22 recommendations to watch
How do you feel when you don’t feel anything at all? That is exactly how I feel when I am done watching a movie I genuinely liked or when I’ve binge-watched a series through a sleepless night. When the production ends and the credits roll, I get hit by reality. That whatever I watched was a work of fiction. A lot like the stories we tell each other, to maintain our relevance in the annals of humankind. My love for cinema is pretty selfish—more selfish than pretty, actually—because it has been with me during my loneliest times. Yes, one can debate about the healthiness of such a relationship where the other side is more life-like than the one who is alive.
Fortunately, times change and we alter our realities too. Cinema, to its credit, changes too. But with several OTTs vying for our attention, it becomes difficult to choose. As a result, I recently hit a dead end and was out of reccos, so I did what any sane person with a considerable following on social media would: I asked my adorable readers on Instagram to share their last 3 faves from their watch lists. I ended up receiving a ton of names that I wasn’t even aware of. Quite a revelation. I already dug into them and have been at it since.
In the meantime, I thought of sharing with you some of my recent watches and rewatches, which you might find interesting.
Aftersun (2022)
Director: Charlotte Wells
Is it just me or Paul Mescal is the find of the decade already (the way Miles Teller was in the previous decade)? He has the perfect mix of charm, innocence and maturity — something at full display here as a doting father to a super-adorable girl.
The Blue Caftan (2022)
Director: Maryam Touzani
One of the most sensitive portrayals of a relationship in recent memory. Relationships, to be exact. Am happy that such stories are told with so much finesse, without compromising the vulnerability of characters. This Moroccan film will make you smile and cry out loud.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Director: Ruben Östlund
This is a crazy movie, with its heart in the right place. At no point can you predict what will (or can) happen next. At one point, you are with a devastatingly good-looking couple and then suddenly, you are seeing in a completely different light.
Shrinking (2023-)
Creators: Brett Goldstein, Bill Lawrence & Jason Segel
There’s something about a man who can’t move on from his dead wife—had a similar tangent in Ricky Gervais’ Afterlife—where Jason Segel’s character is super goofy and relatable. By the end of it, all the characters need therapy.
Extreme Job (2019)
Director: Lee Byeong-heon
One of the most fun Korean movies I’ve watched in a long while. A group of undercover cops, who appear beaten down collectively, have a lot of surprises in their fold. Be prepared for a very smooth filmi climax.
Detachment (2011)
Director: Tony Kaye
This is one of those frustratingly long rants of a movie that stays with you. Adrien Brody is the moral compass of the story who seldom smiles or laughs. The only problem with his character is he tries to address way too many problems at once.
The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Director: Scott Cooper
To be honest, I watched it for Christian Bale (I haven’t missed any of his work so far—it’s my favourite hobby to guess his accent) but then, it’s Harry Melling whom you’d end up cherishing more, and not just because of his ridiculous resemblance to Allan Edgar Poe.
Fall (2022)
Director: Scott Mann
I didn’t expect this one to be as engrossing as it turned out to be. Very frugally made. All of us have had those nightmares where we are falling and just when we are about to hit the ground, we wake up. This movie is where you don’t wake up.
Fire of Love (2022)
Director: Sara Dosa
It’s not everyday you come across an accomplished couple from the world of science who happened to be from the same field. This fascinating documentary follows the most popular volcanologist couple who had a sad demise. But more importantly, a heck of a life together.
Let Me Have My Son (2023)
Director: Cristobal Krusen
In case you are seeking a tear-jerking story of a father who is looking for his son in a mental hospital of all places, then you don’t have to search anymore. This 2-hour drama makes you question the sanity of some relationships, no matter how much love is added.
Stephen Curry: Underrated (2023)
Director: Peter Nicks
Anybody who loves basketball has to be in awe of Steph Curry. This fellow defies the pituitary logic of the sport he is destined to be remembered for. And this documentary makes a classic case of an underdog proving the experts wrong—again and again and again.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Director: Joseph Sargent
I remember watching this thriller 10 years ago but my memory played me up: I simply couldn’t recall what happened in the end. Premature senility alert. So, watched it again and thoroughly enjoyed it. Such movies laid out the footprints for Money Heists of our times.
Bitter Moon (1992)
Director: Roman Polanski
This director might be persona non grata today but he used to make mean good movies back in his days. I liked Bitter Moon for its hold on our voyeurism—through the blue drunk eyes of Hugh Grant—and the tragic ending of all bonds on a ship bound for India.
The Call of the Wild (2020)
Director: Chris Sanders
Fellow dog lovers, just watch it, if you haven’t already. That’s all.
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Remember watching this epic during my first job days. I also remember liking it a lot but I just couldn’t recollect most of the details except Philip Seymour Hoffman’s repeated betrayals. So, rewatched it one weekend and relished every bit of it.
Primer (2004)
Director: Shane Carruth
This movie was made at a budget of $7000 and ended up grossing close to a million. I read this stat and was intrigued to know more. Checked it out, raised my eyebrows several times, but by the end of it, I appreciated the thought process.
Lamb (2021)
Director: Valdimar Jóhannsson
Only a utopian country like Iceland can come up with an impossible tale like this. Redefines the very notion of parenthood.
In the Land of Women (2007)
Director: Jonathan Kasdan
Another rewatch. Another failure of an attempt at understanding why Meg Ryan left us early. I mean, she is alive but she stopped working much.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
It might seem like a curio to imagine Adam Sandler in a serious role but PTA does a coup by packaging him as an angry man with issues. A splendid performance. Memorable role.
Garden State (2004)
Director: Zach Braff
The very first scene of this warm hug of a movie has Vakratunda Mahakaya playing out loud in a chaotic airplane, with Zach Braff staring into oblivion. His loser life takes an interesting turn when he bumps into my first onscreen love: Natalie Portman (who is also equally mad).
Somewhere in Queens (2022)
Director: Ray Romano
I admire it very much when actors climb onto the director chair but very few manage to transition. Thankfully, Romano did a neat job here. You might like this movie for its realness: we all have a family that is dysfunctional but wouldn’t admit it in public.
Normal People (2020)
Director: Lenny Abrahamson & Hettie Macdonald
One miniseries. Two directors taking up 6 episodes each. A fabulous work. Not your regular love story. Two young people who are growing like an arch: the well-liked is becoming less-liked and vice versa. This is real and hurting and quiet and daunting.