Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

I have been meaning to write about this movie for over a year, and am finally getting down to it. I love the collaborations between Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ was the best opportunity of them all – Martin Scorsese collaborating with both in the same project.

The movie is based on a book, and focuses on a series of murders of the Osage tribe members in the 1920s. The Osage Nation was transformed post the discovery of oil, and attracted the attention of a corrupt political boss.

DiCaprio’s character is a World War 1 veteran who comes back to stay with his uncle, the corrupt political boss, played by De Niro. Aided by the brainwashing of his uncle, he then gets romantically involved with Lily Gladstone’s character (a refreshing performance and casting), gets married and then has children with her.

Gladstone’s character belongs to the Osage tribe, and one by one, members of her family are found mysteriously dead. Thelma Schoonmaker’s movie editing kept me on the edge, waiting to see what happens next. Watch the movie to see how the story unfolds, the role that Brendan Fraser plays as De Niro’s lawyer (I loved this casting too) and the references to J. Edgar Hoover’s role. As an aside, I was reminded of DiCaprio’s portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood’s ‘J. Edgar’.

Via ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, I got to know about some Native American customs. I also got to know about the impact and occurrence of diabetes among Native Americans. It was moving to see Gladstone’s character suffer because of the illness and her criminal husband, and heartening to see the quick recovery she makes when agents of the Bureau of Investigation help her.

I had noticed DiCaprio’s stained teeth in the movie, and recollect reading a review mentioning the same point. His handsome face acquired a different character because of this. The scene where he gets paddled is menacing, and yet again I marvelled at how Scorsese depicts violence. I also noticed Gladstone’s beautiful smile and expression in one scene (when she is driven in a motorcar), and later read that it was a spontaneous and unplanned reaction that was retained in the final cut.

I highly recommend watching this movie. The IMDB rating is now 7.6.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

City: Mumbai

Date: December 2019

Mode: Theatre

In one of my illness spells (possibly the May-June spell of 2019), I came across the trailer to this movie, and recollected it with detail to the sibling. She was surprised to see me able to pay attention, and we (along with her husband) later watched the movie in the theatre just before I took ill again. I had even written about Le Mans in my FB Sports Group. I have a simple explanation to my being able to recollect the trailer – the movie stars both Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and they looked like they were friends in the movie. The secondary explanation is that it involves car racing.

The movie has been praised by critics and watchers (and won Oscars), and has plenty of fantastic moments. I particularly liked how the death scene involving Christian Bale’s Ken Miles was done, and how Matt Damon’s Carroll Shelby sheds a few tears in front of Miles’ son. Both scenes are poignant and do not focus on debris of any kind. 

Lovers of car racing will find plenty to love about the movie, and for those who don’t understand the speed involved in car racing and the skills of the racers, watch this scene from the movie.

Rush too had a sequence that showed how quick Daniel Bruhl’s Niki Lauda is, and when Niki Lauda passed on in May 2019, I was convinced that his death wasn’t real. I kept watching this scene from the movie to convince myself that he was still alive.

Shakuntala Devi (2020)

Place: Chennai

Date: August 2020

Mode: Amazon Prime

After “Crazy Rich Asians (2018)”, "Little Women (2019)", Parasite and Contagion, Amazon Prime is becoming like a theatre watch for me, and it is nice to be able to watch some movies despite Covid. I keep movie watching for weekends, and it is a nice routine to follow.

My latest watch is Shakuntala Devi. My mother and I watched it together, and enjoyed it. I first heard of the movie via Nayanika Mahtani, the writer of the movie – we are both in one online group. I got curious to see how the movie has been written and to my pleasant surprise, it is well written and well edited. As with any biopic, I am left with questions around how true the incidents depicted in the movie are, but I must say that I liked that the movie didn’t have too many songs. Perhaps the casting of Vidya Balan in the lead role had something to do with this – she isn’t known for her dancing skills.

Both my parents have witnessed Shakuntala Devi in action when she visited their educational institutes, and while I had heard of her, I must confess that I didn’t know much about her. Via the movie, I got to know that she opted to marry a divorcee and herself got divorced later. It makes me view her as a gritty woman. Her difficult relationships with her mother and her daughter have been fleshed out well, and I shed tears in one scene where she visits her childhood home after her mother has passed away, and she bawls at the sight of her mother’s material belongings that include newspaper cuttings of her performances.

The feminist flavor given in the movie to her choices make me want to know more, especially in the context of her book on homosexuality where she has referred to her ex-husband as being homosexual. The movie shows that she says this to sell the book better, but the Wikipedia entry says her book went unnoticed when it was published. 

The movie made on the “Human Computer” is worth a watch.

Blood Diamond (2006)

Whenever mentions of unrequited love or finding husbands are made, I think of the maturity shown by these two characters who fall in love, but realise they can't be together.

Jennifer Connelly's character remains my benchmark for strong, mature women. Watch the scene where she bids goodbye.

Last Vegas (2013)

I wouldn’t call this a fantastic watch, but it distracted me sufficiently when I watched it 5 years ago. The starcast is powerful, even if rumours around Morgan Freeman in the recent past have left me mostly sad and a little angry. Remember the scene in this movie when he is trying to escape from his house? That’s a work of art.

There is also another scene I recollect. Kevin Kline’s Sam character is being driven to the airport by his wife Miriam - a moment of astonishment for me – and she encourages him to have fun at his friend’s bachelor party. She basically encourages him to cheat, and when I now think about it, I wonder how her character is as confident about their marriage not unraveling or if it is fiction that makes misplaced confidence work. It struck me that if there had been a role reversal – the husband driving the wife and encouraging her to have fun/ cheat – I would have been uncomfortable then too. Why be as self-sacrificing? If they had been serial monogamists, this is perhaps the right time to leave!

Sam mouths a lovely line, “The thing is... It's crazy, but whenever something spectacular happens to me, the first thing I want to do is tell my wife about it. And, after 40 years of marriage, if I can't tell her about something wonderful that happened to me, it sort of stops being wonderful.”

This must be true for so many married couples, and it is a beautiful moment.

The movie scores because it targets a different age group – senior citizens – and shows their perspective. Wish more movies did this. I also thought about who the writer is – there are moments that strike as outright dysfunctional – and then got to know that he is the same writer who wrote the script for Crazy, Stupid, Love. Something about cheating seems to appeal as far as he goes, and he doesn’t like marriages breaking down because of it.

The Italian Job (2003)

Despite multiple attempts to watching this movie, I haven't managed to watch more than 15 minutes at a stretch. The movie has a stellar cast, and I was glad to have caught this dialogue this time.

"I trust everyone. It's the devil inside them I don't trust."

Watchers, what do you think of this movie?

If I go by my experience, the first step in not trusting the devil equivalent is to acknowledge the presence of the devil. The trust process would be an entirely different ballgame then. As for the devil inside of us, do we wait for someone else to spot and acknowledge it? Or are we self-aware enough to spot its presence and then do something about it?

Kapoor & Sons (since 1921) (2016)

The sibling recommended the movie to me, and I watched it along with my parents in Chennai. I have almost given up watching Hindi movies and went for this movie because my mother still enjoys watching them. I was also curious to see what ‘hits’ in Bollywood now look like.

The story-writing is quite interesting, and I like how homosexuality has been addressed in a dignified manner. This story about a dysfunctional family doesn’t hesitate in its portrayal of shades of grey, and even as the rest of India seems to be going gaga over Fawad Khan, it is Sidharth Malhotra who I enjoyed watching the most. The scene where tears roll down silently from one of his eyes is beautifully done, and yes, it wouldn’t have been possible without Fawad’s presence in it. Coonoor looks beautiful, and I liked how the evidently North Indian family seems happily settled in the South.

Rajat Kapoor looked quite young to be do-beton-ka-baap, and the brothers were well-cast. Sidharth's real year of birth is referred to in the movie, and perhaps actors today are trying their best to keep things real on screen whenever there is a chance to do so. Given his character's fondness for Boris Becker, I wonder if he is a fan of Boris Becker in real life too.

At a time when Bollywood romances are going kaput one after the other, I am hoping Sidharth and Alia go from strength to strength in real life as well.

Amelie (2001)

I have never managed to watch the entire movie, and I love the way Audrey Tautou plays the title character Amelie. Her neighbours are presented in an interesting manner, and everyday happenings are treated with love and detail. There are several references to paintings and cooking, and I enjoyed the colours used in the movie.

There is one scene I remember where she decides to help her withdrawn father. She secretly takes his reinstalled garden gnome away, plays a trick and then the reclusive man thinks about his forgotten desire to travel. Watch the scene here, and do watch the movie.

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

I accidentally watched this rom-com movie and spotted Ryan Gosling. I had watched him in “Lars and the Real Girl” and enjoyed the movie. He has a lovely nose, great screen presence and I later read that he is a feminist and a recluse.

The movie is funny and has some stand-out moments. Watch one with him and Emma Stone paying tribute to "Dirty Dancing".



Emma Stone’s character’s parents are played by the delightful Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. Their marriage runs into trouble after she cheats on him and asks for a divorce. Watch the movie to see what happens.

Carell mouths, “I have loved her even when I hated her... only married couples will understand that one.” The ones who remain married despite being cheated upon normally have the same thing to say?

I am excited to watch "The Notebook" now.

Titanic (1997)

You must have heard of / watched the movie, right? The crazy fan that I was, I even went and watched the 3D version of the movie in the theatre when it released in 2012. I have watched parts of the movie many times, and I learn something new each time.

When I was at b-school, one of my batchmates commented on how I was too prim and proper like what is shown in this movie. He referred to the scene where Rose watches a mother teach her young daughter table manners (the daughter places the napkin perfectly on her lap), and gets reminded of her own childhood.

There’s a scene where Rose’s fiancé is congratulated -“Congratulations, Hockley. She's splendid.” It is then I noticed how I have also congratulated male friends in a similar manner – “She looks lovely!” I can’t recollect saying the same to any female friend of mine – “He looks handsome!” At best, I have commented on their fiancé’s height. It is then I started paying attention to what I was saying to new couples.

Last year, I could recognize the reference to Monet and later got to know that it is a factual error – Monet’s paintings did not find their way into the Titanic. Jack Dawson is an artist (a fictitious character) and if he recognizes Monet’s work, that’s plausible?

Will these two actors come together for a movie again?

Devdas (2002)

I had earlier written about the Devdas character in this post, and it is a nice feeling for me to derive strength from my own writing. I was watching a few scenes from this movie recently, and I realised that one of the reasons why Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi is so watchable is because she doesn’t take poor treatment from most people. However, she is willing to take poor treatment at the hands of the spineless Dev babu – a classic case of strong women tolerating abuse in intimate relationships.

Watch this scene.

Really. Tamasha ab khatam hua.

Hera Pheri (2000)

This movie is the adaptation of a Malayalam movie, and is sure to make you laugh. Wiki tells me that the movie has become a cult classic, and rightly so.

While I always remembered that Tabu’s character is called Anuradha, I was suddenly reminded of a scene from this movie last week. It features a telephone, Baby bhaiya and several callers.

:-)

My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)

Yesterday, I got up thinking of a song. I knew that it starred Julia Roberts, and I struggled to remember the movie. Then it came back to me – the song is “I say a little prayer” from the OST of “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

Do you remember the picturisation of this song?

The lyrics go this way. I like the idea of praying for a loved one. Once a day is good enough though? 

The moment I wake up

Before I put on my makeup

I say a little prayer for you

While combing my hair now

And wondering what dress to wear now

I say a little prayer for you

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever and ever, we never will part

Oh, how I love you

Together, forever, that's how it must be

To live without you

Would only mean heartbreak for me

I run for the bus, dear

While riding I think of us, dear

I say a little prayer for you

At work I just take time

And all through my coffee break time

I say a little prayer for you

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever and ever we never will part

Oh, how I'll love you

Together, forever, that's how it must be

To live without you

Would only mean heartbreak for me

I say a little prayer for you

I say a little prayer for you

My darling, believe me

(Believe me)

For me there is no one but you

Please love me too

(Answer his pray)

And I'm in love with you

(Answer his pray)

Answer my prayer now, babe

(Answer his pray)

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart

And I will love you

Forever and ever we never will part

Oh, how I'll love you

Together, forever, that's how it must be

To live without you

Would only mean heartbreak for me

Jab We Met (2007)

I had earlier written that this movie has joined the list of movies I can watch anytime, and it is true. I watched it recently again, and I marveled at Imtiaz Ali’s direction. He understands relationships, and keeps his stories largely realistic.

The lead pair (Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor) was seeing each other in real life and broke up during the course of making this movie. I admire their professionalism in completing this movie, particularly that of Shahid. It is reportedly Kareena who wanted to move on.

The scene in which Kareena’s character Geet Dhillon verbally abuses the jerk, her boyfriend Anshuman (played by Tarun Arora) is a delight. Anshuman dumps her because she suddenly appears in front of him. He is faced with several fears and asks her not to get in touch with him. Post that, Geet spends nine months on her own in Shimla without any contact with her family. Geet had earlier helped Shahid’s character Aditya Kashyap overcome the hurt caused by his break-up with his girlfriend (she marries someone else and he attends her wedding to top it all), and now Aditya helps her overcome her hurt.

When the coward sees Geet with Aditya, he suddenly desires her again and wants to be nice to her. Jerks must not be given a second chance, and the movie thankfully shows the same.

The first phone scene from ZNMD (2011)

This is my original review of the movie.

Arjun, Kabir and Imraan have started the road trip, and then Arjun (who is driving) gets a work-related call. Kabir makes a casual remark about why someone can’t throw Arjun’s phone away, and Imraan actually does so. He yanks at Arjun’s phone and throws it away in the midst of his call.

Arjun is furious, and then the fight starts. Unresolved feelings come up, and then Kabir steps in with his candid assessment of the situation, and of how Arjun and Imraan should deal with the situation as adults and not as children.

The way Arjun says that Imraan gets away with situations when he is always acting so cool / so fun to be with, and when he insists that Imraan has to apologise till the time the apology doesn’t stem from his heart is beautiful to watch.

Arjun's real demand from Imraan was a sincere apology and an acknowledgement of the cracks in their friendship. The fact that he is girlfriend-less or phone-less isn't as bothersome.

Nice going, Hrithik.

Dev from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006)

I have written about extra-marital affairs in my other blog and am a firm believer that once there is an extra-marital affair, it is best to let the cheating spouse go, and officially declare emotional abandonment as unacceptable. The cheating spouse is unhappy in the marriage and it is unfair and mentally agonizing for the spouse who has been cheated to forgive the cheater. Granted that it cannot always be the case – there are families involved, and many times there are children as well – and a compromise towards maintaining peace is often reached. However, if there are no such ties involved, it is best to walk out.

One of the more dramatic movies made on extra-marital affairs is Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, and it was my first movie review. When I read it now, I realize that my opinion on Dev the ineffectual wimp hasn’t changed. The irony – Dev was played by the super successful Shahrukh Khan.

Rhea (played by Preity Zinta) is his hard-working and professionally more successful wife. Dev is emotionally unavailable to her and their son, and is a bitter man because he cannot play football anymore (post an accident) – and therefore doesn’t have a stable career.

There are several confrontation scenes between the two of them. In one of them, Dev wrongly accuses Rhea of taking up a more lucrative offer and being selfish regarding herself and her career, and doesn’t wait for her to announce that she has let the offer pass because it would mean uprooting their family.

There is another scene where Rhea declares to him that she wears the pants in the marriage, and that harsh truth leaves him shattered. He is forced to face his own incompetence, and is unable to deal with it in a constructive manner. The affair follows.

The scene where Rhea slaps him after getting to know about his extra-marital affair had left me with mixed feelings. She could have expressed her sense of betrayal with words? For instance, with something on the lines of, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

Perhaps Rhea decided that it was no longer worth it to be reasonable with Dev.

With the wimp out of her way, Rhea then decides to focus on her son and her work – in that order. Her mother-in-law supports her, and stays back with her. She finds love again.

Priya from Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

I had earlier written about 'Dil Chahta Hai' in this post.

Remember Sameer's (Saif Ali Khan) girlfriend Priya (Suchitra Pillai)? She looks disgusted at having Akash (Aamir Khan) around her at all times when she is trying to have a snap clicked with Sameer at a party. She finds Akash's behaviour obnoxious when he randomnly goes and proposes to Shalini (Preity Zinta) at the same party, and then has a conversation with Sameer at the beach.

Watch the clip from 24 minutes 49 seconds till 30 minutes 49 seconds.

Priya asks Sameer to stay away from Akash, and issues an ultimatum. Sameer, who doesn't have the heart to break her heart – and loves his friend more than his girlfriend – struggles with the ultimatum. After all, why is he being asked to choose between his close friend and girlfriend?

He lands up at Akash's place for advice on how to deal with the situation, and doesn't realise when Akash starts making fun of him and his confusion. “Be a man” is great advice for someone who knows what he wants – not for a confused soul like Sameer.

Siddharth (Akshay Khanna) knows Akash well and asks Sameer what he wants to do. He helps Sameer relax. By then, Akash's charming speech has had its effect and Sameer is all set to be a man.

To make matters worse, Akash tells Priya when she calls for the second time that Sameer had not visited him that day. Priya loses her cool completely and breaks up with Sameer.

Sameer and Priya wouldn't have had a long lasting relationship because of the differences in their personalities – she is more aggressive and clear thinking when compared to him, and he is gentler and a people-pleaser. However, could their relationship (while it lasted) have been more peaceful if Akash wasn't confusing Sameer, or if he wasn't teasing Priya as much?

Shashi from Yuva (2004)

I had watched this movie in Bangalore (when it was still called that) with relatives, and had liked the movie in parts.

The pair I liked the most was that of Lallan Singh (Abhishek Bachchan) and Shashi Biswas (Rani Mukerji). The wikipedia entry describes their relationship nicely - "He loves, marries and abuses his wife."

Towards the end of the movie, Shashi insists that Lallan and she leave town, and keeps asking him if he will turn up at the station. He gives every indication that he will, after returning a gun. She offers to throw it away herself, and he doesn't agree.

Unexpectedly, he goes and kills his brother. Expectedly, he doesn't turn up at the station.

Shashi is in the train waiting for him and there is no sign of him when the train starts moving. Her frustration gets vented out when the ticket checker asks her a simple question (not verbatim) - "Aapka pati bathroom mein hai?"

Watch the clip between 22 seconds and 1 minute. 



I wonder why I didn't pay as much attention to the other two couples that shared healthy relationships.

Due Date (2010)

Today, when I was watching the movie “Due Date”, there was this conversation that left me in splits.

Peter Highman: I'm sorry we drank your father.
Ethan Tremblay: That's okay.
Peter Highman: Are you all right? Are you sure?
Ethan Tremblay: Yeah, there's plenty of him still in here. Darryl, he made three cups of coffee, I think there's about eight cups of my dad left in here.
Peter Highman: Great.
Ethan Tremblay: At least he tasted good.
Peter Highman: Not bad. Yeah, strong. It was uh...full flavored, robust blend.
Ethan Tremblay: He really enjoyed coffee and in the end he was enjoyed as coffee. Circle of life.
Peter Highman: Lion King. All that.

The song used is also striking. Do click and hear it.

Peter Highman: Ethan, there's somethin' I've been wantin' to tell you. I feel pretty awful about, kinda wanna get it off my chest. I uh...I ditched you at the rest stop in Louisiana.
Ethan Tremblay: What?
Peter Highman: I had no intention of comin' back. So wrong.
Ethan Tremblay: Why would you do that?
Peter Highman: Because I'm a pig, I'm an asshole. I don't know, I'm working on it.
Ethan Tremblay: Well, you know what? You came back with donuts, and I think that says more about you than leaving does.

Finally, watch the reference to one of my favourite TV shows.

Playing with shadows

I read Haroun and the Sea of Stories a while ago. I didn’t know that the book was meant for children, and had bought it because it has been written by Salman Rushdie. Among other stuff, this delightful book describes shadows in an imaginative manner – read it if you get a chance.

Shadow play was the highlight of this boring film.



Remember DDLJ?

Simran's mother (played by Farida Jalal) asks Raj (played by SRK) - “Kaisi ladki chahiye tumhe?” (or to that effect) In the background, Simran (played by Kajol) looks wide-eyed at Raj knowing his propensity for giving clever answers. Raj says, “Yoon samjhiye bas aap hi ki parchaai ho!”

If you didn’t know about the Raj-Simran affair, you would merely smile. Farida Jalal does exactly that.