By Suresh Pattali
The driver jammed the brakes and the Yellow Cab screeched to a halt on the hard shoulder of Singapore’s Pan Island Expressway. He swallowed an expletive, hammered the temple with his fists and screamed: “What on earth is going on? Can you guys just shut up, or let me know what’s it about so that I can help solve.”
Continue reading A Chinese melodrama that took me to my pastoral roots
By Sushmita Bose
As I was writing this, Indian media speculation — of a rather scurrilous sort — had peaked over the untimely death of Bollywood superstar Sridevi, who passed away in Dubai. Conspiracy theories abounded, and yellow journalism had turned at least 50 shades deeper.
Continue reading If I had to choose the greatest Hollywood film ever made…
By Oscar Yanez
If you think The Shape of Water is a horror movie or science fiction, you’re wrong. It may be unconventional but it is still a story of romance, ‘a beautiful fairy tale for adults’, in the words of director Guillermo del Toro.
Continue reading This one’s a fairytale for adults and it has a Sci-Fi twist
By Sujata Assomull
The awards season is in full swing. The BAFTAs are done and the Oscars are up next (March 4). I never miss the broadcast as I adore the world of pomp and circumstance. You can escape for three and a half hours. The first Oscars telecast I watched was when I was nine years old. Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi won an overwhelming number of awards. That year, 1982, also marked India’s first win at the Oscars: Bhanu Athaiya for Costume Design in Gandhi shared her award with John Mollo. That moment is why the Oscars have become an annual habit for me.
Continue reading Bhanu Athaiya is the reason I watch the Oscars every year
By Joshua Arnup
It’s not every day that a film pushes you to change the course of your life. The power of a great movie lies in its ability to transport you into another world, to make you experience life so vividly that it feels like you’re in a trance. I had a moment like this and it marked the day I felt independent.
Continue reading How a movie gave me a slap in the face and changed my life
By Purva Grover
All of us like going to the movies, right? The combination of chilled cola, salted popcorn, and uninterrupted hours of entertainment is an ideal way to relax. But, would you say yes to an invite to watch a film with a bunch of strangers? Maybe, you would — after you hear all about the movie nights planned by a city-based Meetup group called Movie Buffs UAE.
Continue reading Would you watch a movie with a bunch of strangers?
By Sushmita Bose
Recently, there was a double throwback to a couple of my favourite films — both of them murder mysteries: Murder on the Orient Express and Ittefaq. Mysteriously, both — retreads of movies that released in 1974 and 1969 respectively — released around the same time: a November weekend in 2017. Continue reading The gimmickry of this remake doesn’t cut it
