Friday, June 29, 2012

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man

Posted by at 5:47 PM




The brilliant action sequences, speedy screenplay and intelligent direction makes it look so grand that I can easily tag this as THE BEST SPIDER-MAN MOVIE EVER MADE. 


For a concept that is familiar to everyone, they surely had to do what has not been done previously: Character-buildup. And that's where it scores so well as it adds ample depth to the plot. 


Andrew Garfield doesn't step into Tobey's shoes; he creates his own universe that makes Tobey forgettable. This spidey is swift , looks more intelligent and is equally vulnerable. A lot has been put to make this click, and you will never ever want to compare Tobey with him. Even if someone with you tries to do it, you would shut them off by saying, "don't bring that up shh! Lemme watch this treat" :D

The high point of this movie was the way it connects to the viewers. The sense of cooperation that is displayed by the citizens of NY City in the end, is what a super-hero movie should be about. They are simply not the onlookers, but when our spidey needed them the most, they contribute their efforts to help him(won't act as a spoiler, so I will shut it here) . The background score makes the final 20 minutes of the movie a superb experience.

One forgivable low point would be the sheer need of keeping some aspects of the plot under shadows: Irrfan is definitely having some secrets as he keeps bossing around our Dr. Connors who deals with the Cross Genetic research. I am hoping that he is coming back as the-- decide for yourself! And do sit through the first few minutes of the end credits. 


Overall: This movie surely calls for a multiple viewing in theaters, with convincing action and scintillating CGI, The Amazing Spider-man is an amazing form of entertainment! And Part-2, COME SOON!
Rating: 8/10 

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Twin Reviews : David and Dibakar

Posted by at 1:31 PM


Rewatch: The Game (1997)
Perspective surely changes when you re-watch a movie after a gap of 7 years. And this one was no exception. I would vote that the '90s was the era of the thriller genre- Se7en ,  The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, Fightclub- you name it, they excelled it. 

And David Fincher's 'The Game' is no exception; the ending is almost a perfect one and there is never a dull moment in the movie. Sean Penn excels as always, and Michael Douglas plays quite well as the present-day Scrooge-ish protagonist who is, despite all the wealth he possesses, a loner. Until he is given a recreational service offer- CRS by his younger brother as a birthday present. CRS offers their clients a specifically tailored experience, clinically titled- 'The Game'. What follows is an expected sequence of twists and turns that surmounts to a convincing shock a psychological thriller should provide.

Why to go for it: Michael Douglas+ David Fincher+ Sean Penn+ Thriller= a must watch!

Low points: You might feel some events as left unexplored, perhaps some over-the-top moments too.

Bottomline: Watch this if you haven't already; a thriller flick that stays in mind long after the credits have finished rolling. You would even want to watch the climax more than once.

Rating: 7.5/10 















Movie Review: Shanghai(2012)

Being a patron of political thrillers and an ardent fan of Dibakar Banerjee, Shanghai sadly, disappointed me.

Because when you carve a niche among your viewers, you simply have no choice other than living up to their expectations. And you simply cannot expect to gain praise just because of some shady awesome cinematography and crafty direction.

Because there is only one thing that surmounts as a blunder- the abruptness. Why?

Why would you end the movie as if you were dancing to the tunes of the producers?

Why would you make it seem as if you were bound on a deadline?

Why would you not explore more the sheer idiosyncrasy which you unraveled at the start of the movie?

A lot many questions. With no satisfactory answers.

The only good thing I could make out of this is- maybe, THIS is the message Dibakar wanted to deliver: how the expectations of the aam aadmi is always built by the promises of the political sharks, but gets shattered once the phase of elections reach a conclusion.

But sadly, he had to be smarter to deliver this message. And hence, the insufficient addition of the satire to mount this conclusion, backfires.

Rating: 6.5/10 - only because of Kalki Koechlin's strong performance. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Being Thursday!

Posted by at 10:25 AM
Hello!

I said, HELLO!

Well, I thought it mellowed down so-- anyways, what's up? I am finally here you guys, can you see me? Missed me? Cribbed about me? Felt glad about me? Anything?! Anyone?! DRATS!

This is me- Thursday-named after that mighty God who is sadly getting punched in the face nowadays by a green giant.
I have something to do with Jupiter-yes, the biggest of all the planets in the solar system you see. But this is the irony of my life- I am associated with the mightiest, yet I am finding no identity among the rest of the daydes (days+dude)! Not even those pig-heads of twitter commemorate my presence! Life is sad.
This funny pic has no connection with the post whatsoever. Yeah whatcha gonna do 'bout it?! 

But I am pissed. I am angry. And I will tell you why. Look at all the other days of the week-how special they are to you :-

Monday- The villain in your life- you crib about it, feel blue about it, and OUTRAGE over it! But it grins all along the way, and enjoys this infamous identity. Like that rustic dude of Bollywood once drunk-danced to the number- "Naam badnaam hai, fir bhi apun ka fame hai". Yep, that's Monday alright!

Tuesday- The mellowed down aftermath of Monday. Slightly less talked about, but you still feel like this is the most neutral dayde among us. Like that actor in a supporting role who knows right from the beginning that he WILL be friendzoned, yet manages to fix everything, this dayde knows he will be remembered! Lucky arse.

Wednesday- First of all, I am particularly pissed of the fact that this dayde somehow booked the mid-week seat. I mean, where did you come from. India? Did you frigging bribe  Pope Gregory or something? Bollocks! People surely remember him, I mean, why would they not? "Mid-week crisis"-is what they call to commemorate Wednesday! It's like he is looking at us in the eye and saying- BURRRRNNN!!!

Friday- AAARGGHHH!!! Rebecca, you almost succeeded with our ploy in degrading the name of this dayde, yet somehow, things backfired when you went too robotic with your crap. Of all the days, the most loved, the most longed, the most enjoyed day is-Friday, Friday, gonna get down on a-- ah phuss..
People  party hard on this day, they stay up late at night-partying, playing counter strike over LAN, movie marathon and what not! Anything-any form of amusement. F for fun is F for Friday.

Saturday- *No comments*
Sunday- *No comments with a middle finger*

So this is it. This, my friends, is what you have done to me! Where do I fit in? Hell, even wiki cannot decide whether I am the fourth or the fifth day of the week! I am what some of you pretend to be- Forever Alone. But I don't realize why? Why don't you love me? It is only because of me that, that Fuuucriday happens,  Y U NO see that?

I have no hope on you guys. I guess the God will do something about this- probably in the Avengers' sequel. Keeping fingers crossed. And yeah... I , EXIST AND I WILL RETURN *roars like Thor*. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Internship at Hyderabad: The Tatkal Hunt

Posted by at 6:35 PM
" No need to delay your journey till Friday, you can leave next week as early as possible. "

What can come out of an internship better than this ? That your mentor appreciating your work, you get your certificates well on time, and to top it all, YOU GET TO LEAVE FOR HOME EARLY! Yes , it was a party mood that final day.

*le wild popup window called life appears*

" So how are you planning to leave ? " we were asked. "Umm, tickets are not getting confirmed by any means, that I know. So Tatkal will be it, I guess. " I responded. I had that memory of my first Tatkal experience clean in my head (and cleaner in my blog , the post can be read here )   , what it takes, so it was decided. I was aware of the situation. I was aware that I might need to stay up all night.

*le me at the station*


It was 11pm.  I along with two of my pals reached Kacheguda Railway Station. It was deserted. The parked auto-rickshaws were giving us that "Whatcha looking at, Nigga?!" look.  Some food stalls were open and  people had made a sleeping couch out of the whole platform.

On inquiring we got to know the agenda of the next day Tatkal booking. It was simple. Get enlisted and stay up all night under the stars and perhaps some rain, till the counter opens. "Piece of cake" I thought. Yep, I had stepped on a shitty piece of cow-dung cake.

We decided that we would be sitting near the gates. There was an atm counter adjacent to it. I sat on the steps of the counter, stretched my legs, drained a bottle of Coca Cola down my throat . I was all set to live tweet the event.

This is what I tweeted (forgive me but this is twitter, you reserve the rights to be crappy):

-Moskyoto Protocol. 


-Thinking to go n watch a movie, the clock has stopped, as usual.


-Cartons of soft drinks being loaded unloaded nearby.... rob kar lun kya.. :}

-Two dogs running around playing their own football hehe

-A flash mob is desired right now. Gabbar Singh tracks wil do. :}

-I am thirsty and I *gulp* it.

-Battery just went from 90% to 50% . Faak.

-Currently being chased by dream. I had named that dog dream.

-*goes and sits inside the atm counter* aaaaaahhhhh! thandi thandi aaaaahhhh! :}

-The mood here calls for some Hitchcockian setup for a thriller sequence!

-I am not liking the way that auto vehicle is looking at me... like some badass gulti villain. Fight between me and it soon.

*battery starts to die here*

-No i wont connect the charger, i wont, i efffing wont!! #_#

-Chalo brightness aur kam kiya jaae.

-Battery ki aatmakatha likhunga apun.

-Ab aayega maaza..... 250ml bottle mein. @_@

-Missing IPL already. Haha, NOT!

-Windy night. A polybag is stuck in my frame. :}

-*le wild notification appears* The battery is getting low... 15% or less remaining. Aah, so it begins..

-Twitter and the thumbs conspired to assassinate the battery...

-Ze dude playing ze sentiyaap minor scale Bolly tracks of ze 90s. Yeah u get the idea? #_#

-"Jis din teri meri, baat nhi hoti,din nhi hota, raat nhi hoti" really dude, like, that gay , huh?

-Ye ye ye aaya ek Kurkure ka packet aur jaake Mr Tyrannosnorus ke nose pe huhuhu kr diya

-I was a panda, bear in my past life. Yep. I was. The dark circles are the proof.

-Mogozdholaai? Theek taai! :D 

-Yo hipster nigga dude is now playing Justin Bieber Baby baby ooh mofo chinese mobile yo high high volume

So that was the last one, when my battery died. And that was when I decided to read Tolstoy. Can you imagine? Hahahaha, TOLSTOY AT 2 IN THE MORNING HAHAHAHA.

Naturally, I started feeling groggy in some time. And then, the clock struck 4. I don't know if I really slept it off or I was teleported in future, but the crowd suddenly became active. 

Some expected chaos and "kya bhaiya , beech mein nahi ghusne ka bhaiya" moments later , I found myself inside the reservation office, at 7 in the morning. When I had listed my name, I was on the 9th position. But then, observation played a pivotal role and I saw that one of the counter was empty . I pounced on it, like, literally , pounced to form a queue, and was placed on the 3rd spot in the queue. I got a feeling that I might get through this time. 

*le another of those 'le' messages appears which you would read and laugh anyways*

The clock struck 7.50 am. People were getting hysterical. Some were hyper-ventilating,  while others were busy securing their spots in the queue. "It is time" I figured. And as the ominous red LED clock showed 8 am, I instantaneously turned to a sweat reserve.  When my turn came , I thrust my requisition slip in the counter. As luck could have it, only 2 berths were available , and the gulti Uncle sitting inside the counter grinned at me saying "kya bhaiya, masst luck bhaiya" . The war had won, with red eyes and empty stomach as it dawned upon me- YES, I AM GOING HOME! 

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Faith Story

Posted by at 6:15 PM
(01-06-2012)


< Inspired from a tweet by @Urban_Sanyaasi on twitter >




It was the usual morning- of dust, soaked earth, and fragrance of flowers that was in accordance with the locality. He was tired and looked frail. He had traveled. But the journey was not that hectic as it appeared to have left the weary marks on his face- marks of pain, marks of distress , marks of losing hope.

He looked out of the window. The crowd was growing. "Must be time." he wondered. The holy place looked holier that day- dressed beautifully, yes it was a special day. Also, a general holiday, and all kinds of people - the corporate slaves, the travelers, the opinionated and the makers of the society, could be seen flocking up.

He looked around. The room was dark. Ominous. He had shaved. He strapped the holy band around his forehead. That's how people would blend in,  in midst of all the running and biting around for money, power and fame, for once, to bow down  to the Almighty , as  they would put their faith on. He too had faith, and perhaps, his was the strongest of them all. He clothed himself carefully, and stepped out to join the mass.

The sun was merciful, aware of the event. People were chanting hymns, and moving forward , for their tryst with the Almighty. He was finding it a little too difficult to walk. His thoughts were forcefully weighted like him, with precipitates of what he had learned in his life, how he had questioned his faith, how he fell and who were there to reach out to him in those dark times.

He had put his faith, like everyone else. He was alert all this while. Finally, he  reached the gates. He could see people rushing past him, and a sudden feeling of containment crept inside him. He shivered a little. Chill ran down his spine. Sweat buds formed colonies on the holy band on his forehead.

He entered the gates. He could see the alley, packed with people. The alley was fragrant amidst the flea market of faith. He looked at the temple, it was majestic. He closed his eyes.

He chanted a prayer. It was calm all of a sudden, as he experienced his closure. He opened his eyes and  looked at the temple. He reached for the switch that was strapped around his torso, and detonated.


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