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Saturday 8 November 2014

Of Space, Time and Pizza





[Spoilers ahead]
Interstellar is certainly brave if nothing else. Spanning multiple galaxies and time zones (I know this term is probably incorrect, you geeks), the movie is a beautiful experience for at least the first 2 hours of its run-time.

The Good


  • TARS – This robot, thanks to his dry humor, was at once amiable and certainly held his own in a film with a solid cast all around. Special mention to TARS' form which was functional and unlike anything I have seen before, yet aesthetically pleasing.
  • Time Dilation – If there was one scientific concept whose use the movie absolutely nailed, it was this! Key to the the plot, time dilation served to heighten the drama and elicit gut-wrenching emotion on several occasions. We feel Cooper's joy turn to pain as he watches how his son has been sending out hopeful messages out into space all these years.
  • Matt Damon's entry – I and, judging by the collective gasps in the theater, most people watching had no idea that Damon was in the film. There was good drama on both the planets that Cooper and Brand visit, but Mann's world really took the cake. The half an hour or so that he was in the film were edge-of-the-seat stuff, and Damon was the perfect choice to play the Mannipulative pioneer. BTW, when Damon comes out of cryosleep, did anyone else mistake him for Philip Seymour Hoffman?
  • Despite the terrible pacing that leads up to this scene, I loved Cooper's reunion with Murph. Her line about knowing Cooper would be back because of his promise as a father is a genuinely sweet moment and reassurance that Interstellar is a film with its heart in the right place.
  • Visuals and acting, obviously. The film was also peppered with some nice dialogue and crisp, funny one-liners throughout.

The Bad


  • For weeks, we heard about how the visuals in the movie aren't typical artistic fare but rather the results of complex, scientific calculations that took hours of computing time to render; we read The Physics Refresher You Need To Read To Understand 'Interstellar', and saw Kip Thorne tell us about research papers that will be written based on everything that was learnt in the development of this magnum opus. And while that is commendable in terms of breaking new ground, for an average moviegoer like me, it really does not matter. Gargantua, for all of its scientific accuracy, is at the end of the day, just a black hole that is supposed to suck everything in its vicinity into its unforgiving, gluttonous self. Why this is bad is at several times, it felt as though the film wanted me to care about its amazing complexity rather than its story, but I didn't.
  • The first couple of minutes that Cooper, after passing through Gargantua's wormhole, spends in the limbo(?) overlooking his daughter's bookshelf were amazing! But that feeling of "OMG! It was him all along" was quickly replaced by wariness as Cooper passes on complex, esoteric information in Morse before the film fast forwards to Murph's Eureka moment. For a film that had real potential to generate an emotional reaction, Interstellar let its magic be diluted by its half-baked scientific expositions and hurried pace in the last quarter.
  • For all its technological brilliance, Cooperspace (or whatever that futuristic NASA colony orbiting Saturn was called) seems to have an improbably lax security system, judging by how easily Cooper sauntered into wherever the spaceships are kept and escaped in one of them. I mean c'mon man! Even stealing a car from a parking lot has to be more difficult than that. Just because my brain was a little tired by then doesn't mean you try to slip that past me.
  • The all conquering power of love – This theory, that love guides us in a manner that transcends space and time, could have been beautiful had it been made more tacit, but in the way it was oft-repeated by its characters, the message seemed rather forced and unintuitive.

The Incomprehensible


  • A lot of the dialogue in the beginning was difficult to understand. McConaughey's slick, Texan drawl is easy on the ears but more than a little tedious to process at times. Kudos to Jessica Chastain for deciphering not just Cooper's codes but also what Michael Caine was saying on his deathbed.

In conclusion, I would like to say that for me, the film was like having a large Pizza all by myself, all at once – there is enough good in there while I'm eating it, but when I'm done, I feel more stuffed and tired than happy and content. Metaphors aside, Interstellar is a movie that you may or may not love but definitely one that you should watch.

Sunday 19 October 2014

Haider: A second opinion

I shared popcorn with a friend during the second half. I finished it very quickly so I didn't have to hear myself chewing.

Spoiler alert!

Cold and brutally unforgiving, Haider was a very welcome interpretation of Shakespeare's powerful tragedy, Hamlet. The third of his Shakespeare influenced epics; Vishal Bharadwaj once again plunges into deep character play and wonderful storytelling, although the editing and continuity of the movie were surprisingly wanting. Let's break it down, shall we?

The movie was, of course, set in a beautiful scenic place blanketed by crispy white snow and yet, the air was choked with blood and pain. There were a couple of interesting Birdseye shots, rolling over lush green hills and sparkling waters. I really liked the house. Not many houses can seem so charming after they've been blown up. Every scene had a very befitting landscape to support it. 

STORY

Here's why I really loved it. I read condensed version of Hamlet a week or two before the movie, and the thing about Shakespeare is that he makes everything VERY dramatic. Every dialogue is heavy with emotion, every scene ripe with melodrama. Normally, Bollywood would be all over that shit. Heck, if Karan Johar remade a Shakespeare classic, it would be a 6 hour boo-hoo fest. But not this time. VB trimmed the fat. He made the adaptation SO brutally straightforward, so relentlessly brash and tight, that I felt a hot slap to my face. The story is different. The people who I thought would die, did not. The people I hoped would die, did. 

"Feel my rapier scoundrel! Wait, actually, this big rock will do"

The first half was slow, yes, but the second was at cutthroat pace in comparison and we were teetering off the edge of our seats in no time. Based on the length of the film I have a feeling it was meant to be a sort of commentary on Haider’s life after the tragedy. The first half did its best to elucidate Haider’s search for his father and the several places that it carried him to, but there was too much other stuff going on. In this respect, the story wasn’t all too strong, especially since he comes straight home to get his mother to eat.
Another welcome interpretation of the story was Irfan Khan’s character. While the original Hamlet involved the ghost of his late father whispering vengeance into his ear, VB made a supercool cellmate for Haider’s father who becomes the film’s game changer. The only hint of the supernatural is in a short and beautifully rendered dream sequence which was more than sufficient.

 VB:2
 Shakespeare: 0

Bismil was amazing. I’m not a fan of mid-movie Bollywood numbers but this song really tied things together. Very interesting camera angles and the slowly changing expressions on the actors faces were perfect. Kudos to Kaykay Menon in the ending of this scene.

And of course I was pleasantly surprised that “To be or not to be” was successfully converted into a kickass Hindi monologue. Although the “Salman, to go or not to go” line almost made me throw my shoe at the screen. I had a hard time keeping up with the beautifully scripted Hindi, but I definitely noted some very hard hitting dialogues. And of course I was very happy with the graveyard scene. But Shraddha Kapoor's English was NOT funny. It was much better to see Tabu teaching it at her school rather than a really bad post-love-scene monologue. 

"I louu you 4eva"


Hamlet does have some smart political commentary which was missing in Haider, but perhaps I was too distracted by all the blood.

And the ending, oh god, the ending. I was on my feet before the movie was over. So the uncle was supposed to die. NO. Haider decided to go Arya Stark on his ass and leave him bleeding. I applaud VB for this unforgiving tactic that really sealed the deal for me, although I really wish the movie had culminated in an epic dialogue. The movie was full of them! Instead he chose to settle with a cheap and weak fade to black. Speaking of which…

EDITING. Awful. The primary reason why this movie was slow was because there was NO continuity. Scenes started and ended with dialogues that were awkwardly out of place and everything was fading to black! Shoddy work I must say. There was also this tiny shot of the house as it took the first bomb where a really bad CGI corpse was dangling from the roof for just a second. My guess is that it was cut short and retained because it was probably expensive. Either way, it was rather off-putting. The movie deserved much better.

CHARACTERS

Shahid Kapoor wins. His eyes will haunt my dreams for the weeks to come. He’s done an incredible job and his facial hair-madness-face was vital to the character. I would’ve preferred a slow descent into madness rather than an abrupt visit to the barber but the movie was long enough as it is. I especially liked how he continued to polish his dead father’s shoes in the ruins of his home. Very classy.  His dialogues were full of venom and icy hatred. He delivered his lines with perfection and really struck a chord with his brilliant acting.

"How I felt after R...Rajkumar"


Tabu was as elegant and beautiful as always. Her relationship with Haider (creepy) was a looming thought through the length of the movie. She played the perfect doting, motherly infidel and was exceptionally convincing during the Bismil sequence. Although at the end, her suicide, while seemingly abrupt, was sort of welcome. It almost felt like it was just meant to happen. On a side note, the explosion wasn’t nearly as big as it should’ve been.

Kaykay Menon did a great job in making people hate him while still putting in his best sympathy face. I must admit I expected much more from him during the prayer scene when he’s supposed to be repenting for his sins. But his reaction to Bismil was all I needed. The movie may have ended rather badly for him but his final cry of anguish was echoing in my ears for a while. He really went out on a limb. Or two. <pat self on back>

Shraddha Kapoor has a really sexy back. Yeah that’s about it.

The Salman’s, ugh. But there was very little of them so it didn’t entirely throw me off. They actually turned out to be very interesting characters, and to be fair, they died in a very brutal way. I’m sold.

Haider’s dad was pretty good. The man had an air of righteousness about him, and he made a very convincing jailbird poet. There was something about his quest for vengeance that was so noble and true that it almost made his thirst for blood seem permissible.  

Irfan Khan’s cameo was very cool, and as I said before, much more welcome than some ethereal ghost of Haider’s father. Not like he had much to do, but his pronounced limp really added to the charm. Also, what a cool name! “Roohdaar”

I really couldn’t care less about Shraddha Kapoor’s brother. I just waited for him to die. It was like he was never there to begin with.

Small shout out to the supercool graveyard guys and the way they recite that poem before planting a slug in that guy’s head. Damn it VB, you really get me.

So the characters were all great, but I felt they could’ve really used a little more depth. Haider was fine and all but the story would’ve really benefited from a little more on Tabu’s fight with her own guilt and Kaykay Menon’s need for redemption.
All in all, it was a very uplifting movie with beautiful dialogue, exceptional acting and a very good perspective on Shakespearean drama. Welcome back VB; I shall be downloading Kaminey very soon.

4.5/5 for being so awesome  




Saturday 11 October 2014

This Will Make Your Blood Freeze

Disclaimer: I practically know nothing about Hamlet or the actual situation in Kashmir circa 1995. This review contains spoilers.

Seductively dark and refreshingly edgy, Haider will definitely evoke sharp reactions from whoever watches it. The film itself is nuanced in its portrayal of sensitive topics; taking sides and drawing conclusions, it seems, is left to the viewers.

To watch or not to watch? That is the question
The movie opens in 1995 Kashmir with a militant being brought to Dr. Hilal Meer's home for a surgery. Alarmed by who her husband is treating, Ghazala (Tabu) questions his loyalty and in doing so, asks the audience to ponder over whether people should just go about doing their duty without worrying about its consequences. The ingenuous doctor makes his allegiance clear as he responds to her accusation by saying that the only side he is on is that of life. The army/police however believe otherwise, and on being tipped off about the location of the militant, smoke the doctor's home with a bazooka and make the doctor "disappear" for being an accomplice to militants.

Enter Haider (Shahid Kapoor). Distraught at seeing his dilapidated home, Haider goes to seek comfort in his mother (Ghazala) but is shocked to see her in what he deems to be a compromising state with her brother-in-law Khurram (Kay Kay Menon). Haider struggles desperately to find his father but without any reward. In the meantime, both Ghazala and Khurram explain themselves to Haider and assuage him for the moment. Flashbacks offer us insights into Haider's relationship with his parents and raise a few eyebrows vis-a-vis his relationship with his mother. Back in 1995, Haider chastises Ghazala for regularly using emotional blackmail to get him to do what she wanted, pointing back to how she sent him away from Kashmir and consequently from his father. Ghazala's angst, as she is unfairly blamed by her son, is palpable and reminiscent of another famous fictional mother - Carmela Soprano, reflecting on her travails with Meadow.

Hope for Haider arrives in the form of the sibylline Roohdaar (Irrfan Khan) who reaches out with a message from the doctor. Subsequently, two contrasting versions of what happened to Haider's father are laid out. Here, the film is at its strongest, as both Haider and the audience are apprehensive about who to believe - Roohdaar's separatist agenda, and Khurram's love for Ghazala provide sufficient reason to doubt both tales. All doubts are vanquished for Haider however, when Khurram decides to marry Ghazala. For me, the film's quintessential moment of chutzpah was when Khurram, after having slept with Ghazala the previous night, addresses her in the morning as Bhabhijaan.

Elsewhere, "Pruncess" Arshi is almost a seraphic presence in Haider's life as she first saves, then helps and later, calms him.
"You remind me of my mother"
Shraddha Kapoor's beautiful bare back and goofy yet cute dance moves notwithstanding, the song could have easily been replaced with a shorter love scene that conveyed the same message. The film faltered in pace a little here but it promptly got back on track with "Bismil".

Subsequently the film marches along confidently as each character does what they believe they must to protect or avenge their loved ones. The deaths of Arshi and her brother drive home the point that in every conflict, it is invariably innocents who get caught in the crossfire.

  • Characters - Everyone in the film is right according to their personal code of ethics, and their enmity arises and is aggravated by the situation that they find themselves in. Haider's mania even raises doubts about whether his hate for Khurram is driven solely by the need to avenge his father, or also by jealousy at seeing him with Ghazala, as the film hints at the Oedipus Complex. Khurram, for all his shortcomings, redeemed himself in my book when he ran towards and not away from Ghazala on realizing she was going to blow herself up. A proverbial doff-of-the-hat or rather, jiggle-of-the-belt is due for the three Salmans for providing some welcome comic relief.
  • Acting - Top notch! Tabu probably plays the movie's most nuanced character as she constantly tries to keep her world from falling apart, and she is brilliant in all her scenes. Shahid is outright scary post-interval. His deranged soliloquies make for some of the film's most edgy scenes. Irrfan Khan once again excels in his eccentricities and keeps you wanting more. Kay Kay Menon and Shraddha Kapoor too slipped into their characters with ease. Kudos to Tabu and Shraddha Kapoor for nailing that funny English accent if at all that is how it is (or used to be) spoken in Kashmir.
  • Cinematography and Direction - Kashmir provides a hauntingly beautiful backdrop to all the drama and bloodshed that unfolds and stains its pure white snow. A blood-covered boy waking up in the middle of a truck full of corpses and revelling in his freedom after escaping was a surprisingly good scene. The "Bismil" martial arts routine is extremely well-choreographed and steadily builds up the tension with Gulzar's lyrics eloquently dramatizing Haider's account of events. The scenes with the Graveyard Guys give you goosebumps and their version of "Aao na" in the film is every bit as awesome as Vishal Dadlani's version in the trailer.

Haider deserves accolades for steering clear of the temptation to be preachy despite the material providing ample opportunity to do so. Its strongest rhetoric perhaps comes against revenge as the film released on Gandhi Jayanti aptly echoes the aphorism that "an eye for an eye will only make the world go blind."

So just watch it, there is no question.

Monday 26 May 2014

X-Men - Days of Future Past: Screw you prequels!

This review contains NO spoilers, but only as far as I can tell. If reading this affects your movie watching experience negatively, its YOUR FAULT. 

Particularly strong opinions are written in caps.




Here's what I thinking when the trailers came out:


  • MARVEL TIME TRAVEL. Let the multiverse shag begin.
  • Old X-men and young X-men together which means: Michael Fassbender-Ian Mckellen faceoff.
  • Back to Bryan Singer, so no cool Matthew Vaughn vibe.
  • Peter Dinklage. Nuff said.

Here's what I was thinking while walking out after the post-credit scene (which was not important):

  • Time travel concept was 'meh'
  • Half the cast didn't really have to be there. The posters were all a lie.
  • Bryan Singer is pretty cool too
  • How can you NOT have more Peter Dinklage?!!

So, honestly, I missed the first 5 minutes. Turns out they weren't important because its a flash forward to the last part of the movie (pretty cool). The remaining 2 hours and 5 minutes were very fulfilling, with plenty of fist throwing and mouth-covered gasping. The movie certainly did not fail to impress, in the sense that i left the place feeling pretty good. But let's break it down like I usually do:

The Cast


HUGE expectations on this one, but no delivery. As always with Bryan Singer movies, the whole plot just HAS to revolve around Wolverine. While Logan hogs the limelight with a fair share to to young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and young Eric Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), the cast of the old X-men movies pop in now and then for a quick dialogue. Halle Berry is back as Storm, looking as awesome as ever and manages a whopping 6 or 7 minutes of screen time. Peter Dinklage was blatantly misused and left no lasting impression on me except that he sounded like Tyrion in some scenes. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender took centre stage and shook the building with a heated argument, which was as good as the cting would get in this movie. Jennifer Lawrence plays Mystique didn't really stand out all that much in spite of her VERY pivotal role in the plot . A lot of mutants were brought back from the original trilogy just to make small appearances that meant little. A couple of random new mutants are seen with pretty cool powers, including one with the ability to generate portals (cool but obvious ripoff). I was also mildy impressed with the likeness of the actor who played Nixon .

"There are no small roles, only small actors"

The Plot


The time travel aspect of the film was actually pretty simple. My bad for going with Donnie Darko expectations i guess. The story lines up with real life events with some weak links but seemed like it was designed purely for easter eggs, cool references and "Aha, I saw what you did there" instances. A moment arrives when all seems to go wrong and you would expect a rip in the time-space fabric or some intense shit, but its all over with a shake of the head. There were some very obvious hints to the prequels although they were nicely timed and some small, unimportant things only avid comic readers would get. The plot had a disappointingly straightforward flow. There were very few moments where the story cut back to the present, but there were quite a lot of intricate details which were indicative of the timeline and how the events are placed in relation to the preceding movies in what i would call a grand X-timeline spanning from First Class to present day. For example, Wolverine travels back to a time where his skeleton is not yet fused with Adamantium and also his run in with Stryker serves as an indicator of the time and the rippling effect of the changing past.The second half is riddled with small but very cool plot twists which brought a smile to everyone's faces. For this reason the plot resonates with the cool vibe of X-men: First Class rather than the trilogy. This laid back feel soon disappears as the plot becomes more intense and tapers off at a very gripping climax that leaves you at the edge of your seat with popcorn falling out of your mouth. There's a HUGE ending to this movie that I can't mention for spoiler reasons. However if you're curious, the title of the review is a bad clue.

A small mention; The promo ads on YouTube are damn cool. 
Also, no Stan Lee cameo on this one.

I can walk through walls. Oh also I've always held the secret to time travel.

The Graafix


This was one of the few movies where the 3D glasses are actually required. The movie had JUST the right amount of awesome CGI. Bolivar Trask's sentinels have sprung right out of the comic artwork in a beautiful flurry of liquid and steel. The best graphics, and the singular best scene was the slow motion sequence with Peter Maximoff (Quicksilver) who, in his small appearance delivers a couple of typical teen movie zingers before being at the center of this super-cool scene. GG Bryan Singer. Cerebro looks as awesome as ever and the Magneto scenes as well. The final fight scene was amazing and surprisingly brutal for a Marvel movie. All this was of course accompanied by a very fitting soundtrack. I was disappointed that they didn't bring back the epic Magneto theme. 


When the credits roll, you can definitely tell that the movie has the Bryan Singer signature all over it and maybe a bit of the Matthew Vaughn First Class swag. The movie wasn't as sleek and ruthless as First Class but was significantly better written than the trilogy. Despite the not so impressive time frame and the poorly exploited cast, X-Men: Days of Future Past makes for a really good watch. Watching it on the big screen is a good idea thanks to the amazing, yet humble visual effects. The story is great and lets you pat yourself on the back every time you pick out a clever pun. I'm going to give it a 3.5 out of 5 which, in hindsight seems a little harsh but very well deserved. 




Sunday 5 January 2014

The Wolf of Wall Street: Howling in despair


Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Terence Winter, Jordan Belfort (book)
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Matthew McConaughey


People who know me for the passionate Scorsese fan that I am would expect a shining review of this movie with nothing but praise and a perfect score. How I wish that was the case. Contrary to these expectations, I scrutinized the movie looking for genius but only ended up squinting at the chaos on screen.

The movie was a much awaited one with a very eye-catching trailer and a lot of expectations from the very successful Scorsese-DiCaprio duo. Eventually, donning the disguise of a “Dark Comedy”, Wolf of Wall Street gave the audience what they wanted: A drug driven laughter fest with a stellar cast putting on their best “Cerebral Palsy faces” for the camera as they pranced about the screen like underpaid circus clowns at a birthday party.

"Censors. Censors EVERYWHERE"

The movie was said to be based on the true story of Wall Street legend Jordan Belfort, his claim to fame and fortune in the stock market, and his subsequent brush with the law. Well, at least, that’s what the posters said. As the movie progresses, one becomes less and less convinced that these events haven’t been exaggerated and bloated to entertain the audience and possibly to embarrass the cast. In my experience of movies with a similar plot [1] , A middle-class protagonist makes big money through “not strictly legal” means, gets where he wants to before imploding in a flurry of drugs, women and the law. The movie was pretty much along this line but the important bits are killed by the apathetic narrative.

"So you wrote the screenplay on this thing??!"

The worst scenes:

The movie hit an absolute low when DiCaprio and Hill get into a drug-riddled tussle which drags on painfully for way too long until Hill starts choking on some food. Seeing his friend dying, DiCaprio gets inspired by the TV as it shows Popeye downing a can of spinach. So he does the same; except with a vial of cocaine down his nose. (Hang self with rope). The few others were a horribly long slow motion shot of Jonah Hill attacking DiCaprio from the back and one where Hill openly stimulates himself in the middle of a party. FULL RETARD.

Barely supported by the terrible story (even if it is a true one), the movie thrives on comedy and eye candy. I walked into the theatre thinking I’d be missing out on some good scenes because of the Censor[2]. In the second half I was thanking the stars that they weren't there. I walked in for something along the lines of The Aviator and walked out after watching a teen comedy.

The general opinion was that Leonardo DiCaprio acted brilliantly, and I agree; but his job was far too easy since all he had to do was be angry, high and mostly retarded. Fueled by a variety of drugs and possibly an annoying itch in his pants, DiCaprio goes all out in his attempts to inspire his staff by screaming into a mic. This didn't really strike a note with me after the many inspirational speeches that have graced the Hollywood screen[3]. I've never liked Jonah Hill and he was pissing me off through the entire movie with his ridiculous antics and below par acting. His work in Moneyball is the one thing I can give him credit for. Matthew McConaughey had a surprisingly short role in the movie, but in 7 minutes of screen time, he set up the Wall Street feel beautifully with his affable charm and chest-beating, surfer dude, coolness. The other characters were as insignificant as the extras in a bad mallu movie.

As the credits rolled, I read “Directed by Martin Scorsese”. I didn’t believe a word of it. The camera work was very ordinary and uninspiring. There were one or two scenes where I got a flicker of the Scorsese style but they were drowned in the whirling cesspool that was the plot. A few signature tracking shots through the crowd of employees caught my eye, but the one scene that put a smile on my face was that of DiCaprio sitting in the car after he crashed it, as his head began to bleed and the window wiper oscillated blankly, marking the end of his tryst with narcotics. Good stuff. The narrative in the background by DiCaprio was very reminiscent of Ray Liotta’s in GoodFellas although it was no match. So perhaps the Scorsese vibe was present after all. 

"Yeah i know it's crap, but just go with it!"


Now for the few things that kept me going. I liked the ending and the whole “sell me this pen” gimmick. The music was wonderfully apt and the narrative held the movie together. I also really love the Nachos at Cinepolis, City Centre. They've got different dips and sliced vegetables and everything! Oh and also, Margot Robbie: WOW

As the lights came on I was already thinking of how harsh I should be with the review, and this is as friendly as I could be. Wolf of Wall Street is worth a 360p download at best for two reasons: It sucks, and a big chunk of it is censored. Watch it for laughs. I wanted to compare it to other comedies and give it a fair score, but I've reconsidered. This was meant to be a pacey, financial drama with a feel good first half, amazing acting and top-notch cinematography. With these expectations in mind I cannot give it more than 1.5 out of 5. Fellow Scorsese followers: I feel your pain.

1: Refer "GoodFellas" by Martin Scorsese
2: Refer love scene from Scorsese's "The Departed" with Pink Floyd background music
3: Refer Alec Baldwin's awesome speech in "Glengarry Glen Ross"