Best of 2024: Movies, Music & Reading

Here are some movies, music and books that caught my eye/ears in 2024.

Movies: Most of the movies in the list are from Malayalam. Malayalam movies have seen a remarkable resurgence in the last decade. In contrast  Bollywood or Hindi movies appears to be in a state of creative stagnation, trying to lift themes and stories from the Telugu industry (Tollywood) and miserably failing. 

I found myself struggling to recollect any Hindi movies I had watched in the past year, let alone any that left a lasting impression. This is a far cry from the vibrant era spanning the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, when Bollywood flourished with an array of memorable works.

Some of the movies in my list below were not released in 2024, I happened to watch them this year. But most of them are.

Bhoothakalam (Malayalam, 2022): One of the best paranormal movies in Malayalam that I've ever watched. Here is my review.

Premulu (Malayalam, 2024) : A chick-flick, a light-entertainer, third in a series - you decide. My review is here.

Civil War (English USA, 2024) :  I have been burrowing deep into the annals of American civil war, abolitionists and Abraham Lincoln this year. Coincidentally I watched this movie, which is unrelated to 150+ year old original version of civil war, months before I started down the rabbit hole of the 1860s civil war. Same land, different time, similar divides. My review.

Kishkindha Kaandam (Malayalam, 2024): Probably one of the best films that Malayalam produced this year. 

Bramayugam (Malayalam, 2024): Shot in the same location as Kishkindha Kaandam, but set centuries apart and brilliantly shot in black-n-white. Mammootty lords over a mad dark mansion and the movie, my review is here.

Bougainvillea (Malayalam, 2024): A stylish movie from Amal Neerad with his wife and actor Jyothirmayi rocking grey hair and her character and Kunchako Boban presenting new dimensions to his actor persona. Both actors have given great performances in an unconventional story which fails to hold together towards the end. But I loved the slick, urbane presentation. Maybe the allure of Jyothirmayi's silver strands will urge older folks, esp. Malayali men with sagging jaws and creased cheeks to abandon the harshness of jet black hair-dyes and embrace the timeless sophistication of grey hair. Sthuthi!

Barbie (English USA, 2023) : Barbie is a visually captivating and cleverly subversive film, blending playful nostalgia with sharp commentary on identity and societal expectations. It’s a whimsical yet thought-provoking exploration that transcends its toy-doll origins, offering a refreshing take on modern femininity

Society of the Snow (Spanish, Netflix, 2023): Alive by Piers Paul Reed was one of the books that I read in my teens that left a deep impression in my mind. It was about a team of Uruguayan rugby players whose plane crashed in the remote Andes and narrated their resilience in the face of unimaginable odds. Hollywood made a version of this real life survival story in the 90s starring Ethan Hawke. But Netflix's take on this incident, Society of the Snow, is the best and gripping version of this raw survival tale till now.

Sector 36 (2024): This is the only Hindi movie in my list, a Netflix production starring Deepak Dobriyal and Vikrant Massey. 

Music:  One of my favorite bands from the past released a new album this year, after long. Linkin Park's From Zero has head bangers like Emptiness Machine and Heavy is the Crown, along with many other great tracks, which makes it an almost no-skip album.

Shaboozey is my discovery of the year. It is like he found a place in music we didn't know existed and made himself at home there, at the confluence of hip-hop, country and pop. My favorite song of Shaboozey is Let it Burn.

Books : I hardly read any books this year and I am yet to finish the last two, but do plan to finish them 

1. And There was Light  - Jon Meacham
2. Circe - Madeline Miller
3. The Covenant of Water - Abraham Verghese
4. How to Hide an Empire - Daniel Immerwahr

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Lists : Podcasts I listen to

Podcasting is twenty year old this year having christened by Ben Hammersely with a broadcast-worthy name in 2004 and gone mainstream with a little help from iPod  & Steve Jobs right after. I never had much of commute more than 10 min to my work (thank you, universe) and due to my preference to visual media for entertainment I had been able to stay clear of podcasts for the first ten years of their existence. Then I realized I could listen to podcasts when I did chores around the house or while stewing in a bath or while on my evening jogs. 

Here below is a list of my favorite podcasts I listen to while I cook or clean or lounge in a bath. I am yet to find any podcasts I can listen to while running, so I have not started my jogging/running routine yet. I do not have much attention span anymore to commit to listening to serialized podcasts like Serial, so those type of famous, serialized podcasts are not in my list. I use podcasts to expand my understanding of the world, for learning new things or to light up my way down the rabbit holes I accidently find myself in every so often.

Philosophy, Economics, History: I do not know whether everyone becomes a philosopher as they grow old, I certainly have become very interested in Philosophy and Economics in the last decade. If I was the kind who cared about framed certificates and laurels I would have gone back to school (online or evening college?) to get a degree or two in these subjects. But I am not, these podcasts are more than enough for me.

Philosophize This: This beginner-friendly podcast by Stephen West is where I started my learning-philosophy journey. I still have many episodes left to listen and I do not listen to it in chronological order. West is a bit of a smart-a3$, and you have to remember he is opinionated too, just like the rest of us, but it is an informative guided tour nevertheless, from the early beginnings of philosophy in Greece, pre-Socrates.

The History of Philosophy without any gaps: I got to this podcast after Philosophize This, which is probably the right progression. Prof. Peter Adamson, is much more detailed and extensive than Philosophize This while presenting the same content. I am slowly chomping away at this podcast as time permits.

History of Philosophy : India, Africa China : Most of the philosophy podcasts only have a few episodes for Eastern philosophy and it is always the Western perspective of Eastern Philosophy. This one bridges that gap.

An Economic History of the World since 1400s: This is technically not a podcast, but a college course or a book by Prof. Donald J. Harreld or a TV documentary series, I watched (listened) it as the latter, using my public library account, on Kanopy. For someone who developed an interest in economics after living for decades in a world created and controlled by economics, this was a great intro to 600 years of human economic history presented by the writer himself. Unless you cared about the occasional illustration, photographs and drawing, the whole series can be consumed just through audio,

The History of India podcast : A very in-depth podcast about the history of India from 6th century BC onwards, hosted by Kit Patrick. I am yet to find another podcast that covers the range of time this podcast covers, from 600 BCE to 700 CE, about India's history.

Fall of Civilizations :  Learning from failures is always a wise idea. Even though I am not in charge of an empire, I seem to be living in a failing one. This podcast looks at the collapse of a different civilization in each episode.

Arts, Architecture, Design .....  including things peripherally related to architecture like urban planning. 

99% Invisible: From one of the best podcast hosts/producers in the US, Roman Mars, this design podcast examines our every day environment and objects from a design angle. A top design, architecture and art podcast featured in many best-of lists.

Memory Palace: Nate DiMeo's voice is mesmerizing and soothing as he tells the stories of long forgotten people, places, things. Memory Palace is Podcast Americana at its finest and Nate DiMeo is how every podcaster should sound like if you ask me.

Articles of Interest: A podcast about what we wear. It is a "sub"-podcast of 99% Invisible.

Thinking Transportation: A podcast from Texas A & M Transportation Institute about transportation and planning. As a public transport enthusiast with some urban planning connections, I listen to keep it up with the world of transportation.

The Daily Poem : A poem a day is a podcast from the Academy of American Poets which present a previously unpublished poems from contemporary American poets, followed by a description of the poem and a re-read of the poem. A short and a calming podcast.

Science: All things under the wide umbrella of science.

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: While Carroll's own expertise is in physics, quantum mechanics, philosophy and cosmology, Mindscape dabbles in a wide variety of subjects talking to experts in pretty much every subject under the sun.

Redefining CyberSecurity: Working in technology, it is hard to escape the talk about cybersecurity and AI. This Sean Martin podcast covers the cyber security piece for me.

Stuff You Should Know : The title. I am not usually a fan of podcasts where there is more than one host with distracting banter and chuckles. This is one podcast I will excuse, even if it has two hosts, Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant and Josh Clark.

Brain Lenses : Hosted by Colin Wright, it is a podcast about how we see the world, ourselves and each other.

There are more podcasts to list like Reply All or Darknet Diaries. Maybe another day.

 I listen to podcasts on TuneIn Radio or AntennaPod, an open source podcast app. I don't really care for the podcasts that are only available on Apple podcasts(not an iPhone person) or Spotify. All these I've listed above are available in the two apps I use.

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We Didn't Start the Fire in 2022

We didn't start the fire in 2022 either, but a few winds of change blew into my life. Adjusting my sails to the changing patterns of currents and events kept me away from updating this blog. The thoughts and reviews I would have otherwise gathered were thrown to the wind in favor of my efforts in keeping the bow straight on the boat of life. Here are some titles of movies, shows, books, events and places I crossed paths in 2022 captured using the timeless template provided by the master fire marshal, Billy Joel. See you in 2023.

Sky Castle, Hail Caesar, Forrest Gump, Candy Jar
Delhi Crime Season Three, Devil in Ohio,
Twenty Five Twenty One, Oceans Eleven n Twelve
The Lincoln Lawyer, Rush Hour 1, 2 & 3

Surviving Death, Russian Doll, ‘83, Moxie
Borrego, Shards of Her, and Ozark Season Four
Inventing Anna, The Seven Lives of Lea
The Tinder Swindler, and Archive 81

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it 

 

Prime Video, here comes Disconnect and Rushmore

Outer Range, Patriot, Reacher Season One

Gehraiyaan, Marrowbone, Jo & Jo, The Joneses

The House of Gucci, The Virgin Suicides

Tesla, Prometheus, Modern Love Hyderabad
The Wolf of Wall Street, Dead Again, Richland
Stanford, TriCities, Goliath, Three Pines
Paper Girls, Thirteen Lives, Leaving Las Vegas

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Lionel Messi, World Cup, Stand By Me, Startup
Bad Vegan, Katla, and Minnal Murali
Manifest Season Four, Never Have I Ever
Young Wallander, Anatomy of a Scandal

Hasan Minhaj, Trevor Noah, FIFA got Uncovered
The Man from Toronto, Boeing is in Downfall
Darlings, Take your Pills and The Vanishing
I am Mother, Requiem, and The Fame Game

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Read away Hoffman, calls to Steal this Book
How To Raise a Feminist Son
Rage Against the Minivan, once again Walden
Stranger Things Season Four, Pieces of Her

Hold Tight, How to Change Your Mind
1899, blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

 

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Best shows on Amazon Prime & Netflix: My 2021 List

This is my customary end of the year list post. I usually do best books, but this year I am going to the best TV shows I have watched this year. Some of them were even adapted from books! That gives us one more reason not to read books, we can wait and watch when the show comes out.

My discovery of the year or my best TV show award goes to The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime. Here is the list of my top 10 tv shows of the year in no particular order, except for the one in the first place.

First Place - The Man in the High Castle (Prime): I like history. I like time travel and alternate universes. I don't really like science or fantasy fiction. But I am starting to like Philip K. Dick more than ever. He is the only science fiction writer I have ever enjoyed reading. 

The Man in the High Castle is history, time travel and alternate universes baked fresh from the kiln fired up right after WWII. It is based on Philip K. Dick's book of the same name. I started reading the book after I finished the show which is on Amazon Prime. The show is told from a different perspective than the book. The creators and the actors have kept it engaging, charismatic and it leaves us wanting more. Incredible performances all around. I am particularly impressed by Rufus Sewell who steals the show.  A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. If you are a history buff with a weakness for alternate universes, this one is for you.

The Underground Railroad (Prime): What if the underground railroad was a real subterranean railroad transporting slaves to the free lands up north ? Based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer winning novel of the same name, Barry Jenkins' poem of a show is a hard-hitting portrayal of the ambitious and risky flights to freedom undertaken by slaves from southern plantations in the mid 1800s. 

Them (Prime): Amazon Prime has more authentic shows about black people than Netflix. While it has garnered many negative reviews from critics, I liked the period aspect of Them and how it shows a family of four who moved to Compton from the Carolinas battle the duel evils of racism and supernatural evil. Are they one and the same?

Patriot (Prime) : If Wes Anderson was making TV shows, Patriot might be it. Maybe writer-director Steven Conrad is Anderson's brother from another mother. Patriot is about a spy, who cannot be identified as a spy, whose day job is at an industrial piping company in Milwaukee, who also moonlights as a folk singer as an antidote to his stress - the level of which would have killed any other person. It is serious and comedic at the same time. It also reminds me of Asian black comedy crime dramas where periods of silence are abruptly offset by loud action, then all goes quiet again in the next minute and the protagonist carries on with whatever mundane daily task he might have been doing - like sharpening a pencil or reading a bus time table.

The Serpent (Netflix): The exquisitely shot, directed, edited and acted crime drama, The Serpent, follows the notorious criminal and serial killer Charles Sobharaj. Sobharaj was our version of Clyde, of the Bonnie and Clyde fame. There were several Bonnies in the real Sobharaj's story, although in this TV version, Bonnie is Marie-Andrée Leclerc . When I was a kid back in India, Sobharaj was captured and jailed for a brief time in Tihar jail from where he escaped using one of his ingenious schemes. It was great to see re-creation of sixties and seventies, going down the hippy trail in Asia on the tail of a notoriously manipulative psychopath. The production design and casting are on point.

Kim's Convenience, Seasons 1-4 (Netflix) : The best Korean show ever to be made by North Americans. Set in Toronto, it tells the story of a four member Korean-Canadian family who owns a convenience store. While it is light, natural, funny and this is the most realistic portraiture of an Asian immigrant family I have seen on TV.

Harlan Coben series on Netflix: For quick binge-able crime drama, just like the Harlan Coben paperbacks you might pickup from the airport kiosk, the TV shows adapted from Coben's novels are eminently binge-able, no matter what the language. I started with Safe, proceeded to The Five and The Stranger - all produced in U.K, before moving on to The Innocent (Spanish), Gone for Good (French) and The Woods (Polish.) 

Midnight Mass (Netflix) : Midnight Mass is an atmospheric series. It gives me the vibes of Netflix's show Messiah, a favorite of mine which Netflix canceled after the first season. Maybe due to religiosity, which is a cornerstone for both the shows. If you are in the mood for some dark moody horror with depressive undertones that rounds things off with a fiery apocalypse, too specific I know, then you might want to give Midnight Mass a try.

You (Netflix): How does a serial killer who is a book store manager ingratiate himself into high society and find his prey? Watch YOU for the answer. Based on the books by Caroline Kepnes, the protagonist could be called Dexter with a literary bend of mind. Addictive.

If I Hadn't Met You (Netflix): I will take time travel and alternate universes in any language. Si no t'hagues conegut is a Spanish Catalan series, a love story in disguise of a time traveling trope - that's what I fell for.

Other honorable mentions because I am too lazy to write.

The rest of my best on Amazon Prime you have probably not watched, yet.

• Hotel Beau Sejour (Belgium) : Supernatural crime drama with the protagonist murdered, caught up in an after-life limbo, trying to find her killer.
• Unforgotten (U.K) :  British crime series starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhasker.
• The Living & The Dead (U.K): Victorian era super natural of a farmer-scientist trying to prove the existence of after-life, starring Colin Morgan.
• Intruders (BBC America) : Stars Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown before she was famous. Supernatural.

The rest of my best on Netflix you might have watched already.

• Delhi Crime (India): Best Indian crime drama ever.
• Clickbait : Crime thriller set in the U.S, but Melbourne stands in for U.S west coast.
• The Chair : If you have always wondered what happens in academia and what do these professors, especially the ones who teach languages do, The Chair is a quick and easy watch.
• How To Sell Drugs Online Fast Seasons 1-3 (Germany) : Real life Breaking Bad about the true story of a teenage German entrepreneur. Engaging and funny.
• Never Have I Ever Seasons  1-2 : Teen drama. Mindy Kaling takes a look at the troubles and travails of teenage angst, through her protagonist, first generation Indian American teen, Devi Vishwakumar

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Best Books I Read in 2019

Below is a list of the best books I read in 2019 in no particular order. Only one of them was published in 2019.

When Breath Becomes Air (2016) by Paul Kalanithi : I am in awe of people who create works of literature while battling the demons of disease. Tragic and powerful, the author lives on in our thoughts even when he is dead, long after his breath has become air. Fair winds and following seas, Paul.

This Land is our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto (2019) by Suketu Mehta: An impassioned plea from one of the best immigrant literary voices in the US of A.It is non-fiction, based on author's research, but it is one hundred percent an emotional appeal piece.

Girl at War (2015) by Sara Novic :Told through the eyes of a 10 year old tomboy turned child soldier, this debut novel by Sara Novic is a fictional account of the conflict in the Balkans in the 90s. I have not read many books about the Balkan conflict, nor did I associate the Serb-Croat-Bosnian civil war with child soldiers. This was an eye-opening, entertaining and relatable work. Highly readable.

Bad Blood : Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (2018) by John Carreyrou : A in-depth expose about a Silicon Valley startup founder. It's such a great work of investigative non-fiction that when I recently watched the HBO documentary (The Inventor : Out for Blood in Silicon Valley) on the same subject I found the documentary tepid and underwhelming. Here are my thoughts on Carreyrou's ground-breaking book.

Travels with Charlie in Search of America (1962) by John Steinbeck : Take a road trip in a tricked out camper with one of the greatest story teller's America has ever produced. The year is 1960. Your co-passengers are John Steinbeck and Charlie the dog. The mission is to search for the real America. Here are my thoughts after riding with the man and his dog.

Green River Running Red : The Real Story of the Green River Killer - America's Deadliest Serial Murderer (2004) by Ann Rule : 2019 was the year I got introduced to Ann Rule, America's number one true crime non-fiction writer. Between 1982 and 85, the Green River serial killer murdered 50+ women around Seattle area. Ms.Rule delves in to the lives of each and every victim and the police officers, in addition to the life of the killer himself. While speed-reading it sometimes become difficult to connect the dots, but I think this is the only way to present these crimes - giving  importance to the victims and the people who worked hard to solve the cases.

Everything Happens For a Reason (And other lies I've loved) (2018) by Kate Bowler : Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, questions about the part God plays in this deadly mortality play and a few funny insights form the crux of Kate Bowler's memoir. While not heart-wrenching or emotionally gripping as Paul Kalanithi's it is an interesting piece of a near-miss death experience from a Christian perspective.

Pretending to be Normal (1999) by Liane Holliday Willey
Be Different : Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian (2012) by John Elder Robinson : At this very late stage in life, I realize I might be not be normal. But then again, the true average is the rarest to find, every one might be in one spectrum or the other.

My Life of the Road (2016) by Gloria Steinem : This is the first book I've ever read of Gloria Steinem's - one of feminism's primary crusaders. Here is my two-bit take on the book.

Gone Without a Trace (2017) by Mary Torjussen: Your significant other vanishes without a trace and you do not know what is going on. It's hard to do a complete scrubbing in this digital age but somehow this SO achieves that and leaves the girl to figure it out all by herself. One of the few pieces of fiction I consumed this year, with the focus on yet another unhinged young woman protagonist, along the lines of The Girl on the Train and I Let You Go.If you must read fast-food-fiction, this will fit the bill.

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Memorable Books I read in 2018 - My best books of 2018

I was of two minds. I do need to do at least one "best of 2018" list like the rest of the populace, that is a given, and I will do a non-fiction books list (and a movie list if I get time in the next 2-3 hours before 2018 ends in my time zone.) But should I do a list of the best books of 2018 or the best books I read in 2018 which could have been published in the years prior?

My book buying habits are almost non-existent. Unless I really like the author and want to contribute to their welfare, I do not buy books, which means I am dependent on libraries (digital and analog) and the choices they offer - that made the decision for me. I will go with the best books I read in 2018, even if some of them could have been published 100 years ago. No, that's a stretch, I can't digest ancient scrolls. Anything more than a couple of decades old usually bores me to death. I am a child of times, an instant gratification seeking speed-reader blessed with an attention span that has not yet graduated kindergarten.

Here's my list of memorable reads from 2018, in no particular order. Some of them were published during the 2012-2018 period, I just happened to read them in 2018, so they find a place in this list.

How to change your mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence (2018) by Michael Pollan
Anything big government bans is worth some research. Michael Pollan researches on your behalf so that you don't have to order magic mushrooms on the dark web. This is also the first Pollan book I finished. Omnivore's Dilemma, here I come (again.) A great companion TV series for Pollan's book is Hamilton's Pharmacopeia - an excellent series for the curious lifelong learners.


Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections (2013) by Patrick Smith
If you travel by air or intend to, this is a first-rate insider's perspective from a blog turned book written by a commercial pilot. Something along the lines of - a thousand things a commercial airline employee would not tell you, but you should know.

Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation (2017) Edited by John Freeman
Oh the divided nation....how much longer are you going to survive? Stories from the front lines of a discordant nation as told by the bards of the hour, edited and put together by John Freeman.

Life in Code: a personal history of Technology (2017) by Ellen Ullman
As an incidental coder, my inquisitiveness about women who code led me to this book. Ellen Ullman didn't disappoint.

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy (2016) by Sue Klebold
A force majeure. I wish Sue Klebold didn't have to suffer the tragedy she did, nor the people who died and/or suffered by the actions of her son had to undergo the devastation of their lives at Columbine, for the readers to be able to get this book. But as a mother, as a lover of words Ms.Klebold's work is quite tectonic.

The True American : Murder and Mercy in Texas (2014) by Anand Giridhardas
An interesting true story of an Asian American immigrant who became a victim of hate crime in Texas, pitting him and his transformation against a white supremacist who caused the tragedy.

Kannur : Inside India's Bloodiest Revenge Politics (2018) by Ullekh N.P
How many people get to read a book titled with the name of their birth place? It would have been disrespectful not to read it. I was lucky I got a copy the month after it came out. You think you know everything about the place you are from, I was wrong. My review here.

2018 was my initiation year into the true-crime genre.The next three are brilliant works of investigative journalism bolstered by first-rate research by the authors, these are the ones that got me hooked.

I'll be gone in the dark: One Woman's obsessive search for the Golden State Killer (2018) by Michelle McNamara
I feel so bad/sad that Ms.McNamara died before she could taste the fruits of her labor.It is a brilliantly researched, well put-together work about a serial killer who terrorized California in the seventies and eighties, who was finally caught in 2010s, thanks to DNA evidence. McNamara made her life's mission trying to track down this low life, but she died in 2016 before the killer was finally caught. The last section of the book was put together by a couple of friends of hers after she died. My review here.

Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial (2016) by Rabia Chaudry
The stigma of being a Muslim in post 9/11 America is what stands out in Adnan's story. Although the crime and the punishment occurred before before Sep 2001, the discrimination and the lapses of Baltimore PD are hard to ignore. I hope Adnan gets justice real soon. My review here.

Lost Girls : An Unsolved American Mystery (2013) by Robert Kolker
A killer yet uncaught, disposing off 'escorts' in a world where prostitution has moved into the virtual realms like Craigslist. It is structured in sections where each victim and their life is highlighted, might get too detailed and confusing to follow, still an engrossing read if you are willing to spend some time to lose your self in their hopeless stories.

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