Not A Game Review

It is strange how our lives can contain remnants of others' that we remain completely blind to. Sri Aurobindo and The Mother have been present in my life in many ways that I never noticed, or rather never showed a curiosity for even if I picked up on these things - tiny packets of 'Blessings' tucked into my wallet by my mother, my late grandfather's library that has an entire room dedicated to literature on Sri Aurobindo which we summer-break-visitors would momentarily gawk at before our child-like curiosities took us elsewhere, the many opened-unopened newsletters and pamphlets from the Ashram strewn all over his house in various stages of scrutiny and abandonment, the cashew candies my grandparents brought back for us kids from their annual visits to Pondicherry, the Sri Aurobindo Center that they operated from the first floor of their house. So many links that went unnoticed came into the light when years later, us kids-but-kids-no-more visited Pondiche...

And with that, my Christmas of Film experiment comes to an end.  There were a couple of pleasant surprises, with both Eyes Wide Shut and AK vs AK being set around Christmas which I was not aware of prior to watching them.  No Country for Old Men takes first spot out of the movies I have watched over the last ten days. The tension and the philosophical undertones are hard to beat - truly a modern classic.  Heat was the most disappointing in that I had much higher expectations of it than what it ended up being.  There were a couple of films I watched which I haven't logged here - Zanjeer and Deewar - because I don't have anything meaningful to say about them just yet, and also because I did not watch them with my full attention. Perhaps another day. The greatest gift this period has given me is the space to consume lengthier films to their fullest without worrying about being in the office the next morning.  Movies shall hopefully continue to remain an integral...

There is a lot going on in American Fiction . It is a story about siblings facing tragedy and escalating financial needs when one of them passes away and their mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It is also about frustration with the literary establishment which rewards titles that portray minorities in the light that confirms the white consumer's view of them over those penned by authentic voices. It also meanders to touch upon the behaviours we inherit from our parents, and the cost of being reserved and not letting others in.  There are so many threads here, and though the film tries to balance them as best it can, it struggles to narrow down on its central plotline. Some of the film's more intriguing interactions arrive when Monk is discussing the authenticity of Black fiction with another writer who has no qualms serving the market in contrast to him, sadly we only get a few of these conversations that help the film go beyond its absurd satire. Nonetheless, in portr...

Terrific dialogue and a brisk pace chew through the film in no time at all, and before you know it almost three hours are up. Part murder mystery & part drama, The Hateful Eight is a captivating watch, and personally was far more enjoyable and focused on its subjects than my last brush with Tarantino's work ( Inglourious Basterds ) .

I watched this when I was not in the mood for a serious film, and AK vs AK did not disappoint.  There are a few layers to peel if you're interested in a deeper analysis, particularly the takedown of celebrity worship and exposing the reality of being in thrall to the paying public, but the less you'll try to dissect this the more fun you'll have. It should be mentioned that some familiarity with Indian cinema and who the AKs in question are is a given prerequisite to said enjoyment.

SPOILERS FOR AGRA (2023) Guru's piercing eyes are perhaps his most defining feature in the film. Through his eyes, we are given a window into lust, fear, anger, and anxiety. Mostly lust. Kanu Behl's follow up to the brilliant Titli (2014) takes another deep dive into the Indian male psyche, directing our attention to widespread sexual repression. Guru ogles at women in public, fantasizes about having sex with a coworker during his breaks, and finds some release in an anonymous chatroom that he frequents when looking for someone to sext with. The chat always seems busy, but if you look past the activity the messages are alike in their desperation; a steady beat of bots masquerading as girls seeking hung men, men masquerading as hung men seeking any woman, and then Guru - furiously searching for a woman in the digital ether on his way to work or in the bathroom at night - with a persistent mating call: "Milke karogi koi chat? Bolo? Hello?". Agra is set in the eponymou...