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sharath-alamuri
Reviews
Gravity (2013)
Spectacular!!
I love fantasy fiction; the more fantastical the story line, the better. But when it comes to movies I seek verisimilitude. I know that all movies call for varying degrees of suspension of disbelief; my threshold for that, however, is very low. As a result I find myself frequently bemoaning the fact that fewer movies today are grounded in reality. I am bothered by logical inconsistencies, scientific inaccuracies and anachronisms. I find myself obsessing over trivialities and fail to truly enjoy a movie. So, when a movie stays with me for days after watching it, it is one to be treasured.
Watching Gravity in imax 3D was an experience, the likes of which I haven t had in my life. The visuals are breathtakingly spectacular. Awe inspiring vistas, the beauty of which cannot be described by mere words form the backdrop. Yet they do not distract from the story line, in fact they are integral to it. The vastness of Space feels paradoxically confining, stifling. The soundtrack is effectively used; the crescendos adding to the urgency, the silences terrifying, chilling, sinister even.
George Clooney as Lieutenant Matt Kowalski is engaging and effective. His easy manner and joie de vivre are all the more impressive as they stay in place even in the face of imminent and unavoidable death. But the true star of this movie is Sandra Bullock. Her Ryan Stone is her career best performance ( Yes! better than her Oscar winning role in The Blind Side ). I know the odds on favourite for the best actress Oscar is Cate Blanchett. Her work in Blue Jasmine is being lauded and rightly so. But I believe that Sandra Bullock deserves the Oscar. In the space of ninety minutes, she goes through the whole gamut of human emotion - fear, sadness,resignation, determination, joy, anger and victorious exultation in the end. She holds this movie together.
The director's vision must be commended. This is the best use of 3D since Avatar; I contend that this is better than Avatar. There are many themes I could identify in this story. First and foremost, this is a thriller with many of the elements of a shipwreck story. The Space setting underscores both the urgency and the improbability of a rescue. This movie also very subtly, almost subliminally suggests the need for moving past tragedy. The visual of Sandra Bullock floating in the ISS is very reminiscent of a foetus in utero. The final sequence in the film is one that reminds me of birth and evolution.
The four elements Air, Fire, Water and Earth feature prominently in this movie. Religious motifs are presented ever so deftly. The movie also raises the question of divine inspiration very tactfully. That the many themes are neither glaringly obvious and gratuitous nor too subtle to discern is a testament to the skill of the director. There are probably many scientific inaccuracies in this movie. For once, I don't care.
I love this movie because it celebrates the very best of human nature - the will to survive, the resolve to overcome adversity, selflessness, ingenuity and creativity of the human mind.
This was the movie I was waiting to see for a very long time. I just didn't know it.
Sankarabharanam (1980)
One of the best movies ever made
There are very few movies that stand the test of time and remain as relevant and as good as they were at the time of their release. This is one such movie. If you only have the time, the opportunity or the inclination to watch only two Indian movies in your entire lifetime, watch this one twice. There are many truly great things about this movie and my ability to adequately express this movie's greatness is constrained by my limited vocabulary.
The story is simple and the simplicity of the storytelling makes it engaging and more effective in underscoring the theme of this masterpiece. The relationship between the protagonists in this story, as some have pointed out, is not just a relationship between a teacher and student. Neither is it one of an admirer and an artist. Nor is it one of a devotee and a deity. It is an ineffable love, a pure platonic affection, an ardor that exists between two people who understand each other at their very essence. As Ayn Rand puts it, it " is reverence, and worship, and glory, and the upward glance. "
The actors are exceptional in their parts. The director is an auteur. It takes special skill to take something so simple and make it a sublime piece of art. He makes even the moments of silence in this movie so poignant. It must be mentioned that the female protagonist ( calling her a heroine is trite and inadequate ) does not speak a single word to the male protagonist but you do not notice it.
The director, during the opening credits, in a voice over, talks about this movie being a humble effort to extol the beauty and majesty of traditional Carnatic music. He was being modest - the music of this movie is exceptionally well written and composed. It celebrates everything that is good and true about Indian Music. The vocals by SP Bala Subramaniam, Vani Jayaram and S Janaki are par excellence.
Good Art - Books, Music, Movies, Sculpture, Painting - whatever the medium usually is nuanced, layered, multifaceted and multi-dimensional. Repeated viewings usually show you something new or something old in a new light. This movie lends itself to repeated viewings not just because of the timeless appeal of its story, but also because you discover something new or rediscover what makes it special every time you watch it.
Breaking Bad (2008)
A cautionary tale
I discovered Breaking Bad this summer and was immediately hooked. This drama is unusual because of the lack of melodrama and a sedate pace which gradually builds up to a climactic crescendo ; there are no emotional pyrotechnics, no over the top performances, just nuanced acting by the cast. Bryan Cranston handles all the subtle shades of his character's persona with a masterful adroitness. The writers must be lauded for writing a complex character like Walter White. This series has an inherent melancholy and its characters seem almost Shakespearean in their emotional spectrum. This series is also a window into the murky underworld of drugs and a cautionary tale about what happens when one gets mired in this world. This final season gives me hope that this is a series that will end before it gets stale or ruined.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The best movie I ve watched in a while
It has been quite sometime since I 've seen a movie that inspired me enough to write about it. The Dark Knight Rises is one such wonderful movie. It combines great story telling on a huge scale with exceptional acting by some of the finest actors of this generation and a haunting musical score. Usually when something is eagerly expected, it seldom lives up to its expectations. I waited for the release of this movie with fevered anticipation and was not at all disappointed.
Comic book movies are usually imbued with a sense of juvenility, a silliness that asks us not to take them seriously and usually, that makes the movie going experience incredibly fun. The Nolan trilogy, however is dark, grave and almost melancholy. It is serious and appeals more to the intellectual side of the viewer. That is what sets this film and its prequels apart from the myriad comic book inspired movies out there.
Every moment of this film is engrossing and you can t help but get invested emotionally in the story. ( When Michael Caine cries at the grave " I 've failed you , Master Bruce" - did you not get misty eyed ?? ) Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman is sensational. His acting is restrained and nuanced. Think about it - do you think you could ever feel sorry for a billionaire who has cool gadgets, an awesome crib and coolest cars in the world? - But you genuinely do. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman play their parts like the seasoned veterans they are. Tom Hardy had pretty big shoes to fill as he had to follow Heath Ledger's Joker as the villain in this movie. He does a respectable job as the malevolent Bane but I missed that indescribable something extra that Heath Ledger brought to the Dark Knight. His villainy seemed all the more evil because it had no purpose, no goal, no end game.
Nolan's films work on many different levels. They have all the earmarks of a traditional superhero movie - a city under attack, really cool fights, car ( if i can use the word car ) chases, ridiculously awesome modes of conveyance ( Seriously, how cool were the Bat and the Bat bike ) and good looking women. They also can be viewed as an allegory of the times we live in. The mob taking over the city is eerily reminiscent of the anarchy during the riots in the UK. His films also bring to the fore the inner demons most of us harbour and make them all seem oddly personal.
I see and hear about fans of the Star Wars Franchise who collect memorabilia, attend conventions dressed up as characters in the movie and get married at Star Wars themed weddings. I never understood what made them so attached to the movies. [ Honestly - the movies were probably great when they were first released decades ago but now they seem ( dare I say it ) ...ahem .... lame. Star Wars worshipers please don t kill me. ]. I understand now. This trilogy made me realise that we can genuinely like something so much that we would seem overzealous to others.
I can say with little doubt that this trilogy will become something akin to the Star Wars of this generation, though I seriously doubt if the fans of batman will ever be as crazy as the Star Wars fans. I certainly hope that no blogger, in the future, has the temerity to call these films lame. Only Time will tell.