I watch movies, mostly from Japan and India. I practice Ayurveda. I cook food.
Perhaps this is too much information, but alas, we are all human I began the New Year 2019 with a mini winter reset. I figured it would be a good way to detox after indulging over the holidays, and I really wanted to start the year off on the right foot. I had picked up … More On Coffee (and Cleansing)
Something wasn’t quite right. In meetings at work, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to shoot down any suggestions that I might disagree with. At home, I would rush through meals so that I could get all of the household chores done. I felt as if I was living to get to … More Burning Down the House (or, On My Introduction to Ayurveda)
When eleven year old Tomo’s already mostly absent mother takes off again after a night of heavy drinking, Tomo finds her uncle Makio at the bookstore where he works to tell him. The bond between the pair is apparent as they make their way back to his apartment together. They talk about the video games … More Close-Knit (2017) (Karera ga honki de amu toki wa)
When it comes to Japan, I can sometimes feel, I don’t really know how to describe it… protective? defensive? I realize that everyone who has spent time living abroad or studying a place, its culture, its history, and so on, might also feel something like this about the way in which others choose to depict … More Kubo and the Two Strings 2016
When I heard sometime last year that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was coming out with a new film with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Pakudone, I decided then that it would be my first Bollywood theatre experience. Bhansali films are gorgeous with breathtaking scenery and beautiful costumes. They are colorful and lavish, and I imagined that if … More Padmaavat (2018)
Udta Punjab (2016) was the first film that I saw Shahid Kapoor in. I loved the film, which, if you haven’t seen it, is about the drug epidemic in Punjab; a controversial subject in heavily censored Bollywood. I was impressed by Diljt Dosanjh’s natural performance. Kareena Kapoor, of whom I am a fan, was great in … More Haider (2014) (or, on my introduction to Shahid Kapoor)
Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) I am new to the films of Imtiaz Ali, but I’ve read enough about him to know that he is at the top of the list of romantic film directors in Bollywood. Rumor has it Ali’s vision of love will sweep just about anyone right off of their feet. You will … More Holding the mirror for Imtiaz Ali
I am about halfway through Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet (2015), and wanted to talk a few things through before I finish the film. I’m going to be honest about this: I started watching the film because Ranbir Kapoor is great and I found out that Kashyap directed it after consulting IMDB when I realized that the film was … More Thoughts on Anurag Kashyap ~ halfway through Bombay Velvet
The conversation around the ways in which the current political climate in the United States has divided and pitted people against each other kept surfacing while I was watching Deepa Mehta’s film Earth. The film takes place in Lahore, India (now Pakistan), during the partition of India. Through the eyes of Lenny, a Parsi child, we are … More Watching Deepa Mehta’s Earth (1998) in 2017
I’ve been on a bit of a Bollywood watching rampage lately. So much so, actually, that I want to start learning Hindi. This is what happened to me several years ago with Japanese films. I fell in love with Japanese movies, from Ozu Yasujiro to Koreeda Hirokazu, and became determined to study the language. And … More Talaash (2012) & back to back with the Khans of Bollywood
