The Oscar Week- Part II

As promised, we're back with another set of reviews! Here goes:

1. Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

-Reviewed by Manasvi Neyol 

Nominations- 7 Predictions- 4

I was sceptical about watching this one because the name didn’t sound so appealing- I have never been so wrong in my life! (never judge a book by its cover). This one’s a dark comedy, a really really reaallly good one! Fifteen minutes into the movie-I was totally engrossed into the storyline. Half an hour into the movie my dad comments- “I don’t see how any other movie is going to win the Oscars”. That’s how good this movie is! 

After a few months have passed since her daughter’s rape and murder without any significant findings by the police, Mildred Hayes decides to send a message to the respected chief of police William Willoughby by putting up 3 billboards with a controversial message- “Raped while dying. And Still No Arrests. How come? Chief Willoughby.” This draws flak from the whole town but Mildred is determined in her decision and does not bow down to anybody.

The movie is exceptionally well written. Every dialogue is bang-on and the actors have done full justice to their parts, they were phenomenal! To take up such a sensitive topic and write a funny movie without being insensitive in any manner is not easy, Martin MacDonagh makes it seem like a walk in the park.

Francis McDormand and Sam Rockwell are the stars of this movie. McDormand was splendid as Mildred, who is brutal and doesn’t hold back when it comes to giving a reality check to the people in her town. Rockwell deserves all the praise for his brilliant portrayal of the stupid, douchebag mama’s boy (and in my opinion, the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role). Woody Harrelson was a delight to watch- as always. Peter Dinklage’s part was the icing on the cake.

2.  Call Me By Your Name

-Reviewed by Manasvi Neyol 

Nominations- 4 Prediction- 2 

The movie is an adaptation of the novel by the same name, written by André Aciman. Set in the summer of 1983 in Lombardy, Italy, Call Me By Your Name is the story of Elio Perlman, 17, who

discovers his sexuality when Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father, comes to live with them. Amidst the idyllic surroundings, the two gradually fall in love.

The movie seems a bit slow in the beginning since the build-up to the romance is long. However the experience of watching this movie is like going on a long drive, the destination doesn’t matter, the journey is what counts. Eventually, one becomes so engrossed that the characters’ emotions are your emotions. The dialogues are so beautiful and overwhelming, they go straight to the heart, I literally had goosebumps!

“The meaning of the river flowing is not that all things are changing so that we cannot encounter them twice, but some things stay the same only by changing”

“Call me by your name and I’ll call you by mine” -This dialogue was this movie’s version of “Okay?Okay.” and was definitely my favorite scene from the movie. Oliver (Armie Hammer) says these words to Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and my heart literally skipped a beat.

If I had a decent memory, I would quote from the movie all the time!

One particular monologue by Mr. Perlman (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) blew me away. One of the best monologues I’ve heard recently. Here’s an excerpt-

“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should, that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste!”

Timothée Chalamet owned the movie with his polished acting skills! He was unbelievable amazing as Elio Perlman and portrayed the multiple facets of the character’s personality brilliantly- his confidence, intelligence, confusion, rawness, vulnerability, passion, desperation, happiness, helplessness. If he wins the Oscar for the Best Actor he would be the youngest awardee ever! (Btw I’m totally rooting for him).

A special mention of the background score is necessary. The music was just heavenly!’. Sufjan Steven’s ‘The Mystery of Love’ played at the PERFECT moment and added more meaning to Oliver and Elio’s love story.

There were some areas that were a bit too scandalizing, but it was necessary to convey the character’s state of mind. It was refreshing to watch a movie about homosexuality where nobody was harassing the protagonists or making fun of them, just a simple story about two people falling madly in love.

This one was a romantic masterpiece. It just keeps getting better every time you watch it.

Now that I’ve watched the movie (multiple times), I can’t wait to get my hands on the novel! 

3. Lady Bird

-Reviewed by Mitali Khachi
Nominations-5, Predictions-1

The underlying theme of Lady Bird is ‘Hedonism’- Happiness and pleasure are the main objectives of life.

This movie revolves around a young girl called Christine who likes to go by the name she gave to herself, Lady Bird. She plays the role of a typical teenager; rebellious, free-thinking, ambitious, confused, a little shallow, selfish, and a whole lot crazy (She jumps out of a moving car just to avoid having an argument with her mother!). It covers her journey from adolescence to adulthood in a small town called Sacramento, a place from where she is desperately looking for an escape.

Lady bird is a dreamer, she wants to attend NYU after graduating high school, even though neither does she have the required grades nor the money to pay for the tuition. She has been underestimated her whole life; she gets laughed at by her career counsellor and her mother when she tells them about her college plans which makes her even more determined to apply for it.

Like many teenagers, she is embarrassed of her parents and goes astray for a while; start cutting classes and co-curricular activities, ignoring her best friend, hanging out with a bad crowd and dates the wrong kind of boy, but in the end, she realizes the error of her ways. She severs ties with her boyfriend and her so-called friends and happily goes back to acting like her goofy self with her best friend.

There were two things that I liked the most in this movie, first is the depiction of mother-daughter relationship. While one second Christine and her mother are fighting like cats and dogs, the next moment they are back to being best friends; going shopping together, talking about boys and doing their own quirky things. There is a dialogue between the two which shows just how much she seeks her mom’s acceptance and validation:-

Christine- “I wish you just liked me.”

Mom- “Ofcourse I love you”

Christine- “Yeah, but do you LIKE me??”

The second thing is just how natural the acting is. All the actors have done a wonderful job at essaying their roles. I almost felt like I was a part of Lady Bird’s world, like I was witnessing all this in person. Even though the movie gets a little slow in the middle and there really isn’t any jaw dropping moment in the story, I loved the acting!

Aaaaaand that's it for now! Next time we will be reviewing Get Out, Phantom Thread and The Darkest Hour. 

The Oscar Week- Part I

Watching movies and writing blogs? HELL YES! It is every movie buff’s dream come true. With our internships and other work, we hadn’t been able to take out time to watch good cinema and our wishlists just kept on increasing. With The Oscars around the corner, we decided to watch nine oscar nominated movies and do a series of blogs on it. So go grab a bucket of popcorn and get ready for a cinematic week!

Here’s our take on the first three movies we watched:

The Shape of Water

-Reviewed by Mitali Khachi

Nominations- 13 Prediction for the number of wins- 5/6

Picturized in the backdrop of the Cold war, this is a fictional story about a mute woman named Eliza Esposito working as a cleaning lady in one of U.S. Government’s high security research facilities, whose life take a turn when she comes across one of the government’s top-secret assets- a mysterious human-like amphibian who has been captured from the Amazon rainforest and brought to the States. While the Government agents and the marine biologists are wary of this creature, Eliza strikes up a friendship with it which soon develops into deep abounding love. Eliza sees a similarity between herself and this amphibian which has been beautifully conveyed in a dialogue she has a with a friend of hers: “We both move our mouths but don’t speak. The way he looks at me, he doesn’t see me as incomplete, he sees me for who I am. He’s happy to see me.” This movie shows two isolated beings come together and fall in love with each other, even though they are two entirely different species!! It is kind of a modern take on the classic Beauty and the Beast.

The Shape of water also showcases friendship and humanity beautifully. While everyone else in the laboratory treats the creature like a science experiment, she is a true companion to him; she shares meals with him, plays music and dances for his entertainment. When Eliza witnesses the creature being mercilessly tortured, she resolves to rescue him from the facility and approaches her friend Mr. Giles for help. When he questions her about why she wants to risk committing a felony for someone who is ‘not even human’, she says, “It is not human, but if we do nothing, neither are we.” What follows is an exciting escape story, the budding romance between the two and a poetic ending.

Sally Hawkin’s portrayal of Eliza Esposito is absolutely spot-on, Doug Joneses has done a spectacular job playing the amphibian man (Kudos to the makeup artists who have done an unbelievably splendid job with prosthetics and the special effects/animation team for bringing this creature to life). Octavia Spencer brings her usual charm to her short role and Michael Shannon stays true to his role as a brutal government agent. While there are some loopholes regarding how she managed to sneak in to meet a top secret and valued ‘asset’, in one of U.S.A’s highly secured and heavily monitored research labs during the Cold War, the movie definitely gets a big thumbs-up from me. Go watch it now!

Dunkirk

-Reviewed by Manasvi Neyol

 Nominations- 8 Prediction for the number of wins-2 

The movie tells us the story of the Fall of France in 1940 and the subsequent evacuation of 3,00,000 soldiers from three areas-land, sea and air. I was really excited to watch this one because I love war movies (Band of Brothers is one of my favorite shows) and this one had all the elements of an amazing watch- Super handsome and talented ensemble cast (Tom Hardy, Harry Styles Cillian Murphy to name a few)-Check, written and directed by Christopher Nolan- Check and music by Hans Zimmer-Check. This war movie was a little different from all the others in the sense that it did not revolve around fighting, winning or losing. It was a battle of survival.

When 400,000 men couldn’t get home,
 home came for them. 

In this movie, dialogues are scarce and scarcely required. Every feeling and every fleeting emotion felt by the cast is conveyed beautifully. The helplessness of the soldiers who could literally see home but couldn’t reach it gives a whole new meaning to ‘so close, yet so far’. The editing was spot on and the cinematography was BRILLIANT (definitely winning some awards in that department). The direction was great as expected. The timeline was a little confusing (but I guess that is the beauty of all Christopher Nolan movies, they require the viewers to really use their brains). In the accuracy department, there were some loopholes as the roles of French and Indian soldiers were left out. All in all, the movie was a good watch.

The Post

-Reviewed by Mitali Khachi

Nominations- 2 Predictions-1

Meryl Streep+Tom Hanks+Steven Spielsberg= GENIUS!

This movie is set in 1972 when The Huffington Post published the ‘Pentagon Papers’ during President Richard Nixon’s time, exposing years of cover-up by the White House on the disastrous reality of the Vietnam War. It was a study commissioned by the then Secretary of Defence, John McNamara which was never to be made public, as it revealed that for decades the White House had been pumping billions of dollars and sending thousands of soldiers to Vietnam, despite being fairly certain that it was a wasted effort and not worth the price being paid. As is said by Daniel Ellsberg (He was a senior research associate at MIT and was a part of the study commissioned by McNamara) in the movie, “USA switched its strategy from basic security to active combat, all done to prevent American humiliation.”

Talking about the main characters, Mathew Rhys plays Daniel Ellsberg, the brave whistleblower who blew the lid off of this scandal by leaking these Top Secret papers to the press, when he realized that the then Government would continue to keep up its charade and send more men to the battlefield despite the results of the McNamara study stating otherwise.
Meryl Streep plays Katherine Graham, the owner and then publisher of The Huffington Post, who starts off as a clumsy, flustered, under-confident and a rather timid woman, but comes into her own in the latter part of the movie, when she decides to go ahead with publishing of the top secret documents against all odds- at the risk of her company shutting down and the possibility of going to jail. Tom Hanks plays the editor Ben Bradlee, who is truly committed to his job and desperately trying to play catch-up with the popularity of The New York Times. So when he gets his hands on the Pentagon papers, he is determined to publish them, even though he has the nearly impossible task of arranging 4000 papers in order, deciding which ones to publish, compile it, edit it, get an approval from the publisher and print in, all in just 10 hours!!!!
 
Apart from having good costumes and dialogues, great actors and acting, and wonderful cinematography, this movie raised two very important points, the first being Responsible journalism. It’s the duty of the Press to report true, factually correct news of importance to the public, without unnecessary sensationalization.The second one is Freedom of the Press vs National security. Governments cannot dictate coverage by citing concerns for ‘National security’ every time they don’t like what is being printed. How much information is too much? Where should the line be drawn at?
 
That’s it for now! Next up are- Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, Phantom Thread and Lady Bird. 

The Struggle is NOT so real

A few days ago, I got a call from a from a friend while I was at work. She sounded very frantic, so I told her to calm down and asked what had happened, to which she responded by saying, “OMG 911 situation! I’ve to go for a party tonight and have no idea what to wear. Please check your whatsapp and help me out.” I just burst out laughing.

                                                                 

                                                                 
We're a privileged lot, yet we complain, and it is mostly about ridiculously petty things, which gives our parents a chance to use their favorite dialogue: “Do you know what I had to face when I was your age…..? 

So today’s blogpost is on the typical first-world problems we face!

1. Going back to being an Android user after using an Iphone. Life can be so cruel to some people.



2. Deciding which sitcom, among the thousands available, to binge-watch next on Netflix. Decisions decisions.




3. Losing wifi connectivity even for a second and having a panic attack. Overreact much??




4. Having to stretch a lot to get to a plug-point. The sheer exertion I tell you!

5. Dunking a biscuit in a cup of tea/coffee and losing it in the cup itself. So long friend, we weren't meant to be.




6. Running out of hot water after an hour long bath. Oh the hardships in life!




7. Complaining about not having eaten good food in a while. Then going to a wedding and complaining about eating too much. After all ,why shouldn’t I be able to have my cake and eat it too?!




8. Being unable to decide where to go clubbing on yet another Saturday night. These life-altering decisions...




9. Going on a vacation to an exotic location abroad and then complaining about coming back tired from the trip. Poor you..



10. Managing to reduce the price of a top only by 50% and not more, in a flee market. What a shame!

11. Feeling cold without the quilt and too hot with one.





12. Crying about having nothing to wear while your closet is crying for some breathing space. Ladies, you all know what I am talking about




13. Not being able to decide between eating junk food and having a fit body




14. Waking up at 11am on a weekend and still cribbing. What do you mean human bodies need only 6-8 hours of sleep?!!

15. And the latest one, complaining about the latest Snapchat update like our life depends on it. Let's just move on to another app people







The more a nation progresses, the more trivial our complaints become. Here’s hoping that in the near future, the hardest problem that anyone has to face is, having to get out of bed to walk mere 10 steps to switch off the bedroom light. Oh the horror!

PS: What are some first world problems you face? Comment below! 

My Favorite DIY beauty remedies

Eggs, Baking soda, Salt, Lemon, Curd. What came to your mind when you read this? Something to do with food; a recipe for a dish perhaps? However when you mention these items, or any other food ingredients to Manasvi, the first thing that pops in her mind is a recipe for homemade beauty remedies, or as we call them in India: ‘दादी  के घरेलु नुस्के ’! There is no kitchen ingredient that she can’t use to improve her hair,skin,nails,etc. So I thought it’s time she wrote a blog on her favourite DIY beauty tips.

Hey There!

Mitali’s right, I am obsessed with DIY beauty remedies. I prefer homemade skincare recipes to store bought products (besides the obscenely high cost of such products, who knows what went into them). To start with, I have combination skin (definition- a surface where dry flakes and oil rigs coexist in peace). My hair is sort of straight, kind of wavy (depends on its mood) and totally frizzy (btw blow drying does help with the frizz, I finally succumbed after ignoring my hair dresser’s advice for years!)

 

FACE (To get that चाँद सा रोशन चेहरा )

1. Egg & Lemon Sheet Mask  

Want baby soft skin in 20 minutes? DO THIS. My mom hates it when I try crazy home remedies (mostly because of the mess I make….and the smell) but this is one mask she swears by (it has anti-ageing properties)!

Method: Separate the egg white from the yolk, mix the egg white with 1 tsp lemon juice and apply all over the face with a cotton ball. Then put a thin layer of tissues over it while it’s still wet! Keep for 15-20 minutes or until it dries and then enjoy the peeling process (my favorite part). Rinse face and pat dry.

Easy way to separate egg yolk.

2. Activated Charcoal, Multani Mitti, Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Cleansing Mask

This mask is really great for cleansing skin and getting rid of all dirt and dead cells. It makes your skin squeaky clean and soft (two for the price of one!)

Method: Mix equal parts Activated Charcoal and Multani Mitti with just enough ACV to make a paste (in a plastic or glass bowl ONLY). For this mask I prefer the monkey cap application- avoiding area around eyes and directly under nose since the fumes from the ACV can make your eyes water and nose sting. You might have to use a mild cleanser to remove it afterwards (cuz it’s not appropriate to show up to work/school/college looking like you played holi with grease)
I recommend that you do this one in the shower because activated charcoal can be messy. 

3. Gram Flour, Curd and Turmeric

This is the typical Indian dadi/nani ki recipe which has been passed down from one generation to another. This is my go-to detanning face pack, especially when my brother comes back from hostel with 50 shades of tanned.

Method- Mix 1 tsp gram flour (besan) + 1/4th tst haldi + ½ tsp lemon + 1 tsp curd into a smooth paste and apply all over the face (avoid going too close to the eyes). Wash with lukewarm water after 20 minutes and voila! say hello to fresher and cleaner skin.

* Use these masks once a week or once in a fortnight, depending on your skin-type.

4. Vaseline Lip Scrub

This one works so fast you wouldn’t believe it and it is so simple!

Method: Apply a generous layer of vaseline over your lips and use a clean toothbrush (gently) to scrape of all the dead skin to leave you with the softest lips EVER!

BODY ( Use these to get a सुनेहरा बदन)

1. Baking Soda Scrub

I do this every alternate day and I always end up getting compliments for my skin.

Method: Mix 1 or 2 Tbsps baking soda with enough water to make a thick paste and apply all over the body by scrubbing in circular motions and rinse off. Apply generous amount of moisturizer afterwards and you’re good to go. (Little tip: mix a peanut size amount of oil in the lotion for extra soft skin)

2. Salt, Shampoo & Oil Scrub

This is my favorite body scrub recipe. I literally recommend this to everyone! It leaves your skin feeling smooth and nourished!

Method: Mix 4 large Tbsps of salt + 1 Tbsp Shampoo + 1 or 2 Tbsp coconut oil (you can add rose or lavender essential oil for added benefits and the fragrance). Use as you would, any other body scrub and rinse off! No need to moisturize afterwards. There, that’s how easy it is to get smooth skin. No satanic rituals or blood sacrifices required.

3. DIY Pedicure

Summers are approaching and that means wearing beautiful flats and sandals, but it also means tanning and dryness. (हाय ये फटी  एड़ियां). But I have a blockbuster pedicure routine that helps me avoid all the negative effects of wearing open footwear!

Method: Fill hot water in a tub, add 1 Tbsp shampoo + 1/4th Tsp activator (the powder you get with bleach)- mix well and soak your feet in it for 20 minutes then use the baking soda scrub to scrub off the dead cells. Rinse feet with lukewarm water, cut your nails, apply your favorite nail polish and when that is dry (Give it 5-6 hours just to be sure) apply vaseline to your feet and wear socks to lock in the moisture and heal

HAIR (Flip those रेशमी ज़ुल्फ़ें) 

1. Mayonnaise & Curd Hair Mask

I can’t even tell you how many times I have googled things like- how to tame frizzy hair or home remedies for frizzy hair etc. and the totally ridiculous ordeals I have put my hair through in order to get rid of frizz. If you have frizzy hair too you know exactly what I am talking about! One fine day I mixed two different recipes and it turned out to be the answer to all my hair problems!

Method: Mix mayonnaise (preferably with egg) and curd in equal quantities and apply evenly throughout your hair. Wash after 20 minutes with a little extra shampoo than you would use usually. You may skip the conditioner after this.

*Disclaimer- Your hair might not look this glamorous. These are just unusually high standards set by the entertainment industry. 

Driving in India: Part 1

Can you swerve wildly?

Do you enjoy roller coaster rides?

Are your ears immune to loud noises?

Can you brake at the last moment, without any warning?

Can you maneuver a vehicle when pedestrians, rickshaws, cycles, scooters, motor-bikes, cars, buses and trucks are on the same road?

If the answers to all the above-mentioned questions are a series of resounding ‘Yes’s’, then Congratulations! You are fit to drive in India.

Apart from never-ending traffic jams, unkempt roads and no space for parking, we encounter a much bigger problem on the Indian roads- The DRIVERS! Not a day goes by without witnessing the stupidity of some fool with a license to drive.

So here is a list of 12 types of drivers on Indian roads:- 

 1.The Overspeeder: This person drives like he is playing a video game; speeding like a maniac and zig-zagging through the traffic without any indication whatsoever (obviously, because here indicators are just two colorful/decorative lights). Speed limit? Speed breaker? What are those!

2. The Tortoise: I am all for slow and safe driving. But there is slow, and then there is S L O W. I did not wake up at 6:30am in the morning only to get stuck behind a slow coach, thus getting late for work! The icing on the cake is that those who drive the slowest ,are often in the right-most lane which is meant for fast-drivers. Traffic rules and civic sense be damned.

3. The Confused soul: This kind is the most irritating one by far. Such persons stop every now and then, to ask for directions RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, bringing the traffic to a halt. This is especially true for cab drivers who take ages to decipher google maps, as if they were a code language, thus having to halt and ask for directions. If only they could do so, while parked in a side-lane…..

4. The King/Queen of the road: This lot can make even a nun swear! Parking the car wherever he/she wishes, opening a car door irrespective of the oncoming traffic (many times to spit paan , of all the reasons!!!) and driving in the wrong lane; these people exemplify everything that is wrong with some of the drivers in our country.

5. The Honking enthusiast: If only incessant honking magically cleared the traffic…..All I want to say is that DON’T Horn Ok Please, every chance you get.

6. The Zebra line-crosser: For this type, zebra crossing is just a bunch of white lines drawn on the road that are meant to be ignored, and pedestrians an inconvenience. This kind will never ever stop before a zebra crossing. Pedestrians have rights? What a joke.

7. The Polluter: First they throw their trash out the window of their cars and then complain about pollution. This kind deserves a standing ovation because it take a special level of ignorance to continue littering, after the publicity the Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan has received.

8. The Fighters: The middle of a road or a boxing-ring, it is the same to them. It doesn’t matter if they are at fault, once they get their hands on you, you’re in for a sore (pun intended) experience.

9. The Abusers: Inappropriate gesturing and hurling abuses is their specialty. The drivers in India, especially Delhi have been partially responsible for building my vocabulary on cuss-words (I have been here for about seven years, and believe me, I’m still learning new ones). I have one message for such people, “Please stop bothering mothers and sisters for every little inconvenience you face. We do plenty as it is”.

9. The Auto-rickshaw drivers: If anybody can be called a daredevil, it is this group. This vehicle has no seat belts and no doors. It is small and is without a solid-sturdy body. Despite that, our autowallahs swerve crazily,rarely follow traffic signals, drive in the wrong lanes and make U-turns wherever their heart desires. Once I heard an autowallah say to another driver, “मै क्यूँ  देखकर चलाऊँ ,तू  चला "!

10. The Smotherer : No sense of personal space; reinforcing this stereotype about Indians, the smotherers cannot leave even an inch of space unoccupied on the road. They don’t understand the concept of maintaining a ‘safe distance’ and will most likely be the reason for a few dents on your car.

11. The Normal ones: Rarest of the rarest, they don’t over-speed, don’t honk unnecessarily, always use the indicators and parking lights when needed and maintain their calm even when their cars get banged. They are basically angels on the roads.

While it take guts to drive in India, let us take a moment to appreciate the real brave-hearts on the Indian roads : THE PEDESTRIANS. God bless their souls!