new gen – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: The magic has returned to their world after the grand fall?

Vampire Bat: Humans have always been people of black magic.

Vampire Owl: Yes, I remember that all necromancers were humans coming out of nowhere.

Vampire Bat: Even the witches of our realm were once humans.

Vampire Owl: Well, witches were never one among us and the realm. And now, they have no way home.

Vampire Bat: The realm was magically created to separate our people from them.

Vampire Owl: Yet, the vampire elders were always part of the realm towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: Vampire Elders are magically maintained beyond their immortality. We know what they do.

Vampire Owl: Immortality is still not magic, for it is regular part of life.

Vampire Bat: The definition of magic would vary according to species.

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

What is the movie about? :: Years after the Horsemen’s last grand performance, three young friends, Charlie Gees (Dominic Sessa), Bosco LeRoy (Dominic Sessa) and June Rouclere (Ariana Greenblatt), impersonate the Horsemen with the help of deepfakes and holograms to take a corrupt cryptocurrency exchange owner’s money and put it in the bank accounts of different people who are in need for the same. They are approached by J Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) in the real form representing the Horsemen. Daniel reveals to them that he was sent by the Eye, a secret society of magicians, through a tarot card to recruit them for a mission to steal the Heart Diamond from Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), the head of a South African diamond company formed by her late father, and is secretly associated with providing money laundering services for criminals. At the same time, Veronika receives a phone call from a mysterious man who threatens to expose her crimes unless she gives the diamond to him.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: At a private party in Antwerp, Belgium, where the Diamond is being displayed, the four execute a heist to steal the Diamond. They manage to sneak in there in different forms, including that of personal photographer, makeup woman and helper. They seem to have a perfect plan which nobody suspects and manage to get the diamond, but Veronika’s personal security and the police almost catch them when the three other Horsemen, Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), Henley Reeves (Isha Fisher) and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) arrive to help, after receiving tarot cards from the Eye. The Horsemen are surprised with the same, because their leader Dylan Shrike (Mark Ruffalo) is imprisoned in a Russian jail, and the team had fallen apart, with no more mission assigned to them in a long time. But they are happy to see each other, even with no real happiness about the youngsters being added to the team without any proper briefing or induction.

And what more is to follow here as there is no shortage of troubles around? :: The group decides to get together as their objectives seem to align well. These tarot cards, when placed together, lead the group to a mansion in France, where they are greeted by friend of the Horsemen Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who is also said to have been contacted by the Eye. There, they are also able to find Veronika’s client list and enough evidence of her illegal activities from there, and also the details of a past which goes a long way back. At the same time, Veronica leads the police there, who raid the building, forcing the group to split up and avoid capture. Merritt, Jack and June are caught, but Charlie, Bosco, Daniel and Henley escape through a tunnel. As Thaddeus is fatally shot while fleeing, they are forced to leave him behind upon his insistence. Now Veronica will dictate terms with captured members of the gang with her. But with someone else also on her tail through the mobile phone, can she manage to outsmart the horsemen, as everything seems to be set to get to a final showdown in Abu Dhabi?

The defence of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t :: The movie goes on well with its magical sequences which nicely adds to the overall beauty of the world here. There is a certain beauty on the screen that never leaves us, and the magical effects are nothing less than classic. The chemistry between the main performers is extended, while Rosamund Pike becomes a fine antagonist – not the kind of role in which we see her that much. The new generation of magicians are really good, especially Ariana Greenblatt who blends in so well at all moments. The old team of Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher do not seem to have lost the strength at any moment, even though Melanie Laurent remains the one person I have always missed in these newer movies. The fast-paced fun continues, and we feel the energy while enjoying the light tones that exist around here. There is some elevation of the proceedings from the previous movie too. Well, the magical world is not easy to work with in a third movie of a series, but this one manages that nicely.

The claws of flaw :: There are some unbelievable situations that also get added here and there, with some of the twists not really working with the willing suspension of disbelief. The explanation of magic does not go that well here, and we are not that much into them, with the strength of the world not bringing a magical power that goes beyond the usual. As these are all about magic, the number of options was always very high, but this does not go on to make the best use of these. One can also feel that the movie has too many characters, and balancing between them has been difficult throughout the run, something which could have been easily managed by not introducing the old characters again until a long time passed. The older ones are also given that much importance as one would expect them to have. The movie has taken too much time to bring this third movie, and due to the same, the expectations were high, and with not that much of a big release as the first two movies, this one seems to have come with not that much of a hype. A little bit of a dark side would have also been nice, even with that overall light tone.

How it finishes :: Not as good as the first Now You See Me, but better than Now You See Me 2, this one manages to keep the world alive among movies which have been bringing universes out of nowhere in a busy world. There is also a fine setup for a next movie which could make the situation bigger, as the third one never really made the stakes higher. Maybe, the fourth movie will have some real danger and an impossible mission which needs everyone to go beyond their known limits; but we can only expect the same and do nothing more than keeping on waiting. The fans of the series will be happy enough to have this one around. Having wizards of Oz in the modern world never hurts, and would only keep being interesting against all odds. Therefore, this world is never out of scope, with the heist genre always having a say among all categories. In a world which has only hopelessness and despair, having some magic never hurts, with the fantasy no longer working that well – maybe, we are too old to listen to the beauty of fairy-tale, and this modern magic sometimes serves the hope.

Release date: 14th November 2025
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Rosamund Pike, Morgan Freeman

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: I remember naming one of my dogs with this name.

Vampire Bat: I do not remember you having any dogs. You had a black cat.

Vampire Owl: Yes, but it lived as a dog. It barked and howled.

Vampire Bat: What did you expect? It was originally from the werewolf lands.

Vampire Owl: But when the smart cat says it is a dog, you have to listen.

Vampire Bat: Why should you? It was never even a vampire cat.

Vampire Owl: Black cats are always immortal. Ask the witches.

Vampire Bat: Even the demons do not accept them as their people.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that black cats are not connected to the other dimensions?

Vampire Bat: Not even that much connected as Uncle Dracula on a Halloween night.

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

What is the movie about? :: Vicky (Neeraj Madhav) is the representative of the new generational youth who has no job, but one cannot say that he has not tried enough – his failures are not fully due to his foolish decisions, but are also the results of circumstances. Most of his attempts at business involves his friend Jose (Subin Tarzan), but all of them fails one after the other, much to the dismay of his father Raghavan (Saheer Mohammed) who has lost too much money in the process. His brother Naveen (Nihal Nazim) is considered to be the smart, intelligent, working, money-earner of the house though as he also keeps reminding everyone that he passed his degree while his elder brother did not. Vicky’s attempts at clearing PSC also reach nowhere, making his girlfriend and veterinary doctor of nearby pet clinic, Meera (Aarsha Chandini Baiju) disappointed, as she feels that there are no more chances for him to come out strong and successful. But she continues to help her by providing cash for his attempts on each occasion.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Meera gets into a clash with Tiger Thambi (Aju Varghese), a rich gangster who breeds dogs unscientifically leading to their shorter lifespans or at least some serious diseases. He is supported by Mallan (Vineeth Thattil David) and a man of science always busy with experiments known only by title Professor (Dinesh Prabhakar). She also remains good friends with Vicky’s younger sister Jomol (Nimna Fathoomi), an eccentric and comic-obsessed girl who frequently invades his personal space to test out her costumes which ranges from Harley Quinn to a simple alien. But this is when he comes up against Pluto (Althaf Salim), a real alien whom he accidently brings home instead of Jose after being drunk on the nearby beach. Realizing the danger of exposing Pluto to authorities or media, Vicky decides to secretly keep the extraterrestrial visitor with him, as he also hopes that the alien would possess some special powers which he can use to his advantage.

And what more can happen around here with strange things waiting to come up? :: Keeping an extraterrestrial creatures hidden in his household proves near impossible with household members keeping on coming to his room, but he manages to do so in the name of studies as he has to clear his degree before all mercy chances provided by the university are finished. Thambi also comes to know about the presence of an alien after he gets an alien device left behind by Pluto. Vicky had just come out of some big trouble due to a juice marketed by him causing food poisoning to a huge number of people after it was provided as drink for the participants of a marathon race, and finds it difficult to keep the alien who only drinks alcohol as food. Pluto manages to learn Malayalam with an English-Malayalam dictionary available online as he had already studied English during an earlier contact of his people with humanity. Vicky finds out that Pluto has no real superpower that they could use, but comes to know that his ship actually could do something, but is now located at the bottom of the sea after an unexpected crash. Can both of them be of help to each other and can they survive Thambi and the government officials searching for alien?

The defence of Pluto :: A full science fiction comedy has not been part of Malayalam cinema and this innovation and attempt at variety needs to be appreciated. Leading the way, Neeraj Madhav seems to have taken over nicely from that character in the fun fest Adi Kapyare Koottamani as the clueless youth, a role that suits him very well. The combination of Neeraj Madhav and Althaf Salim provide genuine feel-good moments along with the humour. The supporting cast also works with the humour really well, from the friend played by Subin Tarzan and the Nimna Fathoomi with a cute side added here. Aju Varghese plays the antagonist with a funny side really well, and has some fine moments which we will remember for the humour from talking with spicy flavour in his mouth to being Shikkari Shambu. Aarsha Chandini Baiju also adds to the humour so well, and she once again shines in a role which does not challenge her. The chaotic final moments deliver some big laughs and fun ends well, and even leaves scope for a future sequel. The movie can be considered silly fun that has not really come to this part of the world for some time.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not make the best use of the idea, even after so many directions where the movie could go, and there was scope for more humour and further references to aliens, superheroes and other planets instead of talking about just alcohol and exams. The premise was something with great scope, and only a part of it is taken here. The situation might not appeal to all kinds of audience, as its silliness and new generation style of innovation is not for everyone. The pace also slows down as we look at it in parts where nothing much happens – the humour is also not that effective throughout its run. As the alien does not leave scope for complex visual-effects spectacles due to the simple humorous model, the potential of the sci-fi backdrop feels not that there to be taken. After all science fiction can provide a lot of humour from within, and aliens have been providing the same in Hollywood for a long time as we remember.

How it finishes :: Malayalam movie industry has its first full-run attempt at science fiction comedy for the viewers here. As a lighthearted experiment in the form which is rarely explored in Malayalam movie industry, it deserved some appreciation when it was released, but the truth remains that I never knew such a movie released until it came to Amazon Prime Video. By placing an extraterrestrial visitor within a regular Kerala household, it keeps away from the heavy science-fiction tropes to keep the whole thing cute and feel-good, while the protagonist also relates to the new generation as well as the one before. It is surely one movie which is better than the ratings which it has received, and having such a harmless fun movie during a weekend to watch with family is just simple joy, and we should only remember to appreciate the movie makers who think differently even if its for humour. This is a kind of movie for the whole family, and the kids are also going to love the same.

Release date: 30 July 2026
Running time: 132 minutes
Directed by: Adithyan Chandrashekar
Starring: Neeraj Madhav, Althaf Salim, Aarsha Chandini Baiju, Aju Varghese, Nimna Fathoomi, Subin Tarzan, Vineeth Thattil David