Covid, Cinema & Criterion

Published: Wednesday, 13th July 2022. Covid: In the last couple of weeks, I have endured my sophomore run with Covid-19, ostensibly thanks to an already debilitated immune system, and of course – my chronic asthma. Feeling your lung muscles straining as you’re struggling to breathe, or having your throat ceasing to have the capacity to…

The Greatest Films Ever Made: #1 – The Godfather (1972)

(This is the first entry in my series of Greatest Films Ever Made – a list of personal recommendations. Keep checking out this space from time to time for the entire series) Once in a century, comes a multigenerational classic that transcends the barriers of popular entertainment to give us a crisp, revolutionary visual marvel…

My Top 12 ‘Classic’ Christmas Film Recommendations.

Oh yeah – it’s that magical time of the year again! I’m guessing that at this point, you’ll be surrounded by endless holiday season feel-good saccharine classics, so naturally, I went ahead and made a list of the 12 films that you should definitely be watching this (or any other) Christmas season. I have ritualistically…

The Best Films of 2020 (So far)

Year-End Rituals. You may recall how during my 2019’s Best Films list last December, I spoke about how we have finally reached a stage where the voice and talent of young & upcoming independent filmmakers shall not be deftly suffocated by the hedonistic politics of mainstream film studios and box office moguls anymore.  Well, here…

My Fight with Covid-19 (Part II): Mental Health and Coronavirus

In my previous post, I spoke about my ongoing battle with Covid-19 from an Asthmatic’s perspective, wherein I went on to extensively list down some simple activities and home remedies that may be at least a tad bit helpful to individuals out there suffering from similar conditions, especially those with already plummeting lung function levels…

Hidden Secrets in Paintings (A Romantic Tale)

Sprinkled throughout the last seven centuries of human history are a plethora of renowned art pieces that have become a subject of mystery and intrigue for many passing aesthetes, mostly owing to the discovery of certain hidden entities, intentional blemishes and varying repainted layers in certain recent restorations. Naturally, every artist (whether Renaissance, Mannerist Romantic,…

My Fight with Covid-19: An Asthmatic’s Guide to Coronavirus.

“Respiratory failure is known to have been identified as the major cause of death in the previous viral pandemics.” But then fighting such battles becomes far more strenuous when your lung function is already less than 60% of a normal human being’s, doesn’t it? Howdy, stranger. My name is Prakhar Prabhakar, and I tested Positive…

My Top 14 films of 2019

“The halcyon days of the so-called ‘golden age of cinema’ are far behind us”, they keep saying. But I often tend to disagree – even whilst the fundamental parameters of what constitutes ‘good cinema’ might have changed over the past couple of decades, I’m proud to say that we are finally living in an age…

Cobra Kai: The Original Karate Kid Returns!

You know that a beloved pop-culture property is bound to be lined up with sequels, reboots and remakes as long as the sense of nostalgia is still profitable to some executives in high places. But it’s really rare to see something treat that nostalgia with the respect it deserves and build up to expand the…

My Ranking of all 21 MCU films so far.

There’s no denying that the very existence of a continuous film narrative spanning an entire decade and telling the story of over a dozen characters feels like a gargantuan cinematic achievement. We all have our personal favorites from this juggernaut of a franchise, and with the release of Avengers: Endgame next week, the 22 film long…

My Biggest Problems with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Who will change the future, you ask? Apparently, J.K Rowling will. Potterheads were in for a real treat this time – an overstuffed, haphazard treat with a plot more dizzyingly convoluted than – wait, scratch that. I don’t even have anything for comparison, to be honest. Noticed a lot of painfully canon-defying problems with the…

My First Date: 10 Years Ago.

date1 /deɪt/ noun 1. the day of the month or year as specified by a number. “What’s the date today?” 2. a social or romantic appointment or engagement. Context: Some ten years ago, I remember staring at that dictionary definition for fifteen minutes straight before I got myself to go ask her out. For the purposes of…