Brooklyn (2015)

By now it should come as no surprise to you that I like simple stories told well. John Crowley’s adaptation of Colm Toibin’s 2009 novel Brooklyn is one of those stories. Crafted with exquisite, understated finesse, Brooklyn serves as a poignant reminder of just how powerful relatively unadorned cinematography can truly be. The film chronicles…

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Do You Wonder About Me?

Dear You, I was reminded of you when someone asked if I have seen you lately. It has been a while, I said. 5 years, almost, since I have last seen you. Although at times, it seemed more like 5 days. I wonder how you are. I am not one to dwell on what has…

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Family Happiness

I often lie awake at night from happiness, and all the time I think of our future life together. I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is…

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Everest (2015) – A Vicarious Cinematic Thriller

“It hurts. It’s dangerous. It costs a small fortune and ruins relationships…[then] why?” As a vicarious thrill seeker, the “why” of adventure tourism (euphemism for death-defying stunts) has seldom bothered me. I am much intrigued by the “what” and the “how”. Until now. The conquest of Mt Everest, as portrayed by Baltasar Kormakur’s Everest, is…

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McFarland USA (2015)

For one who is only a sedentary sports spectator at best, I have, ironically, watched a disproportionate amount of sports in film and considers them to be one of my favourite genres. Perhaps it is the foreignness of the subject matter (which I have often alluded to as being able to produce a certain lustre)….

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The Hunt (Jagten) (2012)

Country: Denmark Language: Danish, English “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed”. I would loathe to adopt the words of Adolf Hitler on any matters of authority, however it presents such a chilling allusion to Thomas Vinterberg’s latest Danish drama The Hunt (Jagten) that I would…

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Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)

“They spoke very little of their mutual feelings: pretty phrases and warm attentions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends.” And indeed, Thomas Vinterberg’s screen adaptation of the classic Thomas Hardy love story Far From the Madding Crowd (screenplay by David Nicholls) leaves you with the sensation that less is undeniably more. Despite precedent successes,…

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The Intersection

As a teenager, most of my “passions” have been fleeting. The occasional dabble in poetry, the odd love of stamina-based sports, the weird taste in adolescent boys. Enduring love, for anything for that matter, had proven elusive. Such erstwhile passions have mostly run in parallel to the tune of life, and have since moved on…

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Leon: The Professional (1994)

I harboured no particularly high hopes when I sat down one recent Saturday evening with Leon: The Professional on my iPad. A recommendation was made to me in passing by a fellow netizen, however neither the film poster nor trailer was particularly engaging for one used to the Hollywood blockbusters typical of the 21st century….

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