You remember
what I always say about sequels and their directors. I keep insisting that sequels should be
directed by the same director. So in
this case it should have been Jon Favreau.
But believe me when I say this.
Moving to Shane Black for Iron Man 3 was probably the best thing that
has ever happened to this franchise.
Showing posts with label Guy Pearce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guy Pearce. Show all posts
Friday, 26 April 2013
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Prometheus
3 movies released this weekend and I got the chance to watch all 3 of them. The one I picked last night was Ridley Scott’s much awaited multi starrer – Prometheus. Once again it was an opportunity to see a master director with a style that’s clearly differentiated from any other director. You will not find it too difficult to identify a movie from Ridley Scott if you are in a quiz. He has maintained the same style over the past 30 plus years.
Whether it was Blade Runner or Aliens in the Sci Fi genre or the more serious American Gangster, there is an attention to detail that would amaze most people. In the Sci Fi genre where Ridley Scott seems most comfortable with, the quality of the effects have gone sky rocketing with the increase of technology available. However, the basic essence of slowly building up tempo to a stunning crescendo and leaving enough room to build a franchise at the end of the day. Prometheus is no different.
Prometheus revolves around the basic question that has dogged mankind for eons as of now – Where did it all begin? Where did we come from? Do we blindly accept 200 years of Darwinism or do we look upon it with the skepticism that we have always looked at things around us? All it takes is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) to stumble upon some interesting murals dated back to over 3000 years in Scotland in the year 2098 to raise questions. A pattern clearly emerges around murals discovered across the world that points to a galaxy trillions of miles away.
It takes a very rich man – Peter Weyland puts his financial muscle behind Shaw and Holloway. A space mission over a 2 year period on a shuttle called Prometheus finds itself in the same planet indicated by the patterns. The planet is extremely similar to earth and could actually give us answers that we have been searching for.
Prometheus is, as always an extremely well made Ridley Scott movie. The emphasis on the alien beings is again – as always – very high. The detailing of every single feature is stunning. And therefore, the fear of what the being is capable of is supreme. Right from the small and insignificant looking worm to a gory octopus like being or the thing that is left behind at the end of it all that looks like the alien from Scott’s earlier movie of the same name – everything has the stamp of Ridley Scott on it. Now all you need to do, is to find your way to the IMAX Screen to maximize the impact. 7.5 on 10 again. Superb.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2405016345/
Whether it was Blade Runner or Aliens in the Sci Fi genre or the more serious American Gangster, there is an attention to detail that would amaze most people. In the Sci Fi genre where Ridley Scott seems most comfortable with, the quality of the effects have gone sky rocketing with the increase of technology available. However, the basic essence of slowly building up tempo to a stunning crescendo and leaving enough room to build a franchise at the end of the day. Prometheus is no different.
Prometheus revolves around the basic question that has dogged mankind for eons as of now – Where did it all begin? Where did we come from? Do we blindly accept 200 years of Darwinism or do we look upon it with the skepticism that we have always looked at things around us? All it takes is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) to stumble upon some interesting murals dated back to over 3000 years in Scotland in the year 2098 to raise questions. A pattern clearly emerges around murals discovered across the world that points to a galaxy trillions of miles away.
It takes a very rich man – Peter Weyland puts his financial muscle behind Shaw and Holloway. A space mission over a 2 year period on a shuttle called Prometheus finds itself in the same planet indicated by the patterns. The planet is extremely similar to earth and could actually give us answers that we have been searching for.
Prometheus is, as always an extremely well made Ridley Scott movie. The emphasis on the alien beings is again – as always – very high. The detailing of every single feature is stunning. And therefore, the fear of what the being is capable of is supreme. Right from the small and insignificant looking worm to a gory octopus like being or the thing that is left behind at the end of it all that looks like the alien from Scott’s earlier movie of the same name – everything has the stamp of Ridley Scott on it. Now all you need to do, is to find your way to the IMAX Screen to maximize the impact. 7.5 on 10 again. Superb.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2405016345/
Friday, 31 December 2010
The King's Speech
There are so many movies that just don’t see the light of the day in India. Sadly, some of them are works of sheer brilliance. And I am not sure if it is sheer coincidence but most of these movies are British. I had the good fortune of seeing one such movie 2 days back – The King’s Speech.
Prince Albert Fredrick Arthur Geroge (Colin Firth) in 1925 goes onto become King George VI in the late 30s. But he has a problem of public speaking and stammering in general. Something that cannot get him a long way if he has to lead a country. His first attempt at speaking in public ends in a complete disaster when he is supposed to speak at the closing ceremony of the Annual Empire Exhibition – the first time any public address was to be broadcast on radio. Quite an embarrassing situation to be in and something that forces him and Princess Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek medical help. A variety of doctors try their best to make things work but the Prince’s temper and inability to cope with the weird methods don’t really help. Nine years go by.
In 1934, On the advise of an acquaintance, the Princess, posing as a Mrs. Johnson (the name used by the Prince during the First World War) contacts Lionel Logue (Sir Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist of high repute. Lionel works in a place which is definitely not suited for royalty and that too without a receptionist – sacrilegious!!! He is an Australian by birth but moves to England post the war to make the most of his skill to get people over speech defects. He is willing to take on the assignment but wants “The patient” to come over to his clinic. Even after knowing, quite embarrassingly, that he is conversing with the Duchess of York and the would be Queen of England. My Castle, My Rules as he proudly proclaims. After a bit of deliberation and much against his wishes, the Prince agrees to go through one final attempt at therapy. The attempt doesn’t have a great start but Logue does hand over a recording of a paragraph from Hamlet that he gets the Prince to read while he is listening to loud music over headphones – the latest technology at that time. It is only much later, after yet another debacle that the Prince actually listens to the recording and is quite shocked to hear himself speak so well. He returns to Logue to be treated.
The King’s Speech traces the friendship that King George VI and Lionel Logue build over their experience of ridding the King of his disability. It is garnished with fabulous British humour and most importantly, splendid performances from Colin Firth, Sir Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter – all three of which are in line for nominations at this year’s Oscars. Even the piece meal performances from Jennifer Ehle as the wife of Lionel Logue and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill are absolutely outstanding. This one is a movie for demonstrating acting talent from some of the best known names in the industry. Director Tom Hooper must be a very fortunate man to have worked with some of the most natural actors possible. Also notable is the outstanding effort in editing from Tariq Anwar. All in all one of the best movies of the year. Hope it releases in India soon – I hadn’t seen the trailers before I left. 8 on 10 for sure.
Prince Albert Fredrick Arthur Geroge (Colin Firth) in 1925 goes onto become King George VI in the late 30s. But he has a problem of public speaking and stammering in general. Something that cannot get him a long way if he has to lead a country. His first attempt at speaking in public ends in a complete disaster when he is supposed to speak at the closing ceremony of the Annual Empire Exhibition – the first time any public address was to be broadcast on radio. Quite an embarrassing situation to be in and something that forces him and Princess Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to seek medical help. A variety of doctors try their best to make things work but the Prince’s temper and inability to cope with the weird methods don’t really help. Nine years go by.
In 1934, On the advise of an acquaintance, the Princess, posing as a Mrs. Johnson (the name used by the Prince during the First World War) contacts Lionel Logue (Sir Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist of high repute. Lionel works in a place which is definitely not suited for royalty and that too without a receptionist – sacrilegious!!! He is an Australian by birth but moves to England post the war to make the most of his skill to get people over speech defects. He is willing to take on the assignment but wants “The patient” to come over to his clinic. Even after knowing, quite embarrassingly, that he is conversing with the Duchess of York and the would be Queen of England. My Castle, My Rules as he proudly proclaims. After a bit of deliberation and much against his wishes, the Prince agrees to go through one final attempt at therapy. The attempt doesn’t have a great start but Logue does hand over a recording of a paragraph from Hamlet that he gets the Prince to read while he is listening to loud music over headphones – the latest technology at that time. It is only much later, after yet another debacle that the Prince actually listens to the recording and is quite shocked to hear himself speak so well. He returns to Logue to be treated.
The King’s Speech traces the friendship that King George VI and Lionel Logue build over their experience of ridding the King of his disability. It is garnished with fabulous British humour and most importantly, splendid performances from Colin Firth, Sir Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter – all three of which are in line for nominations at this year’s Oscars. Even the piece meal performances from Jennifer Ehle as the wife of Lionel Logue and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill are absolutely outstanding. This one is a movie for demonstrating acting talent from some of the best known names in the industry. Director Tom Hooper must be a very fortunate man to have worked with some of the most natural actors possible. Also notable is the outstanding effort in editing from Tariq Anwar. All in all one of the best movies of the year. Hope it releases in India soon – I hadn’t seen the trailers before I left. 8 on 10 for sure.
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