A vintage "Dark Knight" !!

This week I had the opportunity of catching up with one of the finest movies in recent times - "The Dark Knight". Its not often that you get to see a super hero movie which is not just that but a lot more. Possibly one of the best super-hero movies (if not the best), this is a dark, complex and intriguing tale of good versus bad. I have always been a big fan of Christopher Nolan directed movies (Memento,Prestige) but this movie really propels Nolan into my list of all time favorite directors. Nolan constructs an imminently relatable and real Gotham city with a Batman, who is vulnerable, human and yet dependable. But as many of us might already know, the highlight of the movie is the outstanding performance of the late Heath Ledger as Batman's nemesis - "The Joker" (truly an Oscar worthy performance!!). Extremely sinister, amoral and deeply frightening, this "Joker" probably has to be one of the greatest villains of all time. When the Joker tells Batman "We complete each other" or when he proclaims "I am an agent of Chaos", the Joker is in tremendous form making even Batman nervous.

Somewhere during the middle of the movie, I even forgot that this was a super-hero movie! It was as if I was watching an intense Martin Scorcese or Michael Mann crime-drama. This is inspite of some jaw dropping action scenes that are requisite of any super hero movie. To sum it up best, it has all the action to keep the fan-boys happy and at the same time, it has all the depth, intensity and intellectual propensity to keep the discerning viewer happy too. In my opinion, this one is a must watch and for those who are yet to catch up on this one, rush to your nearest screen ( cos this one's big screen worthy !). And beware this one is one helluva ride - it catches you unawares with its strong recurrent "Good vs Evil" undertone and an ending that is so not characteristic of a super hero movie.....

So have a great time meeting up with the caped crusader and his nemesis...while I think of what will be the topic of my next post. Till then adieu and have a fantabulous time!!

This week at the cinemas...........................

Welcome back......I return to blogging after a span of nearly more than a month. Now I am getting used those streaks of lethargy that keep surfacing in me quite often! After all you always try to overcome your shortcomings and keep failing miserably at it...isn't it?
This week I was at the cinemas trying to catch up on the new movie from the "perfectionist" Khan stable - "Jaane tu yaa jaane na". To put things in the perspective, "Jaane tu....." by no means is an outstanding piece of cinema........and yes it definitely isn't in the league of the cult classic "Dil Chahta Hai", yet this is one movie that is a must watch this season! "Jaane tu...." is a romantic caper minus all the eccentricities of commercial Hindi cinema, with a generous sprinkling of humor. One thing "Jaane tu......." does well is to consciously avoid all the cliches of Hindi cinema right until the climax........the far-fetched yet entertaining climax seems more like a tribute to the bygone era of Indian cinema which reveled in 'over the top' dramatization and bang-up climaxes. "Jaane..." marks the coming of age of a bunch of fine young actors - Imran is a revelation, Genelia is a livewire and their bunch of friends are an absolute delight......Here one actor who managed to arrest your attention in a brief role was Prateik Babbar as Genelia's brother. He seems to have inherited his famous mom's acting genes and I am looking forward to seeing a lot more of him in the movies. I have always admired Naseeruddin Shah's uncanny ability to act well in mundane movies but in this movie, he was an absolute delight as the hero's long dead father. Every time there was an altercation between him and Rathna Pathak (hero's mom), the audience was in splits. In a movie such as this, peppy music is a must......and ARR delivers big time......His music supports the movie admirably without for a moment sounding out of place..........

This is surely one of the finest movies this season and definitely worth a watch. If not for anything else, watch it for the fabulous performances!!! Well here I come to the end of this post, and let me be optimistic and believe that it wont be long before I return with another post!!

Till then have a happy time at the cinemas ( if you are going to watch LoveStory:2050, please treat it as an unintentional comedy......you might end up enjoying it!!!!!!!!!)

The Shining

I have been a fan of the legendary Stanley Kubrick ever since I saw his disturbing "The Clockwork Orange". I know it sounds oxymoronic to say that I am a big fan of a film maker whose film "The Clockwork Orange" disturbed and even disoriented me. A story of what a dysfunctional society can do to its youngsters - it was so unsettling that I don't think I can ever muster the courage to watch it again. Therein lies the strength of all Kubrick movies - the leisurely pace at which the story unfolds, the orchestrated music that continuously plays in the background, the amazing camerawork, the "whats the fuss all about" kind of acting style, the unexpected twists in the plot that hit you like a thunderbolt, the "tell it all in the face" kind of narrative style - all combine to ensure a compelling movie watching experience.

I recently got hold one of Kubrick's all time popular movies - "The Shining" (incidentally this movie was voted as the scariest movie of all times in a recent poll) I was both apprehensive and skeptical at the same time - apprehensive because I was sure I would be in for a relentlessly unsettling movie experience (as is the case with all Kubrick movies) and skeptical because I cannot think anyone can make a better horror movie than the Gregory Peck starrer "The Omen". But boy I was wrong......I was literally glued to my seat for the entire duration of the movie......It was a very "claustrophobic" cinematic experience - the tension was unrelenting, the trademark orchestrated background score was teasingly building up an atmosphere of impending doom, the twists in the story began to unleash themselves at the most unexpected junctures.........phew!!

Very few people have banished the stereotypes of the "horror" genre the way Kubrick has done in "Shining". Very little blood, no gore, no awful looking computer generated ghosts........the tension and thrill lay in the plot, the performances and of course the cold direction of the master craftsman. The plot of the "The Shining" revolves around Jack Nicholson (in one of his best performances) moving into a secluded and opulent-looking hotel with his family, as its new caretaker. Jack's predecessor as we come to know had butchered his family and had also killed himself. As the movie progresses, we sense a gradual degradation in the mental state of Jack and as he is driven to repeat the atrocity committed by his predecessor, the only thing that can save the day for Jack's family is the unique telepathic power called "Shining" possessed by his little son.

Anyway a Stanley Kubric movie is not everyone's cup of tea - many might be put off by its excruciatingly slow pace and the water-tight atmosphere it builds up - but nevertheless you will be taken aback by the sheer audacity and technique of the late master film-maker.

Adieu Spider man !!

Breaking News!!

The fourth installment of Spiderman will be scripted by the writer of this blog. The rumor(of course started by this author himself) has it that it will be the story of young man who inherits his father's powers......oops.......sorry that was inadvertently plagiariased from an Indian masterpiece 'Krish' (which of course this author sat through five times - each time until the interval only).............

Phew........shocking (or disgusting) as the above piece of news might seem to the reader, exactly the same kind of feeling was invading me as I sat in the darkness watching my favourite superhero (I'm being a little hypocritical, Rajinikanth shall always remain my all time favourite super hero) crumble into a heap of disappointment even as the villain of the piece 'Sandman' literally crumbled in a mountain of sand. A successful franchise, an endearing super-hero, a massive budget, maniacal hype - in spite of all this what went wrong?

1) First of all, the action scenes were very very few(quite evident from the restlessness of the kids who were seated in the row front of mine)................Whatever may be the excuse, definitely no one goes to a super hero movie to watch endless bantering and emotional kitsch (I think watching any of the 'K' (or 'Kk'......im not sure) serials would gratify the emotional needs of the viewer)
2) Weak villains are to a super hero movie what a fully clothed heroine is to a Bollywood movie ( a sure recipe to disaster!!). Sandman and Crapman( sorry can't remember the other villain's name) are possibly the weakest villains in recent movie history (possibly the previous one was Vivek Oberoi in 'Kisna'........definition of a villian is slightly altered in this case as there came a stage in that classic when I was rooting for the villain to escape with the heroine!!)
3) Story(or atleast something like it) is needed even for Spidey. Not that I went into the hall expecting a pulsating story with a shocking twist in the end (who knows had our own Night Shyamalan directed Spidey.....in the end it might have been revealed that Spidey was actually a ghost) but atleast you need a basic story to tell even in a super hero movie (now don't tell me Sunny Deol movies have a story)
4) Now Sam Raimi(the director) needs to move on. No I didn't mean he has to get back to make the fifth(or sixth?) installment of that amazing movie 'Evil Dead' (one of those classic movies I grew up watching......). Sam Raimi remained an icon in my view until I saw that iconic horror movie 'Kuch kuch hota hai'...............Anyway simply put Mr.Raimi move away from Spidey.........Harry Potter is waiting for you............
5) Now what needs to be done if Spidey 4 has to be made is to replace the old Tobey Maguire with a young George Clooney and replace the irritable Kirsten Dunst with the beautiful Meryl Streep. Of course the director of my choice would be Christopher Nolan(remember Memento??)

But the only problem is that all his movies begin with the climax (maybe in Spidey 4, Spidey would kill the villain in the first scene and the movie moves backwards from there on..........)
Well at the end of it all, the moral of the story is never watch the third part of any successful movie franchise (remember Terminator 3,Batman 3..........) with the exception of Pirates 3 (can't help this I'm very partial to Johnny Depp movies)..............................