The Dark Knight Rises

With every Christopher Nolan movie, I dread walking into the movie hall. Because every time, I see a new one from his table, my older ranking starts seeming like a joke. In 7 years, this is Nolan’s 5th movie. And every time, I am tempted to give a 9 on 10. I land up giving it only to bite my tongue a year or two later. So I am really not sure whether I should rate The Dark Knight Rises at all.

No one but Nolan has really shown the story of Bruce Wayne, the way Bob Kane would have wanted it to be narrated. And that can happen if an only if you love something so much that you give it everything one has – not to mention the truck loads of talent that is required to bring a passion to life. TDKR is no different. There could not have been a more fitting finale to give Batman the status of “the most popular superhero to hit the silver screen”…. Or can there be?

Disclaimer – I am a huge fan of Nolan and more importantly the Dark Knight as narrated by Nolan. So this review is definitely going to be biased. So if you want to read a genuine critic talking about how the movie could have been better etc., then I suggest you look elsewhere coz here you are going to find only good things being written about Nolan. In fact Nolan has to actually commit hara-kiri and we may still pardon him.

In true Nolan fashion, this part also is brilliantly scripted and shot with great emphasis on each frame and character. No hero can or will ever be great without an equally brilliant villain. I will not even think to venture into The Joker’s territory as one of the best villains ever but you need to watch out for Tom Hardy as Bane in TDKR to believe what I am saying. And it is not just the eerie nature of the mask or the gruff muffled voice through the mask which makes you cringe in your pants. One cannot help but admire casting director John Papsidera. How can anyone pick such perfect actors for each role?

I cannot say that TDKR is flawless. The exceptionally trained eye will pick up some glitches – but they are too insignificant in the context of the movie. But I also haven’t yet seen a standing ovation to a Hollywood movie. I haven’t seen so many people staying glued to their seats till the last line of the credits moved out of the screen. And I haven’t seen a housefull 7 am show anywhere in the country.

Enough said. Time for you to go out there and try your luck. Watch it on the IMAX Screen some time at least – even if it is the 2nd time – don’t worry… you will be back for seconds. 9 on 10 once again!!!! Chris Nolan – you rock our world!!! I know… I haven’t given any sneak peek into the story this time. But believe me that’s intentional. I would not want to ruin the best movie of the year so far with even the smallest of spoilers. The shows @ IMAX are full upto Monday I am told. So if u get lucky…. U get lucky… enjoy.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2376312089/

Midnight in Paris

If it is Woody Allen then it has to have the Oscars against it. Especialy in the category of Original Screenplay. He has received 15 nominations for Original Screeplay to date!!! And if you haven’t seen Woody Allen movies you would be tempted to now. If you have, then you would not be surprised with this fact. The capability to create a story line and then pepper it with humour that can best be described as acidic is an art that the 77 year old has probably mastered better than anyone else. Lets face it. There cannot be a badly written Woody Allen movie. It is possible that people may not understand it because thanks to the layers that Woody has put in it but it just cannot be bad. I am a huge fan and Midnight in Paris has done nothing to harm my position.

The other nominations have been in the categories of Direction, Art Direction and Motion Picture of the year. I also think that Owen Wilson has been overlooked for the acting Oscar simply because he has this slapstick non serious image about himself and not because he hasn’t acted well in this one. Somehow I think Owen Wilson is cut out perfectly for the Woody Allen type of care a damn humour. The nonchalance that he gets to the screen is just apt for playing the part of a writer who is not cutting much ice in his relationship with a supremely rich girl whose family doesn’t approve the relationship one bit. And it gets even more convincing when he starts imagining that at the stroke of every midnight, he gets picked up by a vintage Peugeot and meets all his idols of the early 1900s. An era that he is fascinated with and wants to be back in.

Woody Allen has a knack of surprising most people with his casting. And for the first time I see Rachel McAdams in a role that is quite unlike her. One in which audiences would resent her and not look at her as the girl next door that she always plays. And she essays her role with ease. Which is even more surprising. Proving to us inadvertently I presume that there is a lot of serious acting acumen that hasn’t gone on display yet.

I don’t need to comment on the capabilities of the likes of Kathy Bates (Gertrude Stein) or Marrion Cotillard (Adriana) who really have nothing to prove to anyone of us lowly mortals anymore. And the support cast in any Woody Allen movie is always superb. Somehow I think all of these guys just get into a groove that is most natural to them and were waiting for Woody to actually show it to them that they are capable of performing this way. Woody himself doesn’t play a role in this one and the eccentricities are conspicuously missing. But he more than makes up with his humour. Deservedly in the top 10 movies of the year. Watch it. 8 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi853581081/

Contagion

Back to back movies after a really long time and I had no clue about what was in store for me when I walked in to watch Contagion. My super hectic schedules ensured that I had not seen even the hint of a poster and had no idea about the “Power-Packed” cast that was waiting for me. Starting with Beth Emhoff (Gwenyth Paltrow) who is somewhere in Hong Kong apparently having a super duper time in the casinos. But little does she know that she is going to live for only the next 48 hours. She comes back to her home in Minnesota and her husband Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) – only to collapse in a heap like an epileptic would but for no apparent reason. The only thing worrisome was the high fever she had by the time she got back home from Hong Kong. She is rushed to the hospital but survives only for a few minutes more before the docs give up. They request for an autopsy so that they can find what actually happened.

Meanwhile, several such cases are being reported across the globe for the same kind of illness. A Japanese businessman on his way home. A girl in London. A waiter from a casino in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Someone in San Francisco. And the chain reaction has just about started. In what seems to be an Outbreak (Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo) kind of movie, Steven Soderbergh uses the power of his star cast to weave a story line that is littered with exceptionally heavy medical terms. Most of which go flying past you like a jet plane would. But the star cast does manage to hold the movie together for what its worth. Ignore the unpronounceable and you can watch Contagion purely on the merit of performances. Matt Damon has the biggest role other than Laurence Fishburne and both get out the intensity of their characters beautifully. Damon is in the role of a father whose only objective is to save his daughter after the loss of his wife and son to the “Contagion”. Fishburne plays the role of a committed doctor at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and is torn between a commitment to his role and that towards his wife to be. And then there is probably the most beautiful woman in Hollywood today – the ethereal and immensely talented Marion Cotillard in the role of a French doctor who is kidnapped and develops a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Jude Law as the over obsesses blogger is also very good. And Kate Winslet – what can I say – effortless is the word that always comes to mind. Superb all round performances in short.

Cannot say the same thing about Soderbergh though. For a director as superb as Soderbergh, he is unable to hold the movie together. The trademark cinematography, music and cuts are conspicuously missing for no apparent reason. The story seems to meander around endlessly around some random population figures across unrelated cities. Soderbergh is unable to build the suspense factor too well – another talent that he has always had but seems to have suddenly taken a leave of absence. Also, the fact that there are too many stories within a story doesn’t help. Worth a dekko for certain but don’t expect too much. 6 on 10 is what I would give.

The trailer can be viewed on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3924270105/

Inception

In our day to day lives (especially if you are a B School student), we are always asked to raise the benchmark. Well if we need to look for inspiration to do this, there is one person who has since 1997 been raising the bar each time. He goes by the name of Christopher Nolan. Yes, the guy who probably shot to fame in India with Dark Knight but the journey started over 13 years back with a movie called Doodlebug. His 9th movie, INCEPTION, is yet another masterpiece that makes his previous efforts look slightly pale in comparison. Yes my dears, we have one of the strongest contenders for the Oscars this year.


Dom Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) along with his trusted aide, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) specialize in a technique of entering your mind to figure out your ideas. He does this by getting into your dreams i.e. your sub conscious mind which is where the best of ideas are hidden. He can, by doing this, also reveal your deepest darkest secrets. The concept is called Deception.

In his current role, Cobb is working for an organization to get into the mind of Saito (Ken Watanabe) a Japanese entrepreneur whose organization is one of the world leaders in energy. However, Cobb is not successful in his attempt and therefore has to face the consequences which could even be death. However, Saito, realizing Cobb’s expertise offers him a trade off. He is also aware that Cobb is on the run and cannot make it back to the US because he allegedly killed is wife, Mal (the ever so beautiful Marion Cotillard). Saito wants Cobb to take reverse the idea of Deception i.e. plant an idea in the mind of his biggest competitor Robert Fischer Jr. (Cilian Murphy) heir to the largest energy company in the world owned by Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlewaithe – Usual Suspects – Kobayashi). Maurice Fischer is on his deathbed. Saito wants Cobb to plant an idea into Robert’s mind that he has disappointed Maurice and that he should dissolve the company and start all over again – INCEPTION.

Tempted by the possibility of being back with his children Phillipa and James, Cobb takes up the assignment and sets about building his team. He first approaches his father, Miles (Michael Caine) in Paris who puts him through to the first person in the sequence – the architect – the person who creates the dream/s as required. This is Ariadne (Ellen Page – She looks all of 16 but is actually 23!!!!!). Two more people join the team – Eames (Tom Hardy) and Yusuf (Dileep Rao) a chemist who is required to create chemicals that can keep the subjects sedated for over 10 hours and that too in a stable manner.

Now that the plot is clear, fasten your seat belts for what I believe is definitely the most exciting roller coaster ride of the year if not the decade. Nolan weaves a complete maze to keep the audience riveted to their seats and continuously wondering – what next? And if you were to curse Nolan in the end to leave the interpretation entirely to yourself – I would not be surprised at all. But then, that my friend is the magic of the movies and the magic created by Christopher Nolan.

I would like to see Inception once again. That it’s a brilliant movie kept aside, I would really really like to try and look for some mistake. Inception, at first look seems to be brilliant in probably every department. The only place that I could think of some chinks seem to be in the acting department. I say this because I have seen all these actors render roles that were far superior than their performances in Inception. However, I cant help but be fair to them and say that they all gave what was expected of them. The editing is picture perfect. The screenplay brilliant. Cinematography – oh so amazing. Special Effects superb. OK not I seem like a very easy man to please. Have a look at it yourself. This one is a collectible. This one is 9 on 10. Right up there in the list of movies that are absolutely must own and must watch. Christopher Nolan – Take a Bow.