet, she would leave, and Emmett, with some love left for his old friends, will have to find her. Now, the question remains if her journey is really worth it. What awaits her near the tower? Is it going to work?

The defence of A Quiet Place Part II :: Just like the predecessor, this movie also depends on the same strength of sound effects which the predecessor displayed a few years ago. The alien creatures are also as good as they used to be, maintained the strength yet again. We also have more hope than there used to be. Emily Blunt continues what she was doing in the first film quite well, and she does have the warrior strength which she had displayed in the movies like Edge of Tomorrow and The Huntsman: Winter’s War. There is no loss of determination in her character here too. It is up to Millicent Simmonds and Cillian Murphy to become that characters who further to save the world though, and they are very much effective in doing the same, despite the early doubts put in there. Noah Jupe also joins well with newly found courage and wisdom in the character. Djimon Hounsou plays the man of another lands with authority. John Krasinski appears in the flashback moments, as the director also gets the acting in here again. Scoot McNairy as the leader of bandits could have had more screen space too.

Positives and negatives :: The movie still doesn’t bother to come up with any science fiction explanations about the origins of the creatures – people might have expected that, but they do get a flashback about their arrival with objects from space, which proves that they are indeed from another planet, moon or some interstellar object beyond our understanding. The movie is also in short of dialogues to keep the aliens away, but there is surely more than what we had in the first movie. The strength of the family and the importance of not giving up, also comes into the picture here. There is the idea that there is always hope for humanity, even though one does wonder if the aliens bringing extinction to humanity would have been the right thing to do, considering what mankind has done to their own people as well as the environment around them. Well, we don’t really know what the aliens were up to, as the focus is not on those scientific elements yet again, but we can be sure that there could be a sequel explaining all of these. One more sequel showing the ultimate battle of humanity against the creatures, and we can be done with it.

How it finishes :: The movie nicely continues the world which was left by the first part – the expansion that this world receives is almost as good as the first. Things continue to be kept simple as it used to be, in a post-apocalyptic world infested by ruthless alien creatures. The possibility of terror is always there, and we keep remembering about 10 Cloverfield Lane which dealt with similar creatures, but with not much of the visuals. The idea of the divergent horror movie is maintained here, as it was seen in Malignant, The Witch, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Don’t Breathe, It Follows and Lights Out. A Quiet Place Part II continues a world of divergence which in this case has the aliens bringing all the horror and very less science fiction. These are the movies which keep the horror alive in different patterns, and with noises at the very centre of everything. Even though it is currently on Amazon Prime Video, this is one movie which could have feel better on the big screen, as there is so much of silence and the sudden sound effects that make the big impact – moments which one needs to live through rather than just get hold of.

Release date: 28th May 2021
Running time: 97 minutes
Directed by: John Krasinski
Starring: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Malayankunju

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Vampire Owl: Do you remember the floods and landslides of the last few years?

Vampire Bat: Yes, 2018 floods was too terrifying for vampires too.

Vampire Owl: I am sure that this movie will be a Fahadh Faasil show.

Vampire Bat: You mean, more focused on him than the big works like Joji and Malik.

Vampire Owl: I don’t see why it should be any different.

Vampire Bat: There can always be balanced acts.

Vampire Owl: The focus always shifts to Fahadh Faasil at some point of time.

Vampire Bat: We remember the much earlier Fahadh Faasil movie which was focused on high ranges too.

Vampire Owl: Maheshinte Prathikaaram was one of its kind.

Vampire Bat: Well, so was Kumbalangi Nights which deserved better accolades than what it had received then. Still my favourite movies of him would still be the earlier ones in the form of Amen and Diamond Necklace.

[Gets a blueberry cake and three scoops of blackcurrant ice cream].

What is the movie about? :: Anil Kumar aka Anikuttan (Fahadh Faasil) is an expert electrician who serves the locals of the high ranges of Kerala. He is the one whom almost everyone depends on, whether it is about laptops and mobiles or related to general household items like televisions, refrigerators and washing machines, with any possible doubts being cleared using Youtube. Sumesh (Deepak Parambol) is his best friend, and helps him with obtaining the electrical equipments required for repair, as they live closer to the forest area. His father Radhakrishnan (Jaffar Idukki) had committed suicide a long time ago, and he had been unhappy about it for a long time, leading him to becoming frequently angry towards others and even resulted in him acting strangely for most of time. His mother Shanthamma (Jaya S Kurup) is particularly unhappy about how he has been living his life – as the child next door cries all the time, he feels disturbed and not able to concentrate on his work, leading to more fights with neighbours.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: All of these points to his sister Sandhya (Rajisha Vijayan) eloping with Deepu (Arjun Ashokan) on the night before her marriage, the event thus becoming the major reason for the suicide of Anil’s father. Even though his uncle Surendran (Indrans), neighbour Poulose (Irshad) and a few others are still in support of him, he doesn’t gain any fans among the people around. As his sister comes back to the area with her child, he is not ready to go and see her. He also gets into fights with the locals, and lands in the police station. But he somewhat gets along with these people, but it has been raining heavily for a long time, and an alert was already issued. Most of the people nearby had already moved from the area, and Anil’s neighbours plan to get out there the very next morning. Anil is adamant that he won’t leave his house, despite the warnings of his mother. But the landslide occurs during that night, and everyone seems to have perished. Anil tries to get out of the area underneath the land and try to save others who might have also been caught in there, but can he?

The defence of Malayankunju :: The struggle that the main character has to face, feels as real as possible. The skills with cinematography seems to have worked in favour of the movie, not just underneath the ground, but also outside with the shots, even though there are no shots of this particular world like in one of the best quality films in high ranges for sometime, John Luther. There are no exaggerations in this tale which is close to reality from the beginning to the end – the protagonist is no hero, and struggles with the problems of the mind reminding us of North 24 Kaatham which had a different crisis from inside. The movie is very much well shot in parts, and with some fine use of lighting and sound effects, creates the desired effects to take us to that world. The nature with all the greenery works close to the tale, even though environment is pushed to the background for quite a long time. This seems to be a movie custom made for Fahadh Faasil, and he assures the audience about the same. He continues with his excellence, and when he is there, you know that the movie will rise further, even if caught in the ordinary at times.

The claws of flaw :: With the premise, one would have expected this to be a disaster movie with the visuals of the terror also coming into the picture. The time spent underneath the ground could have also looked better, with some more smaller events of interest – the situation outside could have also been shown from outside, about what had actually happened, and how the news channels report the incidents – these could be easily achieved without making things complicated or exaggerated. The idea of having the father appear in the dream-like sequence doesn’t work, considering the mood which the film has been maintaining. Some of the characters are there to do very less, and it is disappointing considering their skills. The sudden interest in humanity which is displayed by the protagonist seems to be forced, as he looks like the one who is interested in his fellow humans all of a sudden. The movie had already stretched a little bit too much with the events in the early stages. After all, as people watch survival thrillers in different languages, they are no strangers to the idea. The songs are also not that interesting.

The performers of the soul :: Fahadh Faasil has never stopped amazing us with his works, and it is to be noted that even with the ordinary stories like Ayal Njanalla and Role Models, he has elevated the movie to a classic level, and there is no question about those works which have managed to be close to perfection with his presence. We have been seeing him as the actor who has been part of movies from different languages and having more and more fans from different parts of the world and even outside the nation. Here, he is excellent in displaying the protagonist’s desire to survive against all odds, as he is caught in the debris which remained after the landslide. Rajisha Vijayan plays another role in which she does a fine job, even though one would have wanted to see her more, as we had only recently seen how well she managed to work as the sole star in Keedam, a quality which was also seen in Kho Kho, Finals and June, all of them having her rising above all expectations. The usual veterans are surely strong in here, in the form of Indrans, Irshad and Jaffar Idukki. Nilja K Baby also gets a good role which is performed well, and we would expect RJ Nilja as part of more similar movies – more of future for the film industry.

How it finishes :: The movie seems to have had its inspiration from the landslides which occurred in Kerala, especially from the year of Kerala’s biggest floods of the century till the year of the corona virus – the devastation of the times seems to serve as inspiration for creativity as much as for caution. The horror related to natural disasters has never been too far away from us. This one works as an eye opener for all people, as everyone needs to come together during the disaster which unites humanity, and let them get out of the boundaries of religion, caste, race and language. The disaster has been used to remind people of what they have been missing, and some fantastic performances make sure that it gets to the viewers. It also works as the triumph of humanity when it discovers what it had lost in the last few years – hope and love for the other. Malayankunju successfully urges the audience to reclaim the same, even though a world of chaos and destruction awaits to be unleashed on unsuspecting people.

Release date: 11th August 2022 (Amazon Prime Video); 22 July 2022 (Theatre)
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Sajimon Prabhakar
Starring: Fahadh Faasil, Rajisha Vijayan, Indrans, Nilja K Baby, Johny Antony, Jose MV, Deepu Navaikulam, Jaffar Idukki, Jaya S Kurup, Deepak Parambol, Arjun Ashokan, Meera Krishnan, Binu Manambur, Irshad, Chali Pala, Meera Krishnan, Remya Suresh, Kiran Peethambaram

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Escape Room II

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Vampire Owl: I am not that fond of the rooms from where one can escape.

Vampire Bat: Yes, you want those rooms from which escape is impossible.

Vampire Owl: You know that vampires have always wanted to make the best use of their dungeons.

Vampire Bat: The dungeons from which there is no escape; I have heard about them.

Vampire Owl: Almost all those dungeons below the castle are like that.

Vampire Bat: There is one exception though.

Vampire Owl: You are saying that there is a dungeon in the castle which allows people to escape.

Vampire Bat: Well, I don’t see why there wouldn’t be a loop hole.

Vampire Owl: So, there is always a small chance to escape.

Vampire Bat: Yes, there is always that hand of God.

[Gets a vegetable pizza and three cups of ginger tea].

What is the movie about? :: It is shown that a woman is locked within a hot shower room of a huge mansion and is burnt to death as she expresses her desire to leave her husband. She was left with clues to escape while showering, but was too late to use them to her advantage, leading to a painful death. This husband is shown as the man who is responsible for the escape rooms, and is certainly obsessed with the same. Zoey Davis (Taylor Russell) and Ben Miller (Logan Miller) are the only survivors of these escape rooms which were built by the Minos Corporation, and they plany to confront them after finding the coordinates to its headquarters in New York City. Zoey is aeorphobic, and therefore decides to find the corporation by driving all the way to New York, thus getting rid of the uneasy encounter. They do have nightmares about being in escape rooms whenever they are in closed spaces. When they reach the place where the headquarters of the corporation is supposed to be, they don’t find any workers our there, and there is only a vagrant who manages to steal Zoey’s necklace.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As they chase the thief, they end up in an underground train which has its doors locked and the vehicle on a journey to the next station. The thief manages to get down before the door closes though. Their train car separates from the rest, and finds themselves being redirected to a remote station, as the two along with a few others are trapped in the carriage. They meet the other passengers Rachel (Holland Roden), Brianna (Indya Moore), Nathan (Thomas Cocquerel), and Theo (Carlito Olivero) inside, and it turns out that they are all winners from previous games in escape rooms. As the passengers understand that they are in trouble again, being locked in the train car which also gets electrified, not allowing them to touch anywhere. Now, they are forced to find the subway tokens which will open one of the doors. They keep looking for clues until it almost gets too late, and Theo is killed by electrification. The others do manage to find the clues and the tokens to escape.

And what more is with another escape room or more around here? :: The team finds out that all these survivors were part of groups which had their own type of people, like full of influencers, priests etc. Their next level is a bank which has a deadly laser security system that almost kills Brianna. There is a vault in the end of the bank’s room which seems to be the only way out, but they have to go past the lasers. They do find a certain clues out there, but it seems that they won’t be enough. There are references to a person named Sonya, but none of them are able to find all the necessary clues. Nathan decides to make a walk of faith in between, but that doesn’t seem to work either. This won’t be anything close to the final escape rooms, and getting out of the room is only going to be a small problem in comparison to what is to come next, including some seemingly outdoor rooms well designed in 3D. They are all upset about not being to crack the codes, but that is not going to lead them anywhere in a complicated world of mazes. Can at least one or two of these people make out of these rooms in time? Can anyone if not Zoey can bring this corporation in front of the law?

The defence of Escape Room 2: Tournament of Champions :: There is the continuation of what we had witnessed in the first movie, and we all know that the levels of the first movie was never enough for the eyes. Here, we have some more interesting rooms to escape from, and there is some fine detail related to each of them. There are multiple endings to keep one interested in a sequel, as there is scope for one or two in both of those finishes. The close battles that the participants have with the rooms assigned to them remain engaging, and with the time limits, things only get more interesting. The setting is there for another movie to continue the franchise and the performances are pretty good too. Taylor Russell leads well to continue the franchise, while the others provide support nicely. The special effects are used effectively to add to the efficiency of the rooms too. There are some twists added here and there, and there are indeed some different ones with those multiple endings that we see here.

The claws of flaw :: The movie doesn’t feel that new as we have already seen the establishment of the escape rooms well in the first movie, and it was an interesting venture indeed. There is not that much of an improvement on the design of the escape rooms – the same could have helped better with further innovations; we know that even the computer games need better levels every time, especially those dealing with puzzles and traps like Prince of Persia and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider series. It doesn’t use the possibilities to the best advantage in that case. As this is the second movie in the franchise, we were expecting to see that one grand level design which couldn’t be easily copied. The puzzles of escape could have also been better planned, for some of them don’t really feel interesting, with too much of absurd calculations there – things can be made difficult without adding too much of mathematics, the thing that we all have hated since school days. There can always be some hidden trapdoor or item; even a thing from the past to replace it.

How it finishes :: Escape Room 2: Tournament of Champions does remind us of the world that we are in, with no escape – that is one a philosophical note, even though there is a lot of truth in such a statement which serves more as warning than anything else. The movie does have more than version, which leads to different endings and divergent possibilities which can come later in a possible sequel. It does feel difficult to wonder about the better ending without watching both of them. This also makes one wonder which sequel we are all going to have at some later point of time. If the corona virus is not going to come back that strong again, maybe we are going to see a sequel of this franchise in the theatres too – after this rush of movies looking for screens end at a later point. With the puzzles leading to and beyond danger with twists, this is the kind of franchise that we are all looking for. After all, there are lots of puzzles and riddles that we face in every day life, as humans are all creatures of their own dangerous rooms of the mind with intrusions.

Release date: 16th July 2021 (Theatre); 20th September 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 88 minutes
Directed by: Adam Robitel
Starring: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Holland Roden, Indya Moore, Thomas Cocquerel, Carlito Olivero, Isabelle Fuhrman, James Frain

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Stowaway

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Vampire Owl: Do you know that Doctor Frankenstein had a stowaway on his Ultimate Machine of Nightmares?

Vampire Bat: Why would someone want to have a ride of nightmares?

Vampire Owl: I guess they wanted to witness the greatness of this invention by the greatest scientist of all times?

Vampire Bat: Why are you not understanding that he is not a real scientist at all?

Vampire Owl: You are saying this because you studied arts only.

Vampire Bat: I am well aware of the way of science. Mr Frankenstein has no role in it.

Vampire Owl: You should understand that he can teleport you in a second or two.

Vampire Bat: Even those witches of the north can do that.

Vampire Owl: I am talking about teleportation to another realm.

Vampire Bat: He just creates a virtual reality within his laboratory and pretends that it is another realm. He cannot even teleport Uncle Dracula’s lost fangs.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: A two year mission to Mars has been approved for the spaceship, MTS-42, which has the mission commander Marina Barnett (Toni Collette), biologist David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim), and the ship’s doctor and researcher Zoe Levenson (Anna Kendrick) on board. They are taking the first steps to call Mars the second home, and each of them is very good with the needed abilities and extended training. Everything seems to go fine with the launch, and they are all glad to be on the way to a great expedition. Soon after the takeoff, they discover a launch support engineer, Michael Adams (Shamier Anderson), an unexpected traveler who seems to be caught and fallen unconscious between the two modules of the ship. As he falls down, the device that scrubs carbon-di-oxide from ship’s air is destroyed. They use use emergency lithium hydroxide canisters to get rid of the carbon-di-oxide from the air, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. Marina is not sure about what has happened here, and wonders if something strange is going on in the background.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Michael wakes up and wants to go home, but everyone knows that a return is not possible now. He slowly adapts to the situation, as the company promises to help his sister to go through her life in his absence with guidance and monetary support. David begins cultivating his algae experiment of the ship before reaching Mars, as there is the need for some extra oxygen, but it is also not that much effective. The damage done to the carbon-di-oxide scrubbing device seems to be permanent, and their life support seems to be in trouble. If they are not able to find another method for the supply of oxygen, they are going to fall short of breathable air. The only option seems to be a spacewalk to climb the tethers of the spaceship and recover liquid oxygen from the upper stage of the rocket. Even though the other two are okay with it, Zoe is not ready to sacrifice Michael to make sure that they have enough oxygen for their journey, and the commander decides to wait for ten days to come up with a solution. But can they have one in time?

The defence of Stowaway :: The space and the spaceship around here are indeed well-detailed, and there is one final adventure to be done as the movie gets near its end, which provides a charming view of space. The world here has good detail, both outside and inside the spaceship. There is always the question about the significance of life of a person when it would mean the death of three others who are more important not just for one mission, but for the entire humanity. This something about the talks here, as there seems to be no clear solution for a problem. There are many routes which this movie seems to take too. The movie does talk about the importance of faith, belief and hope in life, even though it is indeed a double-edged sword which can end up ruining everything like a person too much motivated by a motivational speaker. Well, after all, we know that the life itself is about some tough choices that we make, and in the end, we are all just going to die a terrible death and lie a few feet under.

The claws of flaw :: The movie is surely slow, and never does it even try to get any faster, which is rather strange, as we look at all those possibilities which have been avoided. It doesn’t try to be that entertaining either, as the speed is never that much to keep us that much engaged with the possible thrills. There is that drag which is felt because the film has too many moments and dialogues which could have been avoided – a two hour movie was not needed to deal with this kind of a theme which never chooses to go bigger. The movie’s question does feel strange too, about humanity and all, because science has already brought extinction upon humanity, and most of the human beings do not deserve to saved. And, we all know that humans are not going to make that much of a sacrifice after thinking too much – so much of thoughts better lead to brutal murders. We don’t know that much about mission being undertaken here either, except for where it is headed, and related to some of the possibilities after reaching the destination.

The performers of the soul :: Among the performers, Anna Kendrick is the only one face that we seem to recognize at first sight. We have seen her in very less number of movies in the last few years, but as we see her again, she seems to be another actress who seems to get younger as time progress – we recognize her as almost the same as in those much earlier movies. Despite not being the commander, she is the true protagonist and heroine of the movie, and the one who is ready to make a different at any cost – she does the lady with the most conscience in a wonderful way. Toni Collette has been there for longer, but most of us have seen her in movies which are rather too old, which means that recognizing her would be difficult. She says good as the commander who has to take some very difficult decisions. Daniel Dae Kim plays the man with his own assumptions about success of the mission quite well. The only other character and the one who brings the change to the mission is Shamier Anderson, a job quite well done.

How it finishes :: There has been no shortage of interesting journey through space which Hollywood has undertaken – it was at times complicated like Interstellar, with great visual splendour of space like in Gravity, hope for colonization of another world like in The Martian, horror inside the spaceship like in Life, terror in space colonies like in Doom: Annihilation, searching for secrets of humanity like in Prometheus, more on drama and romance like in Passengers or even going the fully entertaining in Star Trek way. The Chinese had The Wandering Earth and the Koreans had Space Sweepers, now we have this one. Stowaway is closer to the genre of drama instead of becoming the thriller. It still has enough of the engaging moments, and also has the moral questions running through. Even though most of us will not get to space and will face the human extinction event, we will clap to the rich people going to space and living happily ever after, following the discoveries similar to that in this movie are made. Until then, we will watch similar movies again and again, adjusting to the interesting moments that they provide, as the apocalyptic event awaits with a terrible beauty ready to be unleashed.

Release date: 22nd April 2021 (Netflix)
Running time: 92 minutes
Directed by: Joe Penna
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, Toni Collette

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.