Apur Sansar

The amazing Spider-Man from director Marc Webb is a disappointing watch. Caught up with the Spider-Man in 3D and the even then things dint seem to be going in a very positive direction. There is some stunning 3D visuals towards the end of the film but a film isn't completely about the 3D experience but a totality. The amazing Spider-Man fails in this totality. The writing is slow and emotional there is no shit that works. There are a new set of actors, technicians, plot points, and even a new villain. But rarely can all these department give such disappointing an output. It has happened here. Even certain visual effects shots looked in complete and weak which is a surprise for a film like this! I feel Marc Webb should go back to making romance films. He was so good with 500 Days of Summer. I found myself the time to revisit the Sam Raimi version of Spider-Man as well. That film seemed to work a little more with me than this so-called Amazing version even now! But there was...

I had watched the first Star Wars film by George Lucas a few years back. I wonder how I felt it then. But I thought I would revisit the film again before I catch up with the other parts. I dint like the basic idea of the film. In a galaxy far, far away... Civil wars... Robots that speak English... People that speak English light years away! But then, the story is rather simple. It good versus evil. Now, that is okay with me. The film moved at a brisk pace for a while but then slowed down. But the film continues to be watchable for the two hour duration. Even when I don't like the premise of George Lucas I admire him for the kind of work that he had managed to pull off in 1977. The film has visual effects and complex shots that have been effectively done. The transitions in the edit do go a bit overboard at times but some of the wipes work well with the narrative. The music is pure John Williams and it would evoke a sense of deja vu!

Clint Eastwood films are one of a kind. They are never the same. He is such a great filmmaker to be not caught up with any kind of material in particular. His 1992 film, Unforgiven, is a western. It has a neat little story and it has been narrated with immense ease.  This is a revenge tale but one that is slightly different from other familiar revenge affairs.  The film moves at a slow pace. But turns out to be quite gripping in the second hour. The performances are wonderful and the dialogues are great as well. I hated Gene Hackman. Now that should be because his performance and writing of his part was done so convincingly well.

First things first. I don't actually like the idea of talking monkeys. I watched the Tim Burton remake of the planet of the apes thinking that it would come in handy when I watched rise of the planet of the apes. But I was wrong. The Tim Burton picture was a remake and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes a reboot of the series. The franchise already had five films made before these two. Wonder what is so interesting about these talking chimpanzees. The Tim Burton remake was a very hard film to sit through. The writing was just too lame for my senses. The makeup might have had some real hardwork but I don't care. I really dint like this picture. I'm sure that the crazy creatures and sets of the other Tim Burton films would have made a far better experience than this. The reboot, Rise of the planet of the Apes, was almost awesome considering the hard time I had completing the remake. This time the team doesn't rely on make but advanced visual effects for the creatio...

The descendants is a feel good film. It is a comedy for a major part. It is this humour that works best for this picture that has been directed by Alexander Payne. The film has been neatly shot in the locations of Hawaii and moves at a leisure pace. The films story is rather simple but there are lots of details in it as well. The screenplay focuses on the character of Matt King and others through his eyes. The writing brings out humour from the conversations of his children to an extent. The children performed by Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller are a delight. The little girl, Scottie, played by Amara, reminds me of a less violent Mindy from Kick-Ass. I wonder how these writers manage to write such brilliant lines for the younger members in the cast.  But the film rests more or less on the shoulders of George Clooney. He is very natural and totally convincing as the Matt King. Judy Greer who appears in a short role was also wonderful. The film did not give a strong emotiona...

The Artist is an interesting piece of film. It's a film from France that tells the story of an artist (or actor) during the times of Hollywoodland in black and white and mostly in silence, except for the music. I saw the film twice, once during the International Film Festival of India that happened at Goa, when the film hadn't won the Academy Awards or nominations, and once again a couple of days back after the film was screened with all the Academy Award glory hanging on it. The film is a delightful watch and its terrifically made. It's like watching a film like Sunset Boulevard that's far more lighter and without the burden of words. I loved the plot of the artist and the way Michel Hazanavicius has treated it. I don't think the film could have been such an effective watch if it was made in the more contemporary of manners. It is a film that deserves to be seen for the disciplined making the director has followed which replicates the old era in a manner that se...

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn was a delightful watch. I loved it more during my second watch largely because my first watch was in a poor theater and couldn't really follow all the dialogues clearly. Steven Spielberg's first animation film is indeed different from all the other animation pictures that I had seen. The experience is different because even as the film is animation, Spielberg seems to have treated it just like a live action picture at times especially with his shot divisions that captures the actions so seamlessly. I haven't completely read the comics of Tin Tin by Herge but whatever I had read and the animation adaptions I had caught up with on television, I was certain that it had scope for a great movie. Spielberg has utilized that advantage to the fullest in making an engaging adventure film. Having Peter Jackson also on board to be the second unit director should definitely have helped the film a good deal. Besides the sho...