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 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…

13 Reasons Why: Season 2 Review (Spoiler-free)

The sophomore outing of Netflix’s divisive teen drama, 13 Reasons Why is here. Last year, the show found itself in the midst of controversies particularly targeting its modus operandi of romanticising and sensationalising teenage suicide. Either incredibly bold, or tremendously irresponsible – the show’s approach of involving rape, bullying, slut-shaming & depression as subplots amidst…

Star Wars: Why & How to Watch?

Four decades. Non-fanatics are still astounded by the fact that a sci-fi trilogy of the late 70s made using tacky special effects, rubber puppets, miniature starships and what not, went on to become such a big cultural phenomenon with millions of ardent followers. Not kidding, there are people who literally live & breathe Star Wars…

Dunkirk: Review (Spoiler-free)

With his tenth feature film, writer-director Christopher Nolan mostly breaks away from his traditional roots and plunges his audience in what seems to be a rather intense and unprecedented depiction of the sheer brutality and palpable turmoil experienced by the NAF soldiers during 1940’s Operation Dynamo. This was where a miraculous rescue mission was attempted…

Rogue One: Star Wars Review (Spoiler-Free)

Let’s face it – very few films truly appeal to everyone in this age of cynicism where 3D-CGI blockbusters are a dime a dozen. As much as I would have loved to indulge myself in a sheeny cavalcade of space battles and those “prequel-style” CGI set pieces, (get my sarcasm, Mr. Lucas?) something different was…

Star Trek Beyond: Spoiler free Review

For aficionados of space sci-fi franchises such as myself, this is it! 726 Episodes. 13 Feature films. 50 years of being a pop culture phenomenon – that’s Star Trek for you. Part of the charm of watching these new reboots comes from experiencing the five decades-old series return to life in its former glory. Back…