Big Little Lies (2017) ****
Master of None – Season 2 (2017) ****
The Young Pope (2017) ****
The Handmaid’s Tale (2017) ****
Fargo – Season 3 (2017) ****
Breaking Bad – Season 1 (2008) ****
Better Call Saul – Season 1 (2015) ****
Feud (2017) ****
The OA (2016) ***
Legion (2017) ***
Broadchurch – Season 1 (2013) ***
13 Reasons Why (2017) ***
Twin Peaks – Season 2 (1991) ***
Wayward Pines – Season 2 (2016) ** 1/2
Westworld (2016) ** 1/2
A Clockwork Orange (1971) – 2nd viewing *****
Mommy Dead and Dearest – Docu – (2017) ****
Spider Man Homecoming (2017) ****
Jagga Jasoos (2017) ****
Cache (2005) ****
Dunkirk (2017) ****
Insomnia (2002) – 2nd viewing ****
Lappa Chappi (2017) ***
Minimalism : A Documentary About the Important Things (2015) ***
Inherent Vice (2014) – 2nd viewing ***
Hot Girls Wanted – Docu – (2015) ***
Moh Maya Money (2016) ** 1/2
War for Planet of the Apes (2017) ** 1/2
Gods of Egypt (2016) ** 1/2
Mom (2017) ** 1/2
Innsaei – Docu – (2016) ** 1/2
San Andreas (2015) **
Tony Robbins : I Am Not Your Guru – Docu – (2016) **
Lipstick Under My Burkha **
5 stars
“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962) *****
Magnolia (1999) – 2nd viewing *****
Memories of murders (2003) – 2nd viewing *****
The Host (2006) *****
Boogie Nights (1997) – *****
4 stars
Don’t look now (1973) – 2nd viewing ****
Local Hero (1983) ****
What We Do In The Shadows (2014) ****
Women On the Verge of Nervous Breakdown (1988) – 2nd viewing – ****
3 1/2 stars
Muramba (2017) *** /1
The Nice Guys (2016) *** 1/2
3 stars
Death in the Gunj (2017) ***
Wonder Woman (2017) ***
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) ***
Okja (2017) ***
Baby Driver (2017) ***
The Edge of Seventeen (2016) – ***
2 1/2 stars
Transformers The Last Knight (2017) ** 1/2
The Happy Film (2016) ** 1/2
A Lonely Place to Die (2011) ** 1/2
Felicite – ** 1/2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 – *** 1/2
The Lost City of Z – ** 1/2
Get Out – ****
Meri Pyaari Bindu – **
War Machine – ** 1/2
Pirates of the Caribbean 5 – ** 1/2
Sachin A Billion Dreams – ** 1/2
21 Jump Street – ***
Berlin Syndrome – **
Mukti Bhawan – **
Angamaly Diaries – *****
Colossal – ****
Kaatruveliyidai – **
Hard Eight – ** 1/2
The Age of Shadows – ***
Baahubali 2 – ****
Phillauri – **
Rachel Getting Married – ****
Logan – ****
Kong : Skull Island – ***
The Autopsy of Jane Doe – ** 1/2
Boogie Nights – ****
Badrinath Ki Dulhania – **
There Will Be Blood – 2nd viewing – *****
Island of Lost Souls – ***
Monsoon Mangoes – ** 1/2
The Ones Below – ***
Smoke and Mirrors – ****
We Are The Flesh – ***
Phillauri – **
Bokeh – **
Kabaali – ** 1/2
The Squid And The Whale. – ****
Feb 2017 – Films watched and rated
1.Pans Labyrinth (Revisit) – *****
2.Nocturnal Animals – ****
3.American Honey – **
4.The Fury of a Patient Man – ***
5.Moonlight – ****
6.Lo and Behold Reveries of the Connected World – ***
7.Paterson – ***
8.Drinking Buddies ( 2nd viewing) – ***
9.Running Shaadi – ** 1/2
10.Hidden Figures – ***
11.20th Century Women – ** 1/2
12.Jolly LLB 2 – ***
13.Lion – ****
14.Jackie – ** 1/2
15.Rangoon – **
16.Fences – ***
I have been maintaining a list of movies I watch since 2009. This year I have decided to put them out after the end of every month. Here it is, January 2017 – Films watched and rated.
1. Toni Erdmann – ****
2. Punch : Drunk Love (revisit) – ****
3. I,Olga Hepnarova – **
4. Julieta – ****
5. XXX Xander Cage – **
6. Blue Jay – ***
7. Hacksaw Ridge – ***
8. Raees – ***
9. Kaabil – **
10. Captain Fantastic – ***
11. A Monster Calls – ****
12. Inferno – ** 1/2
13. Patriots Day – ***
14. Suicide Squad – ** 1/2
15. The Girl On The Train – **
16. The Legend of Tarzan – **
I belong to that film club, in which craft scores over story and characters make inroads in the mind for a long stay. I watched very limited Hindi films this year. Here, I look back and list characters (in no particular order) that resonated, left an indelible mark and made for rumination.
Kapoor and Sons – Rahul Kapoor – Fawad Khan
The inner turmoil of having to hide away an important part of his life from his family, shouldering the cumbersome mantle of a ‘perfect baccha’ and living with guilt for an act in the past was brilliantly portrayed by Fawad. Is it devious if someone wants to be selfish and carve his life away from the dysfunctions of his family? Rahul’s character left me pondering.
Phobia – Mehak – Radhika Apte
Phobia wouldn’t have worked if Radhika Apte would not have nailed the character of Mehak, suffering with agoraphobia. In the guise of a thriller, the film is a depiction of Mehak’s fight to get over a traumatic incident and find catharsis in the process of working through her fear.
Raman Raghav 2.0 – Ramanna – Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Ramanna makes your flesh crawl and unnerves you with his words and actions. The triumph lies in the way a character very easy to despise is also rendered as one to be empathised with.
Aligarh – Professor Siras – Manoj Bajpayee
Professor Siras still haunts me almost a year after watching Manoj Bajpayee breathe life into him. Images of him drinking alone and listening to Lata Mangeshkar songs still keep coming back to me. Loneliness thy name is Siras.
Fan – Gaurav – Shahrukh Khan
A simple wish of meeting his idol changes the course of Gaurav’s life. This is heartbreak of a different kind. The disappointment on Gaurav’s face when Aryan Khanna rebukes him makes for an unforgettable cinematic moment of 2016 and sadly, an overlooked performance.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil – Ayan/Alizeh – Ranbir Kapoor/Anushka Sharma
Is the love that comes to you in an unconventional form still love? Ayan grapples with this mirage in the film. “It’s complicated” got torchbearers in these two characters. Alizeh ‘friends’ Ayan while Ayan ‘loves’ her. The beauty of the film is in the reconciling of these opposite states and conflicting characters.
Udta Punjab – Mary Jane – Alia Bhatt
Mary Jane represents those who go through life’s traumas by committing themselves to an elusive hope of ‘good times’. Her boldness comes from her vulnerability.
Dear Zindagi – Kaira – Alia Bhatt
One need not wait for a life altering event to seek therapy. Even the most mundane events can trap you and prevent your emotional growth. Parental neglect that shapes the adulthood of Kaira cut close to the bone. Not fair to squarely blame her parents for their tough choices but the collateral damage was done. Undoing the past one scar at a time is what Kaira stood for.
Dangal – Geeta- Fatima Sana Shaikh
Forced into fulfilling her father’s ambition Geeta’s journey made me wonder about the possibility of her following her own passion instead. Is she happy for herself? Where does she go from here? Would she be an achiever without her father/coach’s tough love?
Dangal – Babita – Sanya Malhotra
Shadowing her elder sister, almost sandwiched between her father and sister, Babita was the understated character that appeared like the perceptive observer. The pressure she must have lived through while watching her elder sister take those giant strides must have been daunting.
We managed to watch most of the Oscar nominated films and decided to put out a list of nominees we would be rooting for on Monday morning. This is not a list of who will win, it’s a list of who we would want to win. We have excluded a few technical categories. So, what’s your pick?
Best Picture
Dipti’s vote – Mad Max – Fury Road
Close second – Room
Ronnie’s vote – Mad Max – Fury Road
Close second – The Revenant
Best Actor
Dipti’s vote – Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Close second – Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Ronnie’s vote – Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Close second – Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Best Actress
Dipti’s vote – Brie Larson – Room
Close second – Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Ronnie’s vote – Brie Larson – Room
Close second – Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Actor in Supporting Role
Dipti’s vote – Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Ronnie’s vote – Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Actress in Supporting Role
Dipti’s vote – Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Ronnie’s vote – Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Animated Feature Film
Dipti’s vote – Inside Out
Close Second – Anomalisa
Ronnie’s vote – Anomalisa
Close Second – Inside Out
Cinematography
Dipti’s vote – Emmanuel Lubezki – The Revenant
Ronnie’s vote – Emmanuel Lubezki – The Revenant
Costume Design
Dipti’s vote – Sandy Powell – Carol
Ronnie’s vote – Jenny Beavan – Mad Max – Fury Road
Directing
Dipti’s vote – Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Close Second – George Miller – Mad Max – Fury Road
Ronnie’s vote – George Miller – Mad Max – Fury Road
Close Second – Alejandro G. Inarritu – The Revenant
Documentary (Feature)
Dipti’s vote – Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Ronnie’s vote – Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Dipti’s vote – Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
Ronnie’s vote – Pete Doctor, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley – Inside Out
keedakandi 