26 Mar 2020
While this is a spoiler-free review, I’ll discuss aspects of the plot and characters in this review. So, I recommend that you watch the movie before reading my review.
Brilliant on all fronts.
5/5
My first viewing of 1917 was in a regular theatre. I saw it again in a LieMAX after a couple of days. And I saw it for the third time at home in 4K. These viewings have given me enough information and time to think about this movie thoroughly and gather my thoughts about it. Which means I won’t have to spend much time writing this review. Also, the fact that I saw this thrice probably already gave away the fact that I loved it very much.
I have to preface this review by saying War is not a film genre that gets my attention usually. The movie was getting a lot of Oscar buzz and that did pique my interest. But what really prompted me to go see it on the big screen was the fact that it was shot by Roger Deakins. I was quite excited for this one because I knew the movie was filmed to look like one long continuous take. This movie delivers on that front and does much more. It becomes immediately clear that this style of filmmaking is not a gimmick. You truly feel like you are right next to these characters in their treacherous journey and the tension never settles because the scene never cuts. The movie shows the characters traveling through a variety of beautiful landscapes and Deakins captures everything with an incredibly high level of finesse. Roger Deakins plays with light in this movie and has once again proven he is one of the greatest cinematographers of all time. Also, it’s worthy of note that the movie felt just as immersive in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio as it was in IMAX. This isn’t a surprise considering Deakins always frames his shots for the cinemascope ratio.
1917 is more than a one-shot technical achievement, however. Sure, the plot is really simple and doesn’t have layers to it. However, the fact that this movie was inspired by true stories from director Sam Mendes’ grandfather who served in the First World War makes this movie feel personal and enthralling than most movies. Actors George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman deliver terrific performances. Thomas Newman knocked it out of the park with the score for this movie. Engländer, in particular, is a masterpiece. The production design is outstanding and made me appreciate the thought and effort that went into building some of the sets. There are scenes in this movie that are jaw-droppingly intense and give me chills anytime I watch. 1917 sets a new bar in technical craftsmanship and captivating storytelling and is one of the greatest cinematic experiences to grace the big screen.
08 Mar 2020
While this is a spoiler-free review, I’ll discuss aspects of the plot and characters in this review. So, I recommend that you watch the movie before reading my review.
A great thriller.
3.5/5
H.G. Wells’ ‘The Invisible Man’ is an age-old sci-fi parable about the vanity and dangers of a narcissist’s unchecked ego. This new take on the iconic Univeral character is a grim and gritty reimagining that plays into the classic novel’s ideas of horror and insanity with a contemporary twist. The movie explores themes like domestic abuse, gaslighting, and surveillance without getting preachy. It also shows the horror of not believing victims of abuse in the #MeToo era.
Elisabeth Moss (who plays Cecilia) is the heartbeat of this movie and delivers a jaw-dropping performance. The anxiety and trauma that Cecilia experiences as her life is being destroyed by this undetectable monster are very tangible. Director Leigh Whannell is confident enough to do away with some much-needed plot development scenes and instead relies on Moss’ performance to convey meaning and it works. This movie could have failed if a less than capable actor had played Cecilia’s role. The small supporting cast is equally as strong with Cecilia’s sister played by Harriet Dyer and Aldis Hodge plays Cecilia’s old friend James who is a perfect cast for the role. James’ loving daughter Sydney is played by Storm Reid, who gets some tough material and handles it very well. Cecilia’s brilliant scientist ex is played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who does a fantastic job too.
It’s what you don’t see that’s scarier and this movie lives up to that saying. You know you can’t see the invisible man and yet you try so hard to find him. It is pretty genius how the movie terrorizes the audience by showing nothing much actually. The production house probably saved a lot of money on the CGI work too. The movie doesn’t rely on cheap jumps scares to frighten the audience. The production design creates a bone-chillingly cold and dark atmosphere. Cinematographer Stefan Duscio does some clever work with the camera to give us a sense of the Invisible Man’s presence. The movie has quite a few totally silent scenes and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score blends in really well and elevates the tension whenever necessary. The action sequences are exciting and slickly choreographed.
All that’s not to say that this movie is perfect. Apparently, this invisible man is not just invisible but also has superhuman level strength and can beat up people like Hulk smashing Loki. The movie does have inconsistencies and does leave unanswered questions. But if you can look past that, the Invisible Man truly is a solid thriller and kept me invested for the whole runtime of 2 hours. The movie ends with a character redemption which is supposed to be cathartic and yet I left the movie somewhat unsettled. This isn’t a negative critique but a testament to how terrifying the movie is because nothing about this movie is meant to make us feel comfortable.
22 Feb 2020
While this is a spoiler-free review, I’ll discuss aspects of the plot and characters in this review. So, I recommend that you watch the movie before reading my review.
I’m a baaaad cop!
3/5
Gist: A police officer on a chase to hunt down a dreaded gangster for fulfilling his own secret agenda.
Darbar is your typical story about a good cop fighting bad people using questionable methods and saving the day. The plot is banal with the usual fanservice dance numbers, ridiculously unrealistic fight scenes, an unnecessary romantic subplot, long flashback and humor thrown in for some laughs. There isn’t anything about the plot or direction worth talking about.
Rajinikanth’s love interest is played by Nayanthara who would have been a better fit as Rajini’s daughter. There is even a scene that acknowledges this age gap which was quite honestly the biggest surprise for me in this movie. But we have Nivetha Thomas to play Rajinikanth’s daughter and she performs admirably. Sunil Shetty plays the villain whose character development was quite lacking and one dimensional. Yogi Babu brings good comic relief to the movie. Anirudh Ravichander’s music and Santosh Sivan’s cinematography don’t disappoint. The rest of the cast and crew do a serviceable job.
Rajinikanth is this movie’s biggest strength. At the age of 69, he manages to sell himself as an energetic police commissioner effortlessly. He still hasn’t lost his swag and enthralls the audience when he says, “Original’ave na villain ma… Ithu epdi irukku?”. Watching that same Rajinikanth lose his nerves and stammer in front of his love interest is such fun. He performs extremely well in the emotional scenes too. Rajinikanth carries this movie on his shoulders and is a living testament to the saying, “Age is just a number”.
It is very apparent that A. R. Murugadoss decided to play it safe with this movie. Directing a ‘Superstar’ movie can be intimidating as the stakes are high. It is understandable why A. R. M decided not to take any risks. The movie is honest and unpretentious about what it. Despite all its shortcomings, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained. People don’t go to a Rajinikanth movie expecting a movie that redefines cinema. They go in to watch Rajinikanth dance, romance and beat a bunch of bad guys and Darbar delivers that. Darbar proves that only Rajinikanth can pull off a Rajinikanth movie. Watch this one for him and only him.
15 Feb 2020
While this is a spoiler-free review, I’ll discuss aspects of the plot and characters in this review. So, I recommend that you watch the movie before reading my review.
We live in a society.
5/5
In an era of CGI-fest PG-13 comic book movies trying to set up cinematic universes and sequels, Joker is a heavy breath of fresh air. With Joker, Warner Bros has produced an R-rated comic book movie that’s an intense psychological character study. It is also a cinematic achievement on a high level.
Joker is the most realistic rendition of the metamorphosis of a mentally ill loner to an iconic comic book villain. The character’s slow descent into chaos feels unsettlingly authentic. The story takes place entirely from Arthur’s perspective who is established as an unreliable narrator later in the movie. A few days after watching, the movie got me thinking about whether certain events really happened or not. This is the kind of ambiguity I appreciate in a movie. Not a shot of a spinning totem at the end of the movie just to tell the audience, “Hey, this movie is way more complex than you think it is”
Joaquin Phoenix bleeds, sweats, and cries his soul for this movie. Heath Ledger would be proud and that’s not an exaggeration. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s hauntingly beautiful score gives life to many scenes and evokes so many emotions. She deserves to take home all the awards for the best original score this year. Being a period film, the movie doesn’t simply emulate the look of 70’s and 80’s movies. The movie has a beautiful color palette and the cinematography is original. There is a scene in the movie with Arthur sitting in the back seat of a moving bus while the camera dollies in on him to a close up. You could practically feel Arthur’s confusion and despondency in that scene. Arthur’s obscurity in society is captured brilliantly. Later, when Arthur becomes Joker, the cinematography changes in very subtle ways to show him with more power and belonging. Lawrence Sher has done a truly masterful job with Joker.
Todd Phillips has made a movie that, while heavily inspired by Taxi Driver and King of Comedy, is truly unique and exceptional. There was a lot of drama surrounding this movie’s release. People were worried about another mass shooting. Joker doesn’t glorify incel violence. If anything, it is a cautionary tale of what childhood trauma, isolation and abandonment can do to a person. The ability to make movies like Joker is Warner Bros’ biggest strength and they should absolutely leverage it. Joker also stands as a lesson to film studios to trust their directors and not meddle with their work cough Justice Le… cough.
08 Feb 2020
While Wordpress is still extremely popular among internet bloggers, there seems to be one site that’s getting all the attention in the past few years now and that’s Medium. Setting up your blog on Medium is as simple as creating a Reddit account. Within minutes, you can be typing away at your computer about your recent vacation trip. You don’t need to know a thing about web development or any programming for that matter to create your blog. And your blog instantly has this beautiful, minimalistic, content-focused look. There is no need to spend hours scouring the internet for a decent theme like Wordpress users do. Actually, you cannot. Medium is nowhere near as customizable as Wordpress. But that’s okay since most people will love the default look of the site. And the best part, writing on Medium is completely free. You don’t need to pay a cent. The site has zero adverts. So what’s the catch? Well, you have to pay to be able to read what others on Medium write.
In other words, Medium is trying to be the Apple of the blogging industry. That’s certainly not a bad business model. Apple has proven that if a product looks flashy enough, people are willing to pay thousands of dollars to get their hands on it. Medium is proud to say they don’t serve ads. There is no Ad-supported version for people who can’t afford the membership and they simply cannot read some articles without paying. And I am not a fan of that business model even though it works. And hence I decided not to blog on Medium. I decided that if I ever did plan to blog I would build my site from scratch with the bit of HTML, CSS and Javascript knowledge I had and host it myself.
Recently, I stumbled upon the personal website of a professor and was immediately awe with how responsive, minimalistic and at the same time beautiful the page was. Thankfully the professor mentioned what technology the site was built on. And that was my introduction to Jekyll. Jekyll is a simple, blog aware static site generator that works very well with Github Pages. Not gonna lie, setting up this blog wasn’t exactly a smooth process. There will be lot of googling and code correction to do before your site finally renders the way you want it to.
Jekyll+Github Pages is certainly not the blogging platform for everyone. Most people will have a better time blogging on Wordpress or Medium. But if you are willing to put in some effort to set up your blog and aren’t completely intimidated by the thought of googling errors on StackOverflow and doing a bit of debugging, blogging on Jekyll can be so worth it.