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
Tag Archives: Review
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
Joji (2021)
What Motivates This Macbeth? Warning: Extreme Spoilers Ahead. Yes, we all know Fahadh Faasil’s eyes speak volumes. Even in a state of paralysis he acts with nothing but his eyes. Joji, interestingly, is more about Joji, the character, and not just yet another feather in Fahad Faasil’s acting cap. What immediately grasps you when watching … Continue reading
A Suitable Boy (2020)
A Not So Suitable ‘Suitable Boy’ Vikram Seth’s magnum opus novel, A Suitable Boy, opens with a dedication in verse, followed briskly by the contents page, again in a rhyming couplet for each chapter. No such luck with the mini-series of the same novel. It opens with a lame placard: When India became independent in … Continue reading
Westworld (2016)
In Ford We Trust No more a benchmark for Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Turing test in today’s times is more a hobbyist’s indulgence than a purist’s pursuit. To say the least, the test has become something of an anachronism. Yet, its usage in popular culture has anything but diminished. HBOs latest sci-fi TV series Westworld … Continue reading