Yes, I do sound like a broken record when I say this, but I (also) missed publishing my screen time on February. However, these have been strange times, where there are new challenges and new headaches and new distractions. Anyway, here’s the list of what I watched in February and March.
DCI Banks – Netflix
This BBC series started off on a promising note, but ended up disappointing! Extreme thrills and last-minute rescues are great but not if they are needed because the cops have been completely stupid and imbecile all through the investigation.
Good Newwz – Prime Video
I do not usually watch Bollywood comedies as a rule (they mostly are too silly, obscene, in poor taste, misogynistic, extremely slapstick, script-less or a combination of these attributes) , but this one was actually good! Yes, the melodrama in the second half was a bit much, but overall, the movie was insightful and crisply-written and genuinely funny!
Love Sex Dhokha – LSD – Netflix
What a brilliant movie this was! And while it isn’t something you’d want to watch in a family setting, it gives you so much insight on the general familial take on Love, Sex, and Dhokha. Honest, genuine portrayals by all the actors, too!
Psych – Prime Video
This series is about a brilliant but anarchistic son of a strict police officer who pretends to be a psychic detective in order to earn a livelihood doing what he knows best – observing and finding clues without necessarily sticking to the law.
Kumbalangi Nights – Prime Video
This was a weird movie! I did not like it at all throughout its length, until the end – when I was like, this was good! The fact that I did not turn the movie off midway should’ve given me a hint. The story is about three brothers with a terribly dysfunctional family right from its inception, and how small events in life can turn it around so magically!
What’s up Lagna – Prime Video
Again, I try not to watch uber-commercial Marathi movies, but sometimes give in. Is it closet optimism that for once, a movie in my mother-tongue will be good? I don’t know the answer to that but I did watch this movie and it wasn’t bad. The story is about a modern relationship where the husband and wife have different work schedules and life habits. It was relevant and the acting (Prarthana Behere and Vaibhav Tatwawadi) was very natural. Good timepass!
Panga – Hotstar
I like Kangana (even though I disagree with her politics), I like the director Ashwini Iyer Tiwary, and I love the concept (a national level Kabbadi player making a comeback after a long time – which includes a wedding and childbirth and rearing), so I’d been waiting to watch this movie for a long time! It was quite entertaining, if not earth shattering. Thankfully there was hardly any melodrama and a lot of situational comedy. Loved how the writer and a director kept it light. The acting was great, too!
Chhapaak – Hotstar
This was another movie I was excited to see and also, liked it. This was again, not earth-shattering or anything with respect to film-making as a craft; but such stories need to be told without a preaching tone – and this movie does just that! To actually see the story of a survivor will ( I hope) make a lot of difference in the outlook of people.
The Dark Knight series – Netflix
I have watched this series umpteen times and can re-watch it umpteen times! I actually didn’t even like Batman comics or movies until I watched Batman Begins. And no, this has nothing to do with Christian Bale (although I gotta admit, he is uh-mazing!), but the way Christopher Nolan has presented this dark superhero story with more emphasis on philosophical struggles and less on action and gore (unlike the previous batman movies)!
Tanhaji – Hotstar
Oh dear lord, what a torture this was! Bad acting, terrible stunt choreography, even worse cinematography, exploitative use of violence and jingoism, no sense of direction!
Panipat – Prime Video
It should suffice to say that this movie was pathetic in all respects. A special mention is however deserved by Arjun Kapoor’s acting! How can one single man go the entire legth of the movie without a single change in expressions? Just how???
Captain America – The First Avenger
Captain America is one of my most favorite superheroes! Anyone who knows me really well knows that I am a sucker for sincerity and earnestness and niceness, so it should come as a surprise that I had never seen the first movie. I finally watched it and loved it! Except for certain action sequences, of course – but I don’t like those in any movie! Which is why suspension of disbelief is a requirement, I suppose. In any case, like I have always maintained, super heroes are so much more than their ludicrous action sequences.
Ustaad Hotel – Hotstar
This was a disappointment! Too slow and I have watched several movies like it that are much better than it!
The Writing Block! 