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102 not out (2018)

Director of the iconic film Oh My God, Umesh Shukla presents a fresh take on Life, and living it while we are alive. It’s peppered with many laughs and light moments by the three primary characters who bring the story alive from their unique perspectives.

Amitabh Bachchan can do any role with ease and this is no exception. What a cute 102 year old, and so progressive in thought and deed. Rishi Kapoor is his 75 year old son, an opposite personality who is taught to look at life differently. Jimit Trivedi binds them together, a simpleton who acts as a buffer from another generation.

The story isn’t complex but the way the purpose is handled isn’t simple, or easy. But it is very enlightening. A clear message and stance about who loved ones are and what they do.

A must see for every age and especially our senior citizens.

3.5/5

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2018)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine : It is one of the most hilarious shows, with subtle comedy, not taking itself too seriously! It makes many statements with wit and well etched characters! Brilliant writing makes great connections with the audience. My favourites are whimsical Gina and stoic Raymond. Fill your time laughing with this one!

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October (2018)

Shoojit Sircar has made a variety of film genres and done justice to them all. This time round, he describes a few pages of the books of various people’s lives, in a way which will seem out worldly to many who watch it.

You may never know about what happens in the film if it doesn’t happen to a close one or yourself. But now you have a chance to see how it can change a life. It’s a story where love didn’t need a label or reason or season.

Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu play 21 year olds in a management trainee program in a 5 star hotel. How their seemingly unrelated lives get enmeshed by a twist in fate weaves a deeply nuanced tale which is moved along by minute detail.

Short at 1 hour 55 minutes, it feels long because of the subject matter, but it makes you think. It’s a delicate tale which is difficult to balance, but the imagery provides much needed perspective.

A moving and introspective film.

3.5/5

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Big Little Lies (2018)

Big Little Lies: The suspense was killing me. The plot was stifling me. Who did it?! Who was it? So many questions, with edits the speed of a race car, it keeps you guessing. Who is lying? Why are they lying? You will know soon enough. 7 episodes, with multiple story lines, all reach their conclusion and then you can finally breathe! Wonderful casting and immaculate performances by all, ranging from the 6 year old right to the adults. Worthy of a binge watch and all the awards it got.

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Hindi Medium (2017)

Director Saket Chaudhary weaves a tale filled with satire and wit about the English language in India. Irrfan and Saba play caricaturist roles, at two ends of the spectrum. Their characters are written to convey a social message, but Deepak Dobriyal is the one who provides a reality check. Entertaining and moving, it was a reflective watch.

3/5

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Newton (2017)

Rajkumar Rao plays an honest man, who wants to do the right thing in the right way. When he is chosen from a reserve pool for election duty, he takes on the challenge. In a country of more than 1.3 billion people, no one can imagine how the democratic vote is carried out. We see a glimpse of one of the many possibilities which director Amit Masurkar presents with unerring realism.

3/5

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Black Panther (2018)

The film successfully amalgamates culture and technology, with seamless special effects combined with a respect for nature. It’s a rare gem of a super hero film which makes sense. An ensemble cast shows us how the tribes are divided and how a common goal unites them all. Stunning action and vivid imagination, which isn’t a meaningless parade of ‘primitive guns’, but so much more said and shown without a chip on their shoulder.

4/5

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A Quiet Place (2018)

Thriller movies use sound as an advantage. This one uses silence, and stifles the audience in the bargain. When you control the sound of your breathing, you know a film has worked! A brilliant premise with many difficult moments, it’s a must watch and listen 😉

John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe make the perfect team to survive in the frightful and bizarre circumstances, without leaving much to the imagination.

4/5

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Downton Abbey (2010-2015)

I have been wanting to watch this for a long time, and I guess it was meant to happen in Australia, in a binge watching spree. What a lovely show for those who love everything English. So many meaningful themes and messages. The biggest take away were CHANGE and LOVE. Wealth, though a backdrop, seldom made it ahead of those two. Starting from the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, navigating through World War l and ending in the Christmas of 1925, it was a pleasure to watch the trials and tribulations of the Crawley family, their help and all that happened to them and through them. I will miss them, but I hear a film adaptation is in the offing? This one, I won’t object to.

“Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.”

– Dowager Countess Violet Grantham

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Call me by your name (2017)

Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet were probably not expecting the stir this film would create in the awards season when they set out to act the principle characters.

Set in a simpler time, it speaks of discovery, passion and what usually follows, heartbreak. An unlikely love story in a charming locale, it reminds us of a story long forgotten, told in a nostalgic way. Peppered with deep and meaningful scenes throughout, all credit goes to director Luca Guadagnino for a sensitive cinematic adaptation of the novel of the same name.

3.5/5