The Housemaid: I predicted the twist in this ‘psychological thriller’ within a few minutes. I liked Sweeney. There’s something in her, probably her droopy eyes?
Dossier 137: What a movie! The quality of a democracy is driven by the integrity and professionalism of its institutions. An investigator investigating police misdemeanors tracks the propagators of a brutal attack on a civilian during the Yellow Vest protests in Paris. Slow, intense and beautifully directed.
The Room Next Door: Watched half of it but somehow the plot of a terminally ill buddy sharing incidents from her past with a long lost friend didn’t resonate with me.
Eddington: Apart from the Malayalam movie Joji I cant immediately recall too many films that deal with the context of the pandemic. Eddington is set in conservative America, during the pandemic and the Black Lives Movement. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was nothing short of superlative. All the stuff that captured the period – mask mandates, gun control, the woke movement at its peak and the creeping madness of the period made this a heady movie.
Disclosure Day: If we’re not alone in the universe, what will be the future of religion? Will the Catholic Church crumble? WIll meaning vanish from our lives (or atleast from that of the believers)? This is the fundamental question that Spielberg asks in this movie? Defintely not his greatest but still highly watchable. High time I watch E.T
Au hasard Balthazar: Had to watch this after watching John Abraham’s ‘Agraharathille Kazhudha’ last month.
Burnt: Celebrity chefs being toxic and maniacal has become something of a trope – like the alcoholic, brooding detective in every crime thriller. Burnt was mildly entertaining but totally entertaining. For some reason, even the series ‘Bear’ never worked for me.
Black Bag; Soderbergh does such thrillers quite well. Also realized that I’ve become a Fassbender fan.
Snowman: Jo Nesbo’s thrillers are something to read. Snowman, despite being his most famous work was not my favourite. So predictably, the movie adaptation of the book was also dull for me.
In the Hand of Dante: Gal Gadot stole the show in every frame she appeared. The movie didn’t work for me. I probably was too distracted while watching it?
Heat: Rewatched this after ages and could easily see why this movie has become a cult classic. To realize that Pacino and de Niro are still around with us is such a joy.
Sorcerer: I kind of enjoyed watching this movie and kept wondering how a movie set in the jungles of South America and shot with such technical finesse never became a hit. The reason was simple: it released exactly a month after Star Wars!
Unforgiven: Though it swept the Academy Awards, I expected more from this. And it’s definitely not as good as the other contender that year – Scent of a Woman!
Army of Shadows: The 1969 French movie, L’Armée des ombres was never released in the US until 2006. The movie was considered to be too controversial to be released during the season of the 1968 French university protests. The movie is defintely the finest to be made on the Resistance. The heroism, fear, loneliness and ethical dilemmas that the fighters faced were shown so well.
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