The Wedding Date

The Wedding Date turned out to be a charming read but it didn't leave much of an impression. The intimate scenes were not really erotic for me. It is kind of a fairy tale, a light one. This novel is good for palate cleansing after you read something heavy. 

The Illustrated Man

The Illustrated Man hang around for sometime and I kept it at work only to read it one story at a time when I finished a novel during lunch break. It didn't work for me.

Dune

Dune turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be. I remember seeing the film and always changing the channel. And I developed an unwarranted prejudice against the novel. Anyway I decided to check it out when it was on bargain and I liked it but not enough to want to check out the follow up novels. 

Burning

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Burning turned out to be just my type of film. I have read the Murakami story but it didn't leave much impression apparently since I hardly remember it, so I watched the film knowing very little about the story. And I loved it. This director is one of my faves and he got better as he aged. I love Yoo Ah In and the other two leads were very good too. The performances were amazing but the real power is the visual storytelling. I just loved every single scene and the ending was very well executed. Highly recommended.

Widows

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Widows turned out to be better than I have expected. It is still not a very good film but I liked it. But then again I like this director and his artistic sensibilities. Also as a woman I felt for these women and their various trials. I was totally into it in the end (and I loved the ending).

On a very surprising note for me, Daniel Kaluuya gave a great performance. I saw him only as good guy (in Get Out and Black Panther -well his intentions at least were good there-) in this one he is one evil man and he acts so good. Kudos Mr. Kaluuya.  

Schindler's List

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Schindler's List tells a harrowing story and I have cried rivers. But is it a good film? I think it is not that good. Son of Saul for instance is a good film telling a similar story. 

Love, Death & Robots

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Love, Death & Robots is really good. There is something for everyone. My favorite episode was called Shape Shifters. Second fave is Sonnie's Edge. 

The Kind Worth Killing

The Kind Worth Killing was entertaining enough. 

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty

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My ID Is Gangnam Beauty turned out to be a heart warming youth tale with great female empowering messages. I enjoyed it very much and can highly recommend. 

The Ruin

The Ruin turned out be a decent mystery with a very good reading performance. I enjoyed it a lot but do not agree with the Tana French comparison, at all.

Despite the fact that I have shed tears during a scene towards the end, this book did not have a lot of impact on me. I don't know why.  

Triple Frontier

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Triple Frontier turned out to be a dull sort of him (apart from the first action scene that is) but I still liked it because I like everyone in the main cast and like the visuals in the sense that you like looking at nice views. The script was not good and felt manufactured but the actors all did a good job selling it.

Emperor of The Eight Islands - Book 1 of The Tale of Shikanoko

Emperor of The Eight Islands (Book 1 of The Tale of Shikanoko) is a novel I got at Seoul Airport in order to finish of my won. I have read and liked The Tales of the Otori but really did not want to read further from this author. However I like Japanese Literature so despite the fact that the author is not Japanese I decided to give it a go with no intention of continuing the series. Well I liked it very much and want to read the rest of the three novels. And the second turned out to be hard to find, maybe I'll use one audible credit on it. 

After Life

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After Life is so good that I was happy I was able to thank Mr. Gervais in person via twitter. The story is about a man who slowly gets used to the pain of losing the love of his life, his life partner. There is some comedy in it too (and it made me laugh sometimes) but it is very raw, emotional and bleak (despite the glorious UK Countryside). People looked real and the story authentic. All in all it is a work I most highly recommend to everyone.

(Mr. Gervais is an atheist and his beliefs are addressed a few times during the show but I was not offended in the least by them, everyone can believe whatever they want) 

Toilet - Ek Prem Katha

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Toilet - Ek Prem Katha ok I like Akshay Kumar but the title of the film was one of the reasons that I did not feel like watching the film. Then I decided to give it a go yesterday and it was nice and entertaining with good messages but with a heavily respectful attitude to Authority.  I liked how authentic everything looked (in the Indian films you often see the colours and georgeous cinematography with great looking people dancing around looking amazing. But this film has normal looking Indian people and the holi festival looked like it was filmed at a real festival on a drone. Akshay Kumar's age difference with his co star is addressed and despite looking lovely he didn't dress wonderfuly or anything. Also I liked the story too (apparently it is inspired by a true story) it touched upon something I have seen in India which has shocked me (men peeing openly on the streets during day time) but the real issues were women's rights and how religion is used to control ignorant masses. All in all I enjoyed it so much that I'm even considering checking Pad Man out (another Akshay Kumar film with an off putting title) 

Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquières)

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Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquières) turned out to be very entertaining indeed. True, it serves many of my kicks - period drama, actresses with wrinkles on their faces, great costumes and set designed (all around very good art direction), a revenge story and a male lead whose appearance appeals to me (kind of like Alan Rickman) It is not Dangerous Liaisons but it is good to watch if you like the things above. I also liked that SPOILERS!!! the revenge did not really work in the end (yeah the man was a jerk and all but it was too much, too cruel) 

The Commuter

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The Commuter turned out to be entertaining despite the clichés and not being able to carry a mystery even for a minute really (especially if you have seen more than 3-4 films of this sort) and Liam Neeson is a good actor but it is not that nice to have an elderly person beat people/get beaten. Clint Eastwood is an exception to that. I'm not being ageist or anything (many of the characters in Sons of Anarchy were old/elderly and despite trying action scenes, their age was mentioned as a disadvantage more than once). Here Mr. Neeson kicks people aroung and sometimes even wins. Anyway the whole thing was predictable but entertaining. And I liked the way classic novels are promoted throughout. 

Secret City

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Secret City (Seasons 1 & 2)  This is a very good show with great actors whom I only recognise one among all the two seasons (Anna Torv, and I luckily I like her). Apart from great political intrigue and murder mystery (meaning a good script) the things I like about this show are; i) how everyone looks natural, it helps a lot not knowing the actors (I had similar reaction to Fauda) but also I love it that the women are wrinkly and not operated on, the men not all handsome hunks with an actual trans person having a crucial role to the plot, and more importantly this person has a key role in an intelligence agency not involving her going undercover or anything. I loved it (first season). The second season was tighter and better plotted and faster but I kind of liked the slow pacing of the first better. Anyway despite not rescuing me from SoA withdrawal, this one intrigued me and I enjoyed it to the last drop. 

Vengeance: Lucky's Revenge

Vengeance: Lucky's Revenge brought back fond memories of reading and loving Jackie Collins novels. The lady may not be the world's greatest literary talent but she is a fine story teller and I like reading her. This is recommended if you like a bit of early 80s nostalgia. 

The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer turned out to be one of those good kind of surprises, a novel I didn't I'd like that much but felt the need to read it somehow and really enjoyed listening to, loving it. So it had a particular sense of humour that appealed to me and the reader had a very subtle but recognisable French accent, and this usually turns me off but in this case it worked so well. And I like it that the reader had zero drama which is my favorite kind of reading. I'd have liked it even better if I was reading this instead of listening to it though. 

Love, Rosie

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Love, Rosie turned out to be slightly less than mediocre. At least Lilly Collins' mouth was closed when she was not speaking (as opposed to that Mortal Instruments film where her mouth is ALWAYS open) but it is not enough to save a film. Oh I cried and all but didn't like it. The whole thing didn't make any sense. 

A Bad Mom's Christmas

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A Bad Mom's Christmas is not a good film but I liked it a lot. 

Your Son (Tu Hijo)

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Your Son (Tu Hijo) could have been great but the story is told in a way that didn't suit me at all. 

Isn't It Romantic

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Isn't It Romantic was not bad but not exceptionally good either. When will my Sons of Anarchy withdrawal end?

A Monster Calls

A Monstar Calls is a good book but it didn't work for me (shed a few tears in end but that is usual for me). 

The Drug King

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The Drug King turned out to be not enough to get me out of my Sons of Anarchy funk. And it is a film in which yet another great Song Kang Ho performance is wasted. The story could have been a good and engaging one. But ended up being boring and loooong. Also she has my sympathies solely for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance but why does Bae Do Na has to be in every Netflix production. She is not bad but there are other (better) actresses in S. Korea (same thing goes for Radikha Apne for Netflix India).