Il Sorpasso: Wrote about this here and also about Jhumpa Lahiri
Sinners: Science Fiction and Horror are two genres that I’ve never been fascinated with. The Oscar hype around Sinners forced me to check it out. I ended ruing my decision. How does one suspend belief to this extent?
Weapons: Despite being disappointed by Sinners, I watched the second horror offering of the month and loved every bit of this. Weapons was an edge-of-the-seat thriller. And through this and with Sruthi’s familiarity with the genre, I ended up learning a bit about voodoo.
His and Hers: One of those typical pointless, run-of-the-mill Netflix productions that we forget as soon as we finish with it.
Sentimental Value: I loved Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value. An acclaimed movie director’s efforts to make peace with his daughter who is a theatre artist by trying to cast her in his forthcoming movie is the basic plot. The WWII references and his daughter’s anxieties were superbly captured. I’ll probably have to watch this once again.
The Secret Agent: Set in Brazil in the early 70s during the height of the military dictatorship, The Secret Agent was a window to a world I hardly engage with. It’s only when we watch movies set in cultures that we’re hardly familiar with that we realize that we’re mostly in our cocoons.
The Leopard (1963): Visconti’s masterpiece . Wrote about this here
Il Gattopardo: The 2025 Netflix adaptation of Lampedusa’s ‘Leopard’. This one was so disappointing. Wrote about it here
Jeffry Epstein: Filthy Rich: I first read about Epstein in Tina Brown’s highly entertaining The Palace Papers. As he was all over the news, was curious to see what the documentary had to offer. Watch it to understand why the clamour for the resignations of all his buddies is justified.
Man vs Baby: This was such a torture to sit through. Wonder what drives the decisions to make such a poorly crafted series
Pasolini: I came across this movie when reading up about Moravia and Morante and their stormy marriage. This 2014 movie deals with Pasolini’s murder (He was brutally murdered in a cruising spot and the case remains unresolved till today). The movie also had a few snippets of his highly controversial 120 Days of Sodom, which I probably will watch soon.
Wuthering Heights (2026): Wrote about this here
Wuthering Heights (1992); Wrote about this here
Abismos de Pasion: The 1953 Mexican adaptation of Wuthering Heights was not my cup of tea. Wrote about it here
The Morning Show (Season 1): I was hesitant of starting this but have no regrets. This is probably the best depiction of the MeToo movement on screen. It captures all the messiness, coercion, moral ambiguity, dilemmas and the mix of shame and regret that often accompany workplace relationships and harassment.
Hamnet: I probably may write more about this later. Jessie Buckly steals the show with her acting and is probably the contender for the Oscars. But the movie failed to move me. The final 30 minutes, when the focus finally shifts to Shakespeare, who crafts Hamlet in memory of his deceased son, is when the movie really comes alive. In a few memorable scenes, we finally get to see what we were made to wait for – the genius mesmerizing the audience with his words. This review by A.N. Wilson was on point and I kept nodding my head in agreement.
2026: January
2025: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October |November | December
Discover more from Manish Mohandas
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
