Sunday, January 01, 2023

Books, Shows, Podcasts, and Documentaries - 2022 Wrap Up

Nothing screams 'Slacker' more than writing a year end wrap up on the first day of the next year. There we have that out of the way.

For the second post of this newly created annual tradition (2021) we have a new category in addition to last years Books, Shows, and Documentaries  - Podcasts. Let's get into the Top 5s without further ado.

Books 

Total books read in 2022 - 26. Full list available here. Feel free to add me as a friend on Goodreads.


5. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (Fiction)

My review (from Goodreads): I knew what I was getting into, and I had decided I will not let it break me down.

I weeped for a full minute when the most expected thing happened.

Sheer power in Marianne's writing and Rebecca Benson & Sheila Reid's narration. A simple story beautifully told. More of the how story than a what story, and those are the ones where an author truly shines (or falls flat).

Two terminally ill patients, of 17 and 83, develop a bond that sucks you in as they share their experiences of their 100 years. 17 year old Lenni is a firebrand, even if her body is giving up. 83 year old Margot has many more layers to her than you will realize at first. Plus some endearing characters like the priest and Humphrey.

Read if you're looking for a good time and some solid crying your heart out

4. The Illustrated History of Football (Non-Fiction: Sports)

My review (from Goodreads): If you have half an ounce of interest in football (international, or club, that debate doesn't matter here), this is the book for you. Covers the history in the most entertaining way possible, with brilliant comic strips accompanying the story over the decades. I am one of those world cup/Euro fanatics with next to zero idea or interest in club football, and found myself nodding along to long forgotten nuggets from World Cup trivia, to gaining a bunch of information about the same players and their achievements or lack thereof in the club leagues. No punches have been pulled by David Squires, especially towards FIFA or the various associations. There's a joke a minute hidden in plain sight, with smart references aplenty. A perfect companion to take care of the withdrawal symptom after the Doha final.

3. Homeland Elegies (Fiction: Contemporary Historical Fiction)

My review (from Goodreads): Is it fiction? Is it an autobiography? Which parts do we believe? Why does it even matter?

Ayad Akhtar's 'Homeland Elegies' is a unique mix of a first person fictional account where the protagonist shares the name and more with the author, and is a good part fiction mixed with facts. If that premise wasn't intriguing enough, the subjects covered - racism, immigration, Trump, capitalism, current events mixed with fictional situations - makes this an engrossing read.

As a desi immigrant to the US, I identified quite a bit with both the protagonist/narrator and the parent. It helps that Ayad is a brilliant storyteller, and his dialogues, lots of it throughout, is so realistic, both for the immigrant parents, and the first gen narrator.

Sharp, witty, and one that will make you think every time you take a break.

2. The Bollywood Pocketbook Series (Box Set) (Non-Fiction: Bollywood Trivia)


My review (from Goodreads): Disclaimer: Dipta is a friend, so giving this Pocketbook series 5/5 stars. Would have given it 6 stars otherwise.

There is likely no other book/series with a higher trivia/sentence in the world. Likh ke diya.

Also, each of these hundreds (maybe thousands) of trivia nuggets pass the quality bar that would make them good questions at any Bollywood quiz worth their salt. As an entry level employee in this corporation of Bollywood trivia, I look up to Diptakirti as the founder-CEO, who is simply better than all of us in his chosen field.

This 4 series collection includes Iconic Dates, Places, Characters, and Things (likely a hat tip to the popular Indian time-pass game of Name, Place, Animal, Thing). Each book is ~150 pages, with ~50 chapters. Every chapter, at ~3 page is like a healthy yet tasty snack that you can't stop popping in your mouth, much like the popcorn tub in the dark theater which is the spiritual birthplace of this series.

Each pocketbook follows the chronological order of a century of Bollywood. However, the chapters that cover the movies from a hundred years back are no less interesting than the much more recent ones.

This is obviously not Diptakirti's first rodeo at this. He has been writing books on Bollywood trivia for over a decade now with Kitnay Aadmi Thay, Bollybook, Bollygeek, Written by Salim-Javed, Bioscope etc. In this series, not only has he honed his craft to the sharpest level, but it feels like he's also had the most fun writing all of these books, with references and throwbacks to other nuggets within the series itself. 


1. Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa (Non-Fiction: History)

My review (from Goodreads): One of the hardest books I have read, in my life. Not because the author used obscure words I didn't know the meaning of. On the contrary he used lucid language to describe some of the most heinous forms of flouting of human rights and sheer torture carried out by the colonizers and then the native dictators across the continent of Africa.

Stories of how the European colonizers ravaged the continent and its people for centuries is well known by now and is as pathetic as it gets. However, it is just heartbreaking to read how the same story of these nations winning independence and then falling into equally horrifying fate, and in many cases perhaps worse, by the home grown dictators whose cruelty knew no bounds. Repeated across Congo, Zimbabe, Nigeria, Equitorial Guinea, Libya, Ivory Coast among others.

The extensive research that has gone into writing the book jumps out. Kudos to Paul Kenyon for coming up with this brilliant work of history and lessons to be learned from it. 

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Shows (all images and summaries courtesy Wikipedia)

Total shows watched in 2022 - 20. 

5. House of the Dragon (Season 1,  2022)


Summary: House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to Game of Thrones (2011–2019), it is the second series in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik served as the showrunners for the first season. Based on Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood, the series is set about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen Conquest, nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Featuring an ensemble cast, the show portrays the events leading up to the beginning of the decline of House Targaryen, a devastating war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons".

4. Only Murders In The Building: Season 1 (2021)

Summary: Only Murders in the Building is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The ten-episode first season premiered on Hulu in August 2021. The plot follows three strangers played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, with a shared interest in true crime podcasts who join together to investigate a death in the apartment building they all live in. The series has received critical acclaim for its comedic approach to crime fiction, as well as the performances and chemistry among the lead performers. In the first season, after a suspicious death in their affluent Upper West Side apartment building, the three neighbors start their own podcast about their investigation.

3. White Lotus: Season 2 (2022)

SummaryThe White Lotus is an American black comedy-drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO. It follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain whose stay is affected by their various psychosocial dysfunctions. The first season is set in Hawaii and the second season is set in Sicily.

2. Ozark: Seasons 1-4 (2017-2022)
Summary: Ozark is an American crime drama television series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix, and produced by MRC Television and Aggregate Films. The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who move their family to the Lake of the Ozarks and become money launderers. Bateman also serves as a director and executive producer for the series. The first season was released on July 21, 2017; the second season was released on August 31, 2018, and the third season was released on March 27, 2020. The first three seasons are 10 episodes each. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth, and final, season consisting of 14 episodes split into two parts.

1. Ted Lasso: Seasons 1 & 2  (2020 & 2021)
Summary: Ted Lasso is an American sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports' coverage of the Premier League. The series follows Ted Lasso, an American college football coach who is hired to coach an English soccer team in an attempt by its owner to spite her ex-husband. Lasso tries to win over the skeptical English market with his folksy, optimistic demeanor while dealing with his inexperience in the sport.

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Documentaries (all images and summaries courtesy Wikipedia)

5. The Tinder Swindler (2022)
SummaryThe Tinder Swindler is a British true crime documentary film directed by Felicity Morris and released on Netflix on 2 February 2022. The documentary tells the story of the Israeli conman Simon Leviev (born Shimon Hayut) who used the dating application Tinder to connect with individuals who he then emotionally manipulated into financially supporting his lavish lifestyle on the pretext he needed the money to escape his "enemies."

4. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022)
Summary: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is a television special released on 1 January 2022 on HBO Max. It is a reunion special for the cast and crew of the Harry Potter film series, marking the twentieth anniversary of the series' first instalment, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). The films' protagonist trio Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson appear in the special, with surviving principal cast members Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Ian Hart, Toby Jones, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, producer David Heyman, and filmmakers Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates. The special also marked Coltrane's final on-screen appearance before his death in October that year.

3. Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes (2022)
Summary: A refreshingly honest film about an extraordinary cricketer. Directors Chris Grubb and Luke Mellows were allowed unprecedented access to Ben's life with interviews and insight by Sam Mendes.

2. McEnroe (2022)
Summary: It follows John McEnroe as he finally tells his side of his storied career and performances on the court..

1. Roadrunner (2021)
Summary:
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is a 2021 American documentary film directed and produced by Morgan Neville. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021, and was released in the United States on July 16, 2021, by Focus Features. The film grossed $5.5 million at the box office and received critical acclaim, but also garnered controversy over its use of artificial intelligence technology to reproduce Bourdain's voice for some audio clips.

The film follows the life and career of chef, author, and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, who died by suicide on June 8, 2018, at the age of 61 while on location in France for his CNN show Parts Unknown. The documentary features interviews with David Chang and Éric Ripert, as well as members of the production crew from Parts Unknown.

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Podcasts

Listing the 5 Podcasts I make a point to listen to whenever a new episode drops.

5. Market Measures and The Skinny on Options by Tasty Trade (Options Trading)




4. Attention Pliss by Greatbong (Variety show)



3. The Daily by  New York Times (Daily News Analysis)



2. Pivot by Kara Swisher & Prof Galloway (Tech-Biz News and Analysis)



1. Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge (Tech Deep Dive and Interviews)




Other notable mentions:

1. Bad Bets (Business History)
2. Hard Fork (Tech/Biz Strategy)
3. Sharp Tech (Tech/Biz Strategy)
4. Plain English (News Analysis)
5. The Journal (Daily News Analysis)
6. On With Kara Swisher (News Analysis/Opinions/Interviews)

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Movies Round Up 2022

After 2 years and change I watched a movie in a theater. 'The Worst Person In The World, March 2022. If nothing else, just that makes this annual post more special than its predecessors. We went back to that cavernous, dark room with strangers and sat through a few hours or shared air to breathe and moments to remember. 2022, let no one tell you that you were not special.

Managed to watch 100+ movies (103 to be precise) once again, so there's that for a start. Some age old mistakes were amended, such as finally  watching (and loving) the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some new mistakes were made, such as openly sharing my lack of enthusiasm for RRR, and getting trolled on Twitter. Wait till the end of this post to see what masochism looks like. Another highlight was watching several (~15) movies with my 7 year old movie buff. We caught up on the Ice Age series and more and it's fascinating to see not only how much more they enjoy by completely suspending disbelief, but also how much more they observe. Unfortunately, for now you're left with me and my cynical observations, yet again.

Now to the annual post. This is the 14th year of this tradition, and as always here's a recap of the prior years.

20092010201120122013201420152016201720182019, 2020, and 2021.

Let's move on to the usual metrics we review before we get to the piece you're waiting to read and disagree vehemently with me on - the actual year end wrap up.

Here is the Summary Table (in its 16th year) of movies released in the same year (2022 for this post) that I watched.

Year     # Seen    Hindi:English:Others   Top Rating  Avg. Rating
2007     32               22:10:0                           9.0             5.78
2008     30               23:7:0                             8.5             6.35
2009     24               18:6:0                             9.0             6.85
2010     25               16:9:0                             8.5             6.62
2011     22               15:6:1                             8.5             6.77
2012     28               12:11:5                           9.0             7.33
2013     28               14:14:0                           9.0             7.12
2014     16               10:6:0                             9.0             6.16 
2015     26               20:6:0                             9.0             6.55
2016     30               17:13:0                           9.5             6.98
2017     31               17:13:1                           9.0             7.03
2018     87               23:59:5                           9.0             7.29
2019     86               12:65: 9                          10.0           7.45
2020     38               16:20:2                           9.0             7.40
2021     53               15:34:4                           9.0             7.20
2022     67               21:38:8                           9.0             7.30

The split of the movies by source (not just movies released in 2022) was as follows. Those are 14 small movies for a man in a theater, but a giant relief for mankind.


SourceCount
Netflix20
Theatre14
HBO Max13
Amazon Video13
Hulu12
Disney+11
Showtime4
Hoichoi4
Zee53
Peacock3
Starz2
Apple TV+2
Voot1
Hoopla1
Grand Total103

And now for the annual ratings. A slight-major change being introduced from this year. Like in the past, we will have the Top 5 for Hindi movies released in the year. However, earlier we used to  also look at Top 5 "Non-Hindi". As over the years I have watched almost 2X as many English movies as Hindi, I am introducing a dedicated Top 5 English movies section, and a separate Top 3 "Non Hindi/English" section. Also, no documentaries are included as they were moved to the "Books, Shows, Podcasts" blog post from last year.

Gentle reminder these are based on just the 67 movies I watched in 2022 that released in 2022. Also, my blog my rules but our discussions. Here we go. All images courtesy of Wikipedia. 

Non-Hindi/English Movies


3. Aparajito (Language: Bengali, Director: Anik Dutta)

A Bengali movie about Satyajit Ray making Pather Panchali is something that stacks most odds against you even before you begin. You're straddling blasphemous territory and you just can't come out unscathed. However, to the immense luck and greater credit of Anik Dutta, Jeetu Kamal and a stellar team, they pulled off this miracle. Didn't know Ray could be made more endearing to Bengalis, but you will want to watch his movies again, with even more admiration, after watching this.

2. X=Prem (Language: Bengali, Director: Srijit Mukherjee)

Srijit Mukherjee has been a bit of a one-man show in Bengali cinema for a few years, focusing on quality and quantity and mostly managing to pull both off. Here he tackles romance, replete with Kolkata college canteens and college prem, memory loss, and some clever plot points to tell an old tale in a very attractive new bottle. Also some of the songs like Bhalobashar Morshum becoming earworms for many.

1. A Hero (Language: Persian, Director: Asghar Farhadi)


Did he? Didn't he? Is truth black and white after all, or just another shade of grey? Simply brilliant movie making that keeps you at  the edge of your living room couch till the end, and even after the end credits role you don't know what exactly you were hoping for and if you're satisfied. 

English Movies


5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Director: Rian Johnson)

What? A guilty pleasure can't make Top of the Year lists? Who makes these rules? As I mentioned, my post, my rules. absolutely hit the spot during that missing week between Christmas and New Year. Never taking themselves seriously but not dumbing things down for us, the audience either. Benoit Blanc is one to watch out for, the only detective from our times who may leave a legacy behind. 

4. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Director: Sophie Hyde)

If you haven't heard of this one, don't be hard on yourself. One of those, what's the cliche, ah, hidden gems. If older people, especially women having their wishes and desires makes you uncomfortable, this movie is just for you. Emma Thompson has a blast scandalizing the prudes and Daryl McCormack is strangely dreamy throughout. Will be on the lookout for anything he does in the coming years.  

3. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Director: Tom Gormican)
A movie about Nick Cage, with Nick Cage playing Nick Cage in a movie about Nick Cage. What's not to love? The self referential jokes come in thick and fast. But this is not one of the so-good-it's-bad movies, simply a very enjoyable one. It's genuinely funny, uses the comic-book style license to go crazy to good use. The jokes land, the references land, sometimes even if you haven't seen any NC movies (I have not seen a lot myself). Plus gorgeous Mediterranean European backdrops and some car chase.
 
2. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (Director: Richard Linklater)

 I wasn't in the Houston area, or even US, when we sent those initial men to the moon. Actually I wasn't even close to being born. And this animated masterpiece from Netflix manages to get us in those neighborhoods around NASA where every family has someone or the other in some way, shape or form being involved with the history being created. This however looks at the ones who are even one step further removed, the kids, spouses, teachers etc of the neighborhood, leading a regular life  but knowing that something big is going on. Great animation to go with the tender storytelling.

1. The Fallout (Director: Megan Park)

I have scoffed at Trigger Warnings many a times, but watching this movie days after the latest school shooting in America helped me realize how good film making unfortunately does require those much more than bad ones (those do for different reasons). A poignant portrayal of how our regular life turns upside down, not just for the victims and their families, but even the survivors of these grisly incidents. How regular, mundane life in mundane places become unrecognizable. The contrast of the boring and the horror of the unpardonable hits home hard in this Megan Park creation. Life moves on, sure, but there are many ways in which it can move on and not all are remotely similar. 


Hindi Movies


5. Darlings (Director: Jasmeet K. Reen)

To paraphrase the great all-rounder, DJ Bravo, Alia is a champion, Shefali is a champion, Vijay is a champion. Darker than the average dark comedy made in India in recent times, this borders on the farcical and heart wrenching, sometimes at the same time. The kind of movie where even as the "What?" becomes crazier by the minute, the "How?" is what keeps you in.

4. Badhaai Do (Director: Harshvardhan Kulklarni)

Ayushman Khurrana Rajkumar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar teach us and our Indian families societal lessons, as they have been for almost a decade now, but wrapped in that familiar sugar coating. While the message may get a bit heavy handed at times, the able performers and the cast manage to take us for the ride without giving up halfway. You (mostly) know and are rooting for the end, but the meandering ways by which we reach there was tactfully handled.

3. Kantara (Director: Rishab Shetty)

I am aware placing this through and through Kannada movie in my Hindi Top 5 is asking for trouble. However I used a simple rule of thumb for this, the language I watched a movie in is the language I slotted it under. Also, if you don't agree, remember, my post, my rules! This isn't even normally a genre (village-period-gore) I am naturally inclined towards. But the makers and actors deliver a story and performances that keep you waiting for the next act and the climax. 

2. Kaun Pravin Tambe (Director: Jayprad Desai)

So, just to reiterate, these ratings are directional preferences, and not like the elements of the periodic table that cannot be moved from their place by any force of nature. All this because this was almost the movie of the year for me till the other one came out towards the end of the year. And KPT is a masterclass. A story that's hardly believable but fully true and also a gentleman who is almost hardly believable in his simplicity and warmth, even outside of the absurd tale. Wonderfully portrayed by Shreyas Talpade, Pravin Tambe gets the recognition he richly deserves and we get one of the best sports movies in recent years.

1. Monica, O My Darling (Director: Vasan Bala)

Thrill hai, drama hai, twist hai, story hai, humor hai, what else can we ask for? While Vasan's previous movies - especially the short story in Ray and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota showed us strong glimpses of his unique creative style, he is fully in his elements here in MoM with roles tailor made for Rajkumar Rao, Huma Qureshi and a hilarious Radhika Apte. Another made for OTT dark comedy in the Top 5 and we may have a trend, right? The twists come fast enough to bamboozle you but not confuse you and get you out of the mood for the story. Congrats to this Movie of the Year.

Here's the final list of ALL movies watched in 2022 (in alphabetical order within groups. Movies listed above removed to avoid duplicates)

Grade: Must Watch
Jaws
Licorice Pizza
Parallel Mothers
Promising Young Woman
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Worst Person in the World


Grade: Recommended
Being The Ricardos
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies
Byomkesh Hatyamancha
Drive My Car
Dobaara
Eeb Allay Ooo
Elf
Elvis
Hustle
Ice Age
Kantara
Rise
The Batman
The Lost Daughter
Tick, Tick... Boom!
Top Gun Maverick
Turning Red

Grade: Read Summaries/Use Discretion
83
7 Days
A Christmas Story Christmas
After Yang
Annette
Avatar: The Way of Water
Belashuru
Belfast
Brahmastra
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui
Chup
Costa Brava, Lebanon
Death on the Nile
Deep Water
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Don't Worry Darling
Dune
Emergency
Father of the Bride
Flee
Gangubhai Kathiawadi
Gehraiyaan
Hit The Road
Honk For Jesus
Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: The Meltdown
I'm Your Man
Jalsa
Kimi
Laal Singh Chaddha
Loop Lapeta
Luck
Minions: The Rise of Gru
Mr. Malcolm's List
Nightmare Alley
Nope
Operation Mincemeat
PS1
Qala
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Ron's Gone Wrong
Sharmaji Namkeen
Spencer
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Sundown
The Beta Test
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The Kashmir Files
The Land
The Nest
The Northman
The Outfit
Thor: Love and Thunder
Three Thousand Years Of Longing
Vikram
West Side Story


Grade: Please Avoid
India Sweet & Spices
Jugjugg Jeeyo
Kakababur Pratyaborton
Lightyear
Pushpa: The Rise
RRR