How Late-Stage Capitalism Killed the Chef in The Menu Do you ever feel guilty about eating food at an expensive five-star hotel or fine dining restaurant? If not, you will after you watch chef Slowik (an intensely terrifying Ralph Fiennes) serve you a five-course meal in The Menu. Celebrity chef Julian Slowik invites a group … Continue reading
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Kantara (2022)
Kantara, Bhuta Kola, and the Collective Unconscious “Wait!”, warned my better half, “fold your hands before the Kshetrapala before you enter the divine precincts of our Daiva.” I complied, yet protested: “What for, it’s just a stone?” “It is He who protects this forest. Without His permission even the winds dare not pass,” she replied. … Continue reading
Vikram & Top Gun Maverick (2022)
Once Upon a Time in Kollywood… & Hollywood (or) Vikram and Top Gun Have More in Common Than Meets the Eye Back in the day, 1986 to be precise, Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) took the world’s collective breath away when he flew his F14A Tomcat. Back home in Madras, Commander Arun Kumar Vikram … Continue reading
Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021)
Once Upon a Time in Mangaladevi A tree’s strength lies in its roots. The strength of the recently released Kannada movie Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (GGVV) also lies in its roots—Mangaladevi. So much so that Mangaladevi is like a character holding its own throughout the movie. For the uninitiated, the coastal city of Mangaluru derives … Continue reading
Meenakshi Sundareshwar (2021) and Alpha (2018)
How Language Can Make or Break a Film Language (or the absence of it) is a very crucial element for storytelling. During the silent era, masters like Charlie Chaplin communicated with their acting, body language, and screenplay. But once Talkies (movies with dialogues) entered the fray everything changed and there was no looking back. Apart … Continue reading
talking talkies 