Tag: Pandemic

2020 Thoughts!

Ever since 2020 began! 
It’s been setting up new challenges every day. 
Two months into the year and we were all dealing with a pandemic that even more than six months later doesn’t seem to end. 
As the year moved ahead! We lost a legend and one of the best actors in our Hindi Film Industry. Just when we were coming out of these two shocking deaths. We were thrown a mysterious death of another actor. Which was cited as a suicide, but reports were pointing to murder, three months later we still aren’t sure whether it’s a suicide or a murder. 
While there was just a hand full of those who questioned and wanted justice to be served for the late actor as it was strongly pointing towards a murder 
But, Things started to change when we were forced to pick up a side as one of the prime suspects in the investigation was arrested for Drugs and also used PR tactic’s to defend herself exclusively with two Broadcasting channels without first being questioned by The CBI. 
Weeks later, An Actor who began the fight of justice for the late actor, who had also being vocals and her ”Nepotism” Conversation took an ugly turn for. Leaving her with no movies offers. Plans to come to Mumbai and is not only threatened for her remarks a couple of days ago for comparing the city and situation with an enemy territory but just a few hours before her arrival to The City of Dreams! Her Office is tarnished citing reasons, illegal construction work. 
Mind you all these series of events are taking place while India is at its peak on the Coronavirus. 
The economy has hit it’s lowest since we had our independence and our in the middle of a war with another neighbour of ours. 
And what hurts the most is people who are considered role models, people who are looked up by Millions and Billions not just from our country, but from around the world. 
Haven’t spoken about anything at all from the injustice or justice for a late actor whose death remains a mystery, For an actor who’s office has been attacked wrongly. 
Or for the matter of where our country is headed in terms of our economic mess, How one should be tackling the pandemic or for that matter about the tensions amongst the borders, Are they all scared to open their mouths, Are these the people we aspire to be like? 
Where is the Freedom, If our well-known celebrities themselves can’t speak about anything? 
Is this the country we want to live in? Where there isn’t any democracy any more, but just dictatorship from all sides… Where power is also being misused by the powerful and not used the way it should be used. 
Where we speak up in minutes and condemn the West, but can’t really address and speak about the issues that are taking place in your motherland. 

Thrillers Books Worth Reading!

It’s very difficult to find thriller books, that keep you engrossed till the last page. And if you have found it by the same author twice, it couldn’t be better. 

Keigo Higashino a Japanese Author! Ah! Yes, another Japanese author. 

Journey under the midnight sun is about A group of children playing inside the building have found the body of a pawnshop owner, 

Detective Sasagaki’s investigation unearths more questions, but never reaches any conclusions. One of his chief suspects, the partner of a woman who the pawnshop owner visited on the day of his death, dies in a car crash soon afterwards. 

Though Sasagaki’s suspects there is more to the deaths, the case is abandoned. But, Twenty years later there are some leads that hints sasagaski that he could finally solve the mystery. 

This is one Book, I came across after enjoying reading “Midsummer Equation by Keigo Higanshino” 

  and what surprises me most about the author and his books is that when you are searching for “Best Thriller Books” You only come across American authors & British Authors, but none of the  Japanese authors, in the first few links and in the first few reviews. And I wonder why? “Japanese authors” are really underrated. This whole curiosity for “Japan” For me grew after I visited the country, it was a place I wanted to know more about? 

Keigo Higanshio is best known for his book “The Devotion of Suspect X” 

Yasuko Hanaoka accidentally kills her ex-husband, when circumstances rose to an unendurable level of ghastly behaviour from him. What follows is an elongated and witty brain-game between the investigator and her accomplice, Ishigami, who aided Yasuko in covering up the murder. ”The Devotion Of Suspect X”is the story about an ingenious plotter, and clever Dr Manabu Yukawa, who helps in solving the case.

In case you are looking to read a nice page-turner and are finding it difficult which one to start with you could surely start with “Journey Under The Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashnio” 

Plotters By Un-Su-Kim 

I have been in a frame of mind, where I am enjoying some nice thrilling stories, 

That is a quick read, written in a way, where you want to know what happens next. 

And after reading Keigo Higanshino’s ”Midsummer Equation ”last year and Under the midnight sun, I found Plotters by Un-Su-Kim a South Korean writer. And having watched some really good thriller movies by Korean Filmmakers, Maybe I had high expectations from Plotters, And as the story unfolds it becomes a predictable story, with not much material to keep you holding to know why, Whereas Books like “Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins” “Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn” Keeps you engrossed. 

While I am not saying  “Plotters”  wasn’t a good read, It certainly wasn’t as good as these, But very much alike like a series I just watched on the streaming platform “Giri/Haji” where The main underworld boss, hires people to do the damage (Assassins/HitMan)  But surely questions if we continue behaving like Assassins/Hitman all for that chair to be the boss for a reason, That we might think we hold the power, Power to continue the same racket/Practice where nobody gains anything, but only losses.

Plotters are read for those, who enjoy a little cliche story and someone who just would like to enjoy a crime story of how the Mafia works in a very simple, plain and easy to understand read. 

Some of The Best Movies Now Streaming

  • Jojo Rabbit

    • A Movie I missed watching in the cinema theatres and wasn’t sure until how long would I have wait to watch this film, But a few months later It released on another streaming platform. And so I watched the film.

    A story about a boy who is nicknamed Jojo Rabbit after a summer camp weekend and a story set during the conflict of German-Jews and during a period where Hitler was hailed by Some of his Fanatics and how one had to be careful in the communication.

    But this film is a hilariously funny and slightly emotional film worth watching and When you have The director himself portraying Hitler it just can’t better.

    The movie is actually based on the novel “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens.

    The novel centres on a young Hitler Youth who discovers a Jewish girl hidden in his house by his mother.

    Hitler in the movie is Jojo’s imaginary friend thus he is the Hitler that a young boy would imagine.

    He also pointed out that Hitler is an amalgamation of different people in his life, such as his father, the Nazis in town and even his friend Yorki.

    One of the tensest scenes finds Gestapo officers (led by Stephen Merchant) searching Jojo’s home. However, the scene is also hilarious with the Gestapo doing little more than greeting one another with the “Heil Hitler” salute which is made 31 times in the scene

    1. At the 92nd Academy Awards, the film received six nominations
    2. Including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Johansson, and Best Adapted Screenplay

    Johansson earned both her first and second Oscar nominations this year.

    In addition to being up for best supporting actress, she also nabbed the best actress nod for her work in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story.

    Contagion 

    Just Imagine have written, Directed a film almost a decade ago on the exact same way we have all been struck by the pandemic. It’s surprisingly an exact replica of the way the Coronavirus has come about. The Imagination of such accuracy is unbelievable.

    The last five minutes of the story – The way it has been shot & directed is the best explanation of the full film. You have to watch this film. The star cast has lived the story once already while filming, But today we are all living this in reality.

    Marriage Story  By Noah Baumbach

    Marriage Story is a true story based on Noah Baumbach relationship and separation of his marriage with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh as well as his parent’s divorce. 

    Marriage Story is about a relationship of an artist couple Charlie Barber played by Adam Driver and Nicole Played by Scarlett Scarlett Johansson While Charlie Barber runs a theatre company in New York City, Nicole was a teen film actress and they both are going through marital troubles. 

    At the same Time Nicole is offered a role in Television Pilot in LA and soon decides to live in NYC and live with her mother  Henry her son and follow her dream of being a Hollywood actress. 

    While Charlie stays back in New York and works on his play that he would like to showcase at the Broadway. 

    The Story then follows the couple mutually decide to divorce. However one day Nicole hires a family Nora lawyer and tells him the full story of their relationship and mentions a  few speculations of Charlie’s relationship with his stage manager in the theatre company.   In the meantime, Charlie flies to LA to Nicole to share his happiness of winning a prestigious Fellowship grant But instead has divorce papers handed over. 

    Charlie lawyer believes they should play dirty, but rather Charlie doesn’t want things to go bad. 

    While the movie moves ahead with both coming to a common conclusion for their separation while living on a different coast, they have different laws for the same. 

    The film brings out a lot of emotional and realistic feel as the story is based on true events  And  Since Scarlett Jhonasson too had a divorce just a few months before the filming of the film. The Acting too was very real. The movie was very well made and a well- deserved nomination for the film and Scarlett Johnson 

    Documentary Series on Netflix !!

    Rotten

    A Series that tells you about the business practices and the problems of the food supply chain,
    Yes the business of all edible, Food Products we like to eat, But at what cost? Bitter Chocolates, Avocados, Wine, Honey, Milk and a lot of the perishable items we consume might have a mafia running or are either convincingly produced at a cost with the brands making a competitive profit without giving enough to the manufactures who do all the groundwork to produce the finest end product we consume.
    This documentary-style series is a total eye-opener for the consumer who demands are being met by the companies, monopolising their market share and quality control practices are being ignored only and only keeping their profits in Mind. A Highly recommended series that questions what exactly are we consuming & How does it finally get to us.

    Pandemic

    The Series that is very topical & Apt for today’s Time is a must watch to understand what is defined as a pandemic & how in the past they were eradicated and controlled.
    A Six episode takes us through all the scientist and researchers knew about a Pandemic coming soon, But How soon, From where will it begin and how contagious would this one.
    The Series also takes us through some start-ups with experienced researchers are working on a Vaccine that would fight any disease a one-shot for all. The trials are going on & How sad is the state of Affairs in the USA as many county hospitals & hospitals are shutting down as they have a lack of funding from the government.