The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello, hello! This year has been a bust as far as the Indian movie scene was concerned (for us). We watched a few good ones, though and so, are sharing those as solid recommendations to enjoy over a long weekend!  Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies): Hands down, the best movie of the year! Won't be writing much here because we have a whole post about it. Read it ! :) Streaming on Netflix.  Kill: A gory, thrilling, slick action flick that's made in India! Fast-paced and so, so, so thrilling. Streaming on Netflix. Watch it!  Stree 2: A sequel that is not a sophomoric disaster! Yes, please! This movie takes us back into the Stree universe, except, we have a new villain and also, some new allies. A fun, spooky watch, for sure! Streaming on Prime Video.  Munjya: A nicely made horror movie inspired by the myth/ legend of the Brahmadaitya- the belief that if a Brahmin youth days within 14 days of his sacred thread ceremony, he becomes an evil spirit/ entity. Highly recommen...

 Hello, hello, Today, we will be sharing our Top 12 documentaries of the year.  This year was a major non-fiction viewing year for us. Somehow, movies and series (fiction) across languages were so disappointing! Anyhoo, let's get to it!  1. Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth? is a heartbreaking, thought-provoking and very nicely made documentary about the dual abduction of cousins- Lyric and Elizabeth from a small town in Iowa. This was a rare case of double abduction and the documentary delves into theories, possible suspects and even unearths a few interesting connections with other cases. Highly recommend. Streaming on Jio Cinema. 2. Worst Ex Ever & Worst Roommate Ever are two amazing and scary documentaries about horrible exes and terrifying roommates. This is episodic and so, there are multiple horror stories shared by those who have experienced these! Streaming on Netflix.  3. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is an amazing documentary and story ...

Hello, hello, Another weekend and another 'what to watch' post on this blog :)  Today's recommendations are a nice mixed bag of true crime, horror and romance! So, let's get into it, shall we?  Nobody Wants This is a rom-com that is an instant throwback to the mid-2000s! Not only because it stars millennial heartthrobs Adam Brody and Kristen Bell but also it is, basically, a classic rom-com. Has several laugh out loud moments and all the formulaic, trope-heavy things that defined the rom-coms in the early to mid-2000s.  Messed up, commitment-averse heroine- check.  Stable, nice-boy hero- check.  He falls first- check.  She falls harder- check.   And, like I said, lots of LOL-worthy moments, mostly stemming from the hero's extremely Jewish family and the heroine's messy-chaotic family.  This is not a perfect show but it is one of the better rom-coms one has seen in a while. Plus it has six very short episodes which I like. I am so over 50 minute lo...

 Hello, hello, After absolutely ages, we are back with a 'What to Watch' recommendation post! Today we are recommending 5 True Crime Documentaries that we recently watched and loved!  Let's get into it, shall we?  1. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter tells the heartbreaking story of birth mom- Kathy Terkanian- who had given up her nine-month-old daughter for adoption in 1975. She had heard nothing of or from her child (since it was a closed adoption) until 2010, when the adoption agency wrote to her asking for a DNA sample to match a set of female remains found in Wisconsin. It was then that Kathy, who even after receiving the letter had not learnt her child's name, learnt that her daughter has been missing since 1989! The two-episode documentary follows her tenacious search into the whereabouts of her daughter and the shocking revelations that unearth more unsolved crimes!  Very, very good! Absolute must-watch! Streaming on Netflix. 2. Worst Ex Ever: Who hasn't had ...

 Hello, hello! I hope December has been good to you thus far!  We are a little more than halfway done with the last month of the year and, seriously, where has the time flown by?!  Anyway, back to the post. Today, I am going to share our Top 10 Hindi movies of the year. This year has been awful for the Hindi movie industry and they've only given us duds and godawful movies! However, even amongst the uninspiring slew of Hindi movies, there were some that were, thankfully, good!  Let's get into it, shall we?!  Uunchai,  streaming on Zee5, is a lovely, heartwarming movie about a group of septuagenarians, who decide to trek to the Everest Base Camp to honour one of their friends, whose dream it was and who'd passed away quite suddenly. The treacherous trek, the unravelling of secrets and just the dynamics of the friendships was really nicely done!  Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga,  streaming on Netflix, is a really nicely done thriller. It starts with the hi...

 It is that time of the year!  The time where we share our favourite books, TV/ OTT series and other favourite things of 2023!  Kicking off the list-y posts with our Top 5 K-Dramas of 2023!  Let's go!  1. The Glory  The Glory was, hands down, one of my favourite shows of 2023! It is a brilliant show with fabulous performances but a dark, potentially triggering, theme. The show follows the journey of a young woman seeking revenge from the kids, who brutally bullied her in high school. It is a hard watch at times but a brilliant, brilliant show.  2. Mr. Queen  Mr. Queen is an older show. I think it is from 2020 but it showed up on Netflix this year and is one of my favourite K-drama love stories! It is cute, hilarious and so, so sweet! I loved the setting, the characters and just everything about it!  3. Destined With You  If you love reincarnation and destined-to-be-forever type of romance tropes, then this cute show is just for you! It i...

  Book: Devotion of Suspect X Author: Keigo Higashono  Pages: 448 Read on: Kindle and Paperback  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:  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. Yasuko Hanaoka works in a restaurant. She is divorced, and is a single mother to Misato. Her ex-husband, Togashi, was an abusive man, stalking and extorting money from her. With similar intentions, he showed up at Yasuko’s home, this time threatening to kill her and her daughter if she refused to lend him money. What started from denial, reached to a heated argument, and within a short span of time, turned to a nasty fight. In the...

  Hello, hello, I hope your Monday has been good.  If you are looking for something to watch tonight or maybe something nice this week, I have Five Things to Watch.  So let's just jump in.  Friday Night Plan: This teen, coming-of-age and shenanigans-filled film on Netflix was such good fun. It was sweet, funny and has its heart in the right place. I liked how school life and different cliques are shown in a believable way. The popular kids aren't some monsters and relentlessly evil. It shows friendships in schools in a way that seemed so real. I had such a fun time watching this and if you need something short and fun and nostalgic watch this.  It's streaming on Netflix.  The After Party: This is a suspense-whodunnit-comedy. The second season recently wrapped up and if you are looking for something to binge, I highly recommend both seasons of this quirky show and the mystery is also decent. Both seasons are solid and fun and you can watch this over the we...

Hello, hello, We've been having a very rainy week in Mumbai and so, have been watching a mix of old and new and underrated horror movies! Sharing some that we enjoyed for fellow horror aficionados.    In no particular order, here are the horror movies we enjoyed!  1. The Pope's Exorcist: Inspired the real life adventures and misadventures of the actual exorcist hired by the Pope in the 1980s to help individuals suffering from demonic possession, this is a pretty gnarly movie. When an American widow moves to a tiny town in Spain to restore and sell an ancient abbey that belonged to her husband's family, she finds a demonic entity possessing her young son. The Pope's Exorcist is called in to help the little boy.  Streaming on Prime Video.  2. Slumber: When a family that has consistent, horrifying nightmares approaches a sleep clinic for help, little do the doctors know that they have bitten off more than they can chew and what seems like some kind of sleep disorde...

  We watched Lust Stories 2 last night and here is a full on spoiler-filled review for y'all!  BEWARE- FULL SPOILERS AHEAD- SKIP THIS POST IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS Lust Stories 2 is an anthology of four short films centred around, what else, lust. The themes for each of these stories are different and so, as an anthology, it works well. Also, all the stories are women-centric, which given the theme is always nice to see. So, without any further ado, let's dive into the individual short films.  The first story is directed by R. Balki and is, honestly, one of the most ridiculous and far-fetched ones in the anthology! While it did make me chuckle on multiple occasions, the whole schtick of a Dadima insisting on her granddaughter have sex before marriage with a potential semi-arranged marriage groom is just ridiculously far fetched given the social milieu and the kind of family shown in this story, which is an average middle-upper-middle class family!  Can you imagine ...

 Hello, hello! A long weekend is just a few hours away from us and if you, like us, plan to just chill and be home, then we have got you sorted with some really interesting OTT recommendations.  Without any further ado, let's get into it, shall we? :)  Documentaries If you enjoy documentaries, then these three on Netflix are definitely ones that you should watch: MH370: The Plane That Disappeared looks into various theories behind the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared into thin air in 2014! An interesting look at multiple conspiracy and scientific theories that speculate on what could've happened.  Waco: American Apocalypse is a look at the 51-day stand off between the FBI and a cult based out of Waco, Texas. The documentary sheds light on what went on for those 51 days and how, in the end, the tragic events that unfolded at the compound came to pass. A nice true crime documentary.  Challenger: The Final Flig...

 Hello, hello, Sharing some of our most loved movies and web series of February 2023!  Given we have some long weekends coming up in March, these would be good ones to watch.  Let's get into it!  1. Mr Queen: A K-drama that is absolutely hilarious and adorable but with a hint of palace/ political intrigue! When a 21st century masterchef falls into a swimming pool, he wakes up in the body of a 19th century queen-to-be. Hilarity ensues as he tries to keep the King at an arm's length, try desperate means to get back to his life and fix things in the past all at the same time!  2. Crash Course in Romance: An introverted, workaholic Maths tutor falls for an extroverted, kind restaurant owner. This is, however, not just an opposites attract love story but is also a commentary on the brutal education system in Korea, especially, the cut-throat world of competitive exams, special tuition classes for these exams and the toll it takes on students. There is also a bit of a...

 Hello, hello! Sharing our favourite movies (a mix of Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and English) of 2022 with you.  These are across genres like thrillers, drama, dramedies, horror-comedies, action and such.  As we wind down the year and, hopefully, you have a little more time on your hands, these movies are good ones to watch!  Without further ado, let's get into it!  We will be back with our Top OTT series faves across fiction and non-fiction very soon!  Enjoy! 

 Hello, hello, Another weekend closer to Christmas! The lights in our building went up today and I am feeling most festive!  If you are looking for some quick stuff to watch tonight and tomorrow, then we've got you!  Here are some movies and shows that we've enjoyed recently!  1. Blur Blur is a thriller movie streaming on Zee5 starring Tapsee Pannu and Gulshan Devaiah. It follows the story of twins- Gautami and Gayatri- who have progressive blindness. When Gautami is found dead, the police think it is suicide but Gayatri refuses to believe it. As she delves more and more into her twin's life in the days leading up to her death, she uncovers some pretty sketchy and dangerous things that confirm her suspicions.  Though a bit of a slow burn, Blur is quite nicely done.  2. The White Lotus (Season 2)  Season 1 of The White Lotus was weird and slightly problematic but fun. Season 2 is even better!  Set in a beautiful resort in Sicily, the series follows...

 Hello, hello, It's Friday! That means, the weekend is here for us to binge some really amazing OTT content!  Without further ado, let's get into some of our recent faves across different OTT platforms... 1. Chup (Zee5)  In  Chup, a serial killer is brutally murdering film critics using lines from their own reviews. So, one critic gets "ruthlessly cut" while the other ends up "all over the place" and, well, you get the idea! Who is this killer and why is he killing film critics?  Sunny Deol as the ace homicide detective and Pooja Bhatt as a criminal psychologist are on the case! BTW, so good to see both after such a long time!  A pretty good thriller film with stellar performances from Dulquer Salman and Sunny Deol! Worth a watch for sure!  2. Bodh (Hoichoi) Bodh (conscience in Bengali) is a gripping and nicely written show about justice and not being afraid of facing off against more powerful people in the quest of that justice!  Retired judge, A...

  We watched Monica O My Darling last night and we simply had to come over and tell you why you need to absolutely watch it! Here's why:  1. After a long, long time, a Bollywood movie has hit all the right notes!  Monica O My Darling is a neo-noir thriller, a sort of a whodunnit, a comic caper, a massive misadventure saga and all of this with a wild 70s ka tadka! We have the iconic Monica O My Darling song being played in the background during some insane moments of the movie and everything just works so well together! Watch it for the amazing storytelling, the treatment and sheer fun!  2. The performances were pitch perfect! Every single actor was SO GOOD and perfectly cast! Huma S. Qureshi as the eponymous wily, chalu, grifter/ hustler   Monica was perfection! Her dialogue delivery, body language and just everything was perfection. Rajkumar Rao, as always, was insanely good! Radhika Apte in a sort of comic role was also very good. Sikander Kher was hilarious! ...

 Hello, hello! Diwali is almost here!  Happy Dhanteras to everyone celebrating!  If you are planning on doing something low-key this weekend, we've got you! Here are some recommendations of movies and web series that you can watch this weekend... 1. 20th Century Girl (Korean Movie | Netflix)  Remember being in love for the very first time? Or having a massive crush on someone in school? Or just the insane shenanigans that you and your best friend got up to? If you love reminiscing about the past and enjoy nostalgic content, then 20th Century Girl is the film for you!  Cute, fun, funny and heartwarming, it is just the ticket for the slightly cold nights that we are seeing in India! :)  2. Shining Girls (AppleTV) Based on the eponymous book, Shining Girls, set in Chicago in 1992 follows Kirby, the sole survivor of a brutal serial killer, who kills smart, kind and talented women. Basically, 'shining girls'. Kirby teams up with a washed up crime reporter to tra...