Mr Harrigan’s Phone (PG13)

106 minutes, on Netflix

2 stars

The story: A boy living in a small New England town befriends an elderly local billionaire who continues to send him text messages from beyond the grave after death. The biggest fright may well be his roaming charges.

The most resonant of best-selling author Stephen King’s supernatural fantasies are often coming-of-age fables. The film adaptation of It (2017) was one, and its young hero Jaeden Martell returns for Mr Harrigan’s Phone, an adaptation of a novella from King’s 2020 collection If It Bleeds, to co-star as sensitive teen Craig opposite Donald Sutherland in the title role.

Mr Harrigan, his eyes failing, began hiring Craig for regular reading sessions at his Gothic mansion when Craig was a kid. It is Craig who gifts him a newfangled iPhone five years later in 2003.

The phone would symbolise their connection – it is a touching relationship of shared loneliness between the old recluse and the grieving motherless lad – and serves as an avenger on speed dial, savagely killing anyone who wrongs Craig.

The directing by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, 2009) is too subdued for any of this to chill. The trite cautionary note on the untrammelled powers of the ubiquitous smartphone lacks moral complexity, although King’s fiction, set a decade ago, was spookily accurate in foreseeing how technology will corrupt politics and facilitate misinformation.

“All of us need to be very frightened by this gizmo,” warns Mr Harrigan.

Perhaps the movie cannot help but seem middling coming mere months after the still-lingering terrors of The Black Phone, another nostalgic suburban horror centred on a ghostly phone and based on a 2004 short story by King’s son, Joe Hill.

Hot take: Mute this call. It has nothing exciting to say.

Ponniyin Selvan: 1 (PG13)

167 minutes, now showing

3 stars

The story: The great Chola kingdom that ruled part of contemporary Tamil Nadu is in danger. King Sundara Chola (Prakash Raj) is old and ailing, and his sons Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) and Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi) are in faraway battlefields. Princess Kundavai (Trisha) knows several conspiracies to destroy her brothers and the dynasty are afoot, and Nandini (Aishwarya Rai), the scheming wife of the kingdom’s finance minister, has a hand in them. The film’s adventures unfold through the travels of Aditha’s trusted and glib-tongued aide Vanthiyathevan (Karthi).

Directed and co-written by acclaimed film-maker Mani Ratnam, Ponniyin Selvan: 1 is the first of two parts and a faithful ode to the best-selling 1950s Tamil historical novel of the same name. The widely anticipated Tamil movie is setting box-office records in Singapore, India and globally, with its Hindi and other Indian-language versions doing well too.

It is certainly a treat for fans who yearn nostalgically for Ratnam’s visually resplendent and highly stylised storytelling.

He and his usual collaborators have showcased the grandeur of the Chola kingdom to a large extent, using research, cinematography and careful staging more than visual effects. The sea battles are a treat to watch.

Like his classics which are contemporary interpretations of Indian epics, Ratnam tries to transform Ponniyin Selvan: 1 into a modern discussion on Tamil ethics, integrity, valour and love. However, while his other films are contemplative, this three-hour actioner gallops like Vanthiyathevan’s unruly horse to cover the plot’s milestones.

One can also quibble that the architecture, costumes and jewellery show anachronistic Mughal influences, but cohesively filling the huge gaps of historical detail is a daunting task. Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman’s music seems a bit too contemporary for the movie, though.

The impressive cast has spared no effort to bring beloved characters to life. Trisha is a show-stealer, Vikram plays the wild and guilt-ridden crown prince with familiar ease, while Ravi exudes dignity in the titular role. But as always, Ratnam shines a loving spotlight on his favourite student, Bollywood star Rai, who is brilliantly unyielding as the antagonist.

Ratnam has mostly fulfilled the high expectations of Tamil audiences just by bringing the story to screen, a feat other Tamil movie stalwarts failed to achieve for six decades.

Hot take: Do not skip Ponniyin Selvan: 1 or risk the fear of missing out. You will need plot cheat sheets though. – Kavitha Karumbayeeram