India holds a special place in my heart. Having worked for an Indian company for just over three years, I visited the country around five-six times. While The White Tiger is mostly set in Dhanbad and Delhi, in the east and north of India respectively, the ways of life portrayed had many similarities with my beloved Mumbai,... Continue Reading →
Top 10 Films Not in the English Language
When it comes to films recorded in a dialogue that isn't your native language, are you put off completely or are you still open and willing to watch it? In my experience there are several different groups of people when it comes to international films: some won't watch any film unless it is recorded in... Continue Reading →
[Review] Westworld
It is such a joy watching films released decades earlier and seeing whether their vision of the future came true. Westworld - written and directed by Crichton - gives a glimpse of a then near-future (1983) that I would have liked to have seen become a reality. A fully interactive, highly realistic amusement park sounds brilliant... Continue Reading →
[Review] Casablanca
Casablanca has an emotive plot, set against World War II and the impact it had on refugees and the ability to travel. The eclectic, multinational clientele of Rick's Bar reveals German officers rubbing shoulders with petty criminals and gamblers. After knowing the iconic lines "Here's looking at you, kid" and "Of all the gin joints in... Continue Reading →
Thursday Movie Picks #340: 2020 Releases
This week in Thursday Movie Picks - run by Wandering through the Shelves - we've been asked to list three to five films that were released in 2020. As a pandemic often demands, I spent much of 2020 at home so the majority of films I saw last year were released and watched via streaming... Continue Reading →
[Part 2] Visiting the real Middle-earth: New Zealand
New Zealand's North Island visually has a different feel to the South Island. While the South Island has the sweeping vistas and looming mountains, North Island is decidedly more hilly. It is three times the population of South Island too. While on North Island we stayed in Rotorua, Auckland and, of course, Wellington, the home... Continue Reading →
[Review] Pieces of a Woman
Watch film - open Letterboxd app - log and rate film. After sleeping on it, I decided to change my initial four star review of Pieces of a Woman to three and a half stars. Those three stars belong to Vanessa Kirby thanks to her powerhouse performance as Martha, the young woman at the centre of... Continue Reading →
Thursday Movie Picks #339: Oscars Winners Edition – Best Picture
For the first Thursday Movie Picks of 2021, led by Wandering through the Shelves, we've been asked to select three to five films of our choosing that all won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I found it very tricky whittling my choices down to just five: honourable mentions go to Casablanca, The Godfather, Forrest... Continue Reading →
[Part 1] Visiting the real Middle-earth: New Zealand
Although we've only just started 2021 I'm already looking forward to A Very Special Anniversary that will be taking place at the end of the year. As long-time readers of my blog know, I have loved The Lord of the Rings trilogy since I saw the first film at the cinema aged 13. This year, in... Continue Reading →