This one was a pick by my wife who had heard about it as a notable film about Buddhism long ago but had never seen it. It is apparently quite highly regarded, being a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film during the first year that the category existed. Note that I’m going to be more spoilery than usual partly because this is such an old film but mostly because it’s hard to say anything worth saying about it without revealing much of the plot.
I don’t consider myself a fan of Woody Allen’s films. Sure, there is much to admire about them including the clever dialogue and witty social commentary, but on the whole, they’re not to my taste. Blue Jasmine gained attention recently both for being one of the better Allen films of recent years and one that departs significantly from his usual form. Since this film also won Cate Blanchett the Best Actress Oscar, I thought I should check it out.
This modestly produced Indian film has been making waves all over the world. It’s been a commercial and a critical success both for domestic audiences in India and in foreign markets. I think this is because it feels very authentically Indian, yet at the same time it tells the kind of timeless, universal story that Hollywood excels at, making it a film that travels exceptionally well.
After how much she liked Nebraska, this was a film that my wife was keen to watch. Alexander Payne made this in between Sideways in 2004 and Nebraska in 2013. After watching Nebraska, I decided that I liked Sideways more. After watching The Descendants, I decided that I like both of the other two more.
When you think of racing films, you think of The Fast and the Furious and its innumerable sequels. Action-packed, thrilling and maybe entertaining, but ultimately rather shallow. So when a racing film made it into the top ten lists of various film critics last year, I sat up and paid attention.
This is a fan-made film available for viewing on YouTube. It was originally released as a series of 12 episodes, but with a total running time of just over 100 minutes, I think it makes more sense to consider it as a film.
Obviously I’m not American, but even I heard about the shooting of Oscar Grant by the BART Police in Oakland, California in 2009. I was a regular of the Quarter to Three forum at that time and I remember forum regulars who are Bay Area residents being abuzz over the incident. The incident resulted in Grant’s death and triggered huge protests and riots due to how widely amateur videos filmed using mobile telephones and personal cameras were disseminated online.