Favorite films

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Pinned reviews

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  Aynabaji 2016

  ★★★½ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 01 Jun 2020 2

  A surprisingly unique take on identity in a commercially viable package led by Chanchal Chowdhury's phenomenal performance. Worth watching just for his brilliance—including an uncanny ability to make you smile with his "mirroring" acts.

  It's tragic that the film still hasn't gotten any sort of distribution with English subtitles as it deserves to be seen more widely. This would do wonders on a platform such as Netflix.

  Production quality-wise, there are issues with sound mixing and color grading, though both are overall salvaged by Chowdhury's charisma.

  · Currently #3 on Letterboxd 25: Bangladesh
  · Currently #33 on Letterboxd 50: Bengali

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  The Last Witness 1980

  ★★★★ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 25 Feb 2019

  I've met Park Chan-wook three times in my life: At a signing for Oldboy at Tower Records in Soho, then at the NYFF premiere of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and once again at a Q&A for Thirst at the same festival. Only at the last event did I get to ask him whom his favorite inspirations were: He said Kim Ki-young and Yasuzo Masumura—which led me to binge on the latter’s works.

  But now, having watched The Last Witness, it's…

Recent reviews

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  Fletch 1985

  ★★★½ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 09 Jul 2021 2

  Re-discovering Chevy Chase in his prime has been fantastic: First with Caddyshack and now with Fletch, where his semi-dead pan deliveries front a great mix of the serious and the light. A neo-noir at its core, the film feels fairly unique in its tone and holds up incredibly well.

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  Caddyshack 1980

  ★★★½ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 06 Jul 2021

  Absolute comedic masterclass from Chase and Murray.

  Somehow, I’d never gotten around to watch this, partially due to trepidation that it’d be just another outdated 80s raunchfest, but instead Ramis is in great control from beginning to end of a wholly calculated affair. Chase, especially, shows you why he was so well-regarded at one point.

Popular reviews

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  The White Tiger 2021

  ★★½ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 24 Jan 2021 2

  The tone just felt off here, with the lead character coming off unnecessarily sinister for much of the film. In addition, the class struggle angle felt not only overly exaggerated but also reductive. There is a great story here somewhere, possibly buried behind excessive screentime for a normally great Rajkummar Rao and a heavy-handed approach to a much more complex topic.

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  In the Heights 2021

  ★★★ Watched by Rahat Ahmed 12 Jun 2021 2

  Beautiful love letter to Washington Heights.

  I can only hope we can have something similar about the Bangladeshi experience in Jackson Heights one day.