Happy Wednesday! I’m sick! Urgent care said maybe strep throat and gave me a prescription just to be safe (I am the reason for mega-bacterial resistant diseases, I feel SO GUILTY. But also very sick, so I’m willing to roll the dice and see if it cures me instead of waiting for tests to confirm). Important for you, I’m putting off seeing Fighter until Friday when I will hopefully be healthy again. So stay tuned! Review/discussion coming then!
I’ll start!
Reading: Still reading Clarence Budington Kelland! I just read an interesting one, where you could tell he changed his mind as to who the hero should be about chapter 4. So all of a sudden he had to make character A a lot scuzzier and character B a lot more interesting. This is the flaw of the serialized novel! The author loses their place and changes their mind in the middle and it’s already been published so they can’t change. Very dickensian.
Watching: Fighter! On Friday! Very excited. Even if I’m still a little sick, it’s not contagious if I wear a mask, and I will just bring a blanket and cuddle in my seat.
Thinking: What do you think about bringing back the DCIB Book Club and maybe trying a Zoom discussion? I’d have to give you the link, so this wouldn’t be a bunch of internet strangers jumping on, just folks who emailed me asking for access. And it might be fun to see faces! Or, would that be weird? It might also be weird, and I very much enjoy our written convos on the blog too.
Listening: “Sher Khul Gaye”! I’ve got a tin ear and am really bad at music, but it’s “Stayin’ Alive”, isn’t it?
Now, question for you! What do you think about a DCIB book OR movie club Zoom meeting? Would you be interested?
If so, would you rather do a book we all read and then discuss, or a movie?
If not interested in a Zoom meeting, what about the regular old Book/Movie club? Are you interested/do you have suggestions?
dontcallitbollywood 
Get well soon. I really don’t think that a suspected strep infection is the point where you need to feel guilty about taking antibiotics. All our family got some over the holidays in case our respiratory infection was bacterial and would have moved into the lungs. Take your whole prescription and that should be alright.
I’d love to have a “live” discussion with you guys, but with the different time zones that would be a bit more of a hassle than just replying whenever I find a moment for myself. Still, right now I feel like I should just *take* that time for myself.
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Thank you! I will conscientiously take my full prescription even if it feels like I don’t have to.
Hmmm. I think what I am getting from your feedback is that if I do want to do a zoom, I should schedule it well in advance so folks can plan around it!
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I didn’t think about it like that, but I think you’re right about the advance announcement for a zoom meeting.
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I agree with Eva – get well and take your medicines.
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Thank you!
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Yesterday I saw a movie I liked a lot. 100% my cup of tea. Tamil romantic drama named Joe. It’s first time writer/director and the actors are also quite new but everyone was great. The protagonist was so good, the heroine talented and very lovable, and hero’s friends awesome. It looks like just another “college love” movie we have seen 1000 times, but it was so cute and people so likeable I couldn’t stop watching. Not a perfect film, but made with passion and heart, and man, how I love movies like that.
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Yes! You can feel when the people really cared about the movie they are making, versus just doing it as a job.
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I feel that 2023 was a great year for first-time passionate filmakers. I’ve seen and loved many films made by debutants : Joe, Por Thozhil, Dono, Hi Nanna (first time directors who also wrote or co-wrote their movies), Month of Madhu (written and directed by Srikant Nagothi, it was his second film), Get Together (new scriptwriter), Aatmapamphlet, Pranaya Vilasam and Sukhee (new directors). Looks like half of 2023 movies I watched were fresh projects.
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Take care of yourself!
I agree with eva-e, would love to talk live, not sure it’s feasible with the time difference. Prefer movies to books as I read so much for my job it’s hard to fit in “extra” reading. Also harder to obtain books here unless I already have access or they’re cheap on Kindle.
That is “Stayin’ Alive,” but not so “Stayin’ Alive” that they’ll get sued.
I have watched nothing this week but a couple more episodes of “Little Things!” It’s the end of the semester and I’m completely fried.
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This was me! This website is driving me a little nuts.
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I mean WordPress, not DCIB.
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I am having such a hard time reading anything but romances. I guess what it comes down to is I don’t want to feel. I got Demon Coperhead for christmas, and started reading it, but then felt so bad for all the foster kids that I had to stop. My parents gave me Erin Bow’s latest kid book, and I absolutely adore one of her other books (best cat ever written), but the main character is going through post tramatic stress and it is too much. In a romance the characters usually aren’t overly real and you know how it is going to end. I think I like the knowing part. Also, they usually reafirm my own life choices, I guess that helps. And the religious romances are a kick, seeing the different ideals of gender played out in storyline.
I was on a romance movie kick, but now I get bored, and want to start doing two things at once. People talk soooo slow. And subtitles will force me to pay attention but then I get frustrated because again, people move slow.
My book club is traveling to Turkey and I have totally failed to read any Turkish books, doesn’t help that I misplaced the book I bought. Luckily I was so involved with a kids theater production that I wasn’t able to make the last meeting, and club members understood because their kids were in the show.
Oh, I did show Khoobsurat to my son’s classmate who is now in India with her mom. She fortunately got excited about seeing all the palaces around Jaipur that she calls “parks”.
OH oh – the children’s theater director who stayed with us for the kid’s show lives in Chicago, and the other director (who stayed with someone else) was born in Chicago. And our local child prodigy theater star who went to Swathmore is moving to Chicago and the rumor is she wants to start her own theater company there with another actor friend who… lives in Chicago.
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Yes! Chicago is truly an actors paradise. There are sooooooooooooooooooo many little storefront theaters, always something to do. And if you email me all the names and details, I’ll see if I overlap with any of them 🙂
Totally get what you mean about slowness of watching stuff, and feeling while reading. Again, I recommend Kelland! Except he’s probably tricky for you because he’s mostly only on Kindle. Very simple fun characters, and predictable plots, and pleasant dialogue, and you “feel” nothing. The boredom while watching movies is part of why I’ve been watching so much TV, binging stuff that’s either predictable (mystery show, it’s always the guest star, all the plot points get repeated 5 times), or I’ve already seen before. That way, I can have it in the background while I do something else.
Other solution, watching in company! I love our watchalongs, and watching movies with friends, because I get to talk over them 🙂
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Get well soon! It feels like ages since I’ve commented here, in the midst of travel, planned surgery, catching a cold, I just didn’t feel up to it.
Things I watched and enjoyed in the last couple of months – The Crown last season, Archie (Cary Grant biopic), The Buccaneers, Miss Scarlet and the Duke (ongoing), Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch film), Merry Christmas. I’m just realizing it’s a pretty Anglo-centric watchlist! Archie is an honest look at CG’s later life and it’s not pretty. I knew the bare facts, but seeing them being played out really emphasized what a complicated man he was. The Buccaneers is much like Bridgerton in a later time period, but thankfully the women are aware of sex. I’m trying to be really disciplined and not binge Miss Scarlet and the Duke, which is hard because I really love it! I wasn’t aware of Merry Widow until I saw it in the trailer of Merry Christmas. Sriram Raghavan referencing classic Hollywood is always interesting. It’s a light-hearted watch with excellent costumes and I couldn’t think how this would be related to Merry Christmas. Well, I can’t tell you even after watching it, maybe I was expecting a thematic connection. But I had a great time with Merry Christmas! I was eager to watch it in cinemas but didn’t manage it so I had to resort to other means! I can’t wait to rewatch it when it officially streams because it’s that kind of movie.
I don’t know if you’ve watched the Fighter trailer but all my interest is gone after seeing the jingoism on display. Expected better from everyone involved. Would like to hear your thoughts though. And yes, I can hear Stayin’ Alive.
I agree with Eva in that I would be interested in a zoom discussion but I can’t promise I’d be able to join. And a movie is more convenient than a book just because of the time commitment.
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I loved Merry Christmas so much!!! I want to watch the last scene over and over again
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I’m waiting for streaming because I want proper subtitles, especially for Vijay’s portions. I have trouble understanding his Hindi delivery, and considering he is not an expressive actor, it’s really hard gauging his performance.
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There was the same issue with Jawan. I keep meaning to watch the Tamil version on streaming just so I can appreciate Vijay’s performance more.
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Interesting announcement by Dharma and Karan:
https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/news/karan-johar-announces-new-film-invites-fans-to-guess-films-name-and-actors-2024-01-28-914059
I’m interested in the movie but I absolutely hated this announcement. Like N word, really?
People keep guessing and majority says it will be Prithviraj, Kajol and Saif’s son. Quite odd casting in my opinion.
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I can see the idea, get people talking. But it’s not the best way to do it. Speculation about casting is gonna lead to meanspirited pre-judgements. They should have done something fun but innocuous, like “what color will the poster be?”.
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There’s a new Sanjay Leela Bhansali film coming out with Vicky, Ranbir and Alia called ‘Love and War’. It is supposed to be a modern adaptation of Sangam. My only fear is that Vicky and Ranbir have great chemistry. Alia and Vicky have great chemistry. I think this film would work better if Vicky is the Vyjayanthimala character instead. But still I wonder whether it will be a period film or a modern day adaptation since it has been more than 10 years since SLB did a film set in some sort of modern day.
https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/news/karan-johar-announces-new-film-invites-fans-to-guess-films-name-and-actors-2024-01-28-914059
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I’m stuck on ‘how can you cast Sangam with an actual married couple?” Either they play the “weren’t in love but marriage worked anyway” couple or the “were in love but then fell out when marriage happened” characters!
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Ranbir will obviously play Raj Kapoor so they will play “weren’t in love but marriage worked out anyway” couple
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Margaret, do you remember Prerna Arora, the producer who was stealing money and was in jail. She is back!
She is producing a hindi/telugu movie starring Divya Khosla Kumar. I already know the movie will be a disaster (if it release, because with Prerna one never knows), but it’s 100% my kind of disaster and if I lived in India I would definitely watch it first day first show.
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Ugh, Prerna! Why are people working with her? Although I guess they know she can raise money.
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Yes! Why people work with her? She produced like 4 movies and there were problems with every single one! Divya Khosla is also producing this film, and it’s interesting because she’s Bhushan Kumar’s wife and they really don’t need Prerna Aurora’s help to produce a movie. Is Divya so desperate or is she up to something?
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I would love to have a Zoom version of the DCIB movie/book club! Love that idea and I feel like as long as you poll those who are interested for their time zone and then try to accommodate as many people as possible and then promise to switch it up every time so other people can participate that would be cool.
I do recommend using the security features on zoom like the waiting room feature because I suspect you might get zoom bombers!
I’m super excited about the new promo for Murder Mubarak on Netflix since I’m reading the book its based on by one of my favorite authors, Anuja Chauhan, Club You To Death. It definitely looks like a loose adaptation, but I think at least the Pankaj role and Sara’s role are clear (and I think I know who Karisma and Dimple are playing).
Saw Fighter in the theater and was disappointed but somewhat entertained. The cringe Top Gun factor, the jingoism, and the too serious qualities did hurt my overall enjoyment, but still kind of fun to see Hrithik and Deepika together (though that kiss was terrible!). I actually really thought Anil suited this role.
I also watched The Night Manager and Saas, Bahu aur Flamingo and enjoyed both of those a lot. Hope the latter gets a second season.
And finally I watched 12th Fail and it really is a great film, but, Jesus, Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an arrogant blowhard in this interviews. I think I prefer provocateurs like Anurag and SRV more than this kind of pretension. Vikrant Massey deserves all of the awards.
~filmilibrarian
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After 3 weeks of starting every kind of movie and abandoning them, I finally watched something I enjoyed wholeheartedly. Woh 7 Din with young Anil, Padmini Kolhapure (on which I have a girl crush now) and Naseeruddin Shah. It was so nice and everybody was so good (both acting wise but also their characters were so good). A pleasure to watch.
Nice characters, strong and good heroine, the importance of managalsutra. I loved everything.
Only after having seen it, someonetold me Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is an (unofficial) remake of this film and it’s true. The plot is the same, but all the rest is so different I didn’t realize it’s the same story. I prefer Woh 7 Din. HDDCS killed all the simplicity of the original with showy costumes, stupid dialogues and stuff. Also Salman is not Anil.
Now I’m planning to watch some other Padmini Kolhapure’s old films, but I’m not sure if I should watch Southen, Prem Rog or Pyar Jhukta Nahin.
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I think Prem Rog is the only other Padmini I’ve seen? But I know she’s in Zamaane Ko Dikhane Hai which has GREAT songs (and is the original of Shahrukh’s English Babu Desi Mem). So in this film, is Naseeruddin Shah playing Ajay Devgan???
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Yes, he plays the good husband and he’s such a gentelman you want to marry him. Really great movie. I knew from the beginning how it will end, because (in films) once a woman is married, she is married but I was on the edge of my seat anyways because there are some progressive/feminist dialogues in the end that make you think it will end differently.
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