Not A Game Review

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...

Perhaps it was the fact that Heat was preceded by far more meticulously crafted thrillers in my watchlist ( No Country for Old Men , There Will Be Blood ), or that I went in with high expectations. Whatever the reason, the end result was disappointment.  Heat does not tell a new story - this is the same old tale of a cop dedicated to putting his criminal adversary behind bars. The cop is a complicated man himself (surprise!). He believes in burning himself out and ignoring everything to the detriment of his marriage (a pattern being repeated for the third time, as we're frequently reminded). The script feels the need to mention all of this over and over, which I believe is a disservice to the audience who are smarter than given credit for.  There are also numerous references to the lack of personal attachments one has in the criminal life, and how you need to be ready to drop everything and run if you spot the eponymous "heat" around the corner. The film goes to great pa...

Out of sheer nostalgia and curiosity, I watched Naseeb last afternoon. My only memory of this film is watching it on TV when I was recovering from some forgotten affliction (likely a minor cold) one afternoon and was bored alone at home. The heroes were leaping off a burning rooftop, gliding across a rope with makeshift pulleys impossibly fashioned from rings. That is the only thing I remembered about this movie, and seeing as I had the time on hand, why not take a walk down memory lane? Unfortunately, nostalgia is the only thing this film has going for it.  To say Naseeb (and most films from this era, to be frank) have aged poorly is an understatement. The misogyny seeping through this 'family drama' is quite tiresome. There is a bizarre segment where Hema Malini's singer refuses to model a bikini in London, because 'women in our culture are revered for being beautiful while fully clothed, not naked.' In response to the director who refuses to accept her hesitati...