Movies

Mindhunter

Mindhunter Is A Lesson In Criminal Psychology

November 3, 2017 Movies

My obsession for retro is well-known, and it’s a particularly gratifying experience being in North America to observe the nuances of this geography from the 70s in a web TV series. The fashion, the architecture, the make of the classic cars, and the means of communications (obviously no mobile phones in the 70s) is a revelation of sorts & a journey back in time. It was fascinating to watch ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ in the backdrop of the 80s more specifically for its anecdotes related to the pre-PC era. Then again, the CNN series on the 60s, 70s, and the 80s which took me on a nostalgic history of North America. And a couple of days ago I binged watched ‘Mindhunter’ on Netflix, a crime psychological thriller from David Fincher and Charlize Theron.

Set in 1977-79 years the series is based on the book ‘Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit’ by authors John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker following the adventure of FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), and a seasoned agent named Bill Tench (characterized by Holt McCallany). Ford and Tench are FBI agents from the Behavioral Science Unit interviewing a bunch of serious killers (not “serial” killers) incarcerated for their gruesome crimes in an attempt to understand their attitudes which made them commit those heinous acts! The entire Season 1 was a fun nostalgic ride back into the 70s (I can’t wait for Season 2), it’s unlike any other TV series or movie you may have watched in the detective/murder mystery genres, it’s engrossing, and without question it introduces a new narrative about criminal psychology.

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A Tasty Exploration of Israeli Cuisine

November 2, 2017 Movies

For my love of discovering new tastes, I caught up with a Netflix documentary called ‘In Search Of Israeli Cuisine’ also due to my keen interest in Israeli traditions and culture. I have always believed a lot has been misinterpreted and misunderstood about the State of Israel given the geopolitical nature of the Middle East, and so apart from the military and tech industry news that I keep reading here was a documentary that presented me with a hitherto unexplored food lifestyle of Israel.

The documentary is guided by Israeli chef and restaurateur Michael Solomonov who is on a quest to find if there is indeed such a thing like ‘Israeli Cuisine’. The film follows Chef Solomonov to over 100 locations (or so I’m told) through the Israeli hinterland in search of unique culinary experiences, and on a scenic tour of Tel Aviv, Nazareth, including a place called Taverna near the Sea of Galilee for the taste of freshwater fish and crabs, and the Golan Heights to indulge in the choicest Israeli wines. It wasn’t until the the early 80s and the economic boom when Israelis traveled great lengths as tourists, experiencing the western world lifestyle and realized they needed to develop and nurture a distinct flavourful identity that is established from locally sourced ingredients only. A cuisine that is their own.

The documentary traces Israeli flavours and texture from the Jewish communities of Ashkenazi and Sephardic and outlines the uniqueness it has brought to local cuisine. Basically, the Ashkenazi Jews have their origins in Eastern Europe, and the Sephardi Jews in the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), besides also gaining its rich taste from middle-eastern cultures such as Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. Chef Solomonov profiles home cooks, chefs, farmers, and even food writers to get to the depth of Israeli food traditions and local recipes with an elaborate history behind its source, and also goes hunting for dishes on the streets and hotels of faraway cities in Israel.

Although there were mostly non-vegetarian dishes (being a vegetarian) it left me awe inspired to learn that Israel is a historically rich land of multi-faceted ethnicities and customs whose food is not just influenced by Arabs, Christians, Druze, and Jews but also Moroccan, Turkish, Uzbek, German, Iraqi, and even French culinary traditions.

‘The Kite Runner’ Is An Adventure of Emotions!

October 28, 2017 Movies
“The Kite Runner’ portrays a present-day saga of friendship, redemption, and sacrifice against the backdrop of strife-torn Afghanistan.

I had come across some rave online reviews about the movie ‘The Kite Runner’ based on the namesake book authored by Khaled Hosseini, and when it finally released on Netflix I watched it this weekend. To put it mildly, I was blown away by the casting and characterization of the script! ‘The Kite Runner’ is a saga of brotherly relationship between juvenile buddies Hassan and Amir set in the glorious backdrop of the city of Kabul in the 70s, mired in catastrophic events that unravel the true characters of the young boys as they grapple with forces of time. It’s a beautifully crafted screenplay directed by Marc Foster which released in 2007 and nominated in several categories at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

‘The Kite Runner’ paints a poignant portrait of Afghanistan in its esteemed history, characterizing the capital Kabul as I have never seen before on screen, and will probably won’t for a long time. It left me gasping in surprise and wishing to visit Kabul. In the midst of a nation moving towards destruction lies the innocence of 2 young boys, Amir, and Hassan the son of a servant, who would selflessly scale any height to fulfill the ambitions of his affluent bosom buddy. Until political disturbance ravages their beautiful hopes and separates them for eternity. The gruesome ‘Talibanisation’ of Afghanistan and its fall from grace is metaphorically visualized through Amir’s innate emotional battles which result in his quest to take up a perilous journey to his native land to redeem his past.

The movie is a bestowal of faith in human ethos and celebrates the virtues of emotional bonds that are unfortunately shattered in the suppression of freedom, in that, I found ‘The Kite Runner’ as a perfect narrative for today’s microcosm of human suffering through its message of faithfulness, love, and the price that we must pay to keep our dignity in strife. Also, against the grim betrayal of human values, ‘The Kite Runner’ succeeds in delivering the message of redemption in a heartless time that we find ourselves entangled today. It’s a must see!

Daddy Movie Poster

1 Reason You Should Watch ‘Daddy’

October 11, 2017 Movies

There were many reasons for watching this movie on the underworld gang lord-turned-politician Arun Gawli one of which being my roots in Mumbai city and Gawli’s charisma as a gangster-turned-politician. I was tempted to call Daddy a ‘biopic’ but it takes a rather beaten path than following facts, a lot of creative freedom has been taken to weave a dramatic story. But it’s based on the characters around Gawli and I’m a huge fan of movies that bring the retro look alive on the big screen, in particular my favourite decade, the 80s. The other reason for my anticipation of Daddy was the director Ashim Ahluwalia. I was very impressed with his previous classic ‘Miss Lovely’ which catapulted a lesser known Nawazuddin Siddiqui onto the international stage. It was a brilliant movie set in the 80s Bombay just like Daddy.

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The Jungle Book (2016)

May 19, 2016 Movies

The Jungle Book movie was an enchanting showcase of technology-meets-human experience. The live action/CGI depiction of the characters is a daunting task for a 105 minute movie when you are bringing an animated version alive on the big screen for the first time. Apart from the brilliant storytelling, there was some degree of fear and discomfort felt while watching The Jungle Book on the big screen versus a TV.

As I mentioned, since I was coming to the cinema from a TV experience of the animated version I was expecting to be enthralled by the cuteness of the characters. Shere Khan wasn’t looking so horrible in the animated version. Kaa was not so fearful and scary, in fact, she was Mowgli’s friend and mentor from reading the books. The beauty of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book is that despite the inherent qualities of the ferocious animals they are still believable and adorable. No matter how beastly the behavior you could still love them with all your heart.

The only way in which Shere Khan could instill fear and dominate the animal kingdom was through his roaring voice. His horrid appearance went overboard in the movie. Or maybe it’s the traditional movie stereotype of making a bad person look monstrous too. Kaa’s entry was the scariest moment as she almost strangulates Mowgli with her coil. You know how it feels in 3D to have a snake look into your eyes that closely. Snakes are awful in appearance but not Kaa from the book and Disney’s cartoons.

In short – Bagheera was the hero of the movie, Baloo was cute, Raksha was amazing, the jungle was depicted quite nicely, King Louie was funny, and the bee stings on Mowgli disappeared sooner than I had expected in the next scene. Was that a blooper? Anyway, the movie has reignited my interest in the animated version and that’s what I’m looking forward to. Art is immortal.

Further Reading:
The Jungle Book (2016 film) – Wikipedia
The Jungle Book (2016) – Rotten Tomatoes
The Jungle Book (1894) collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling – Wikipedia
The Jungle Book (2016) official SuperBowl movie trailer – YouTube
Information on the Tiger species – WWF