Movie Review : The Great Gatsby

'The Great Gatsby' is like watching a poorly made music video. When the lyrics say, "I came in like a wrecking ball.", the lead singer literally comes in sitting atop a wrecking ball. No subtlety.

So, old sport, before I begin I must tell you I've neither read the original novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald nor seen any other adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby'. I think that is the reason why I was able to enjoy this movie as the story was unknown to me. Apart from the story, everything in this movie is excessive to the point that it is a distraction from what is going on in the story. The visuals are in-your-face and the performances in many parts are over-dramatic and animated. I thought the movie was trying to portray how hollow people of the aristocracy and those enjoying the profits of the economic boom of the 1920s were. There is some attempt at social commentary here as the rich at lavish parties are contrasted with poor masses. But in its portrayal the movie gets carried away and gives preference to style over substance.

References in 'Gravity'

'Gravity' is essentially a survival movie in space. The main character has to battle an unforgiving environment in order to survive at the same time deal with some personal issues. Gravity is a roller coaster ride with elaborate and intense action scenes alternated by quiet moments for reflection. 'Gravity' has been hailed as the intellectual successor to '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968). Though 'Gravity' references 2001 several times, this movie refrains from dealing with the larger questions put forth by 2001. Rather it is more about the human condition, more specifically, about resilience, letting go, growth, sacrifice and the basic primal instinct in all of us to survive no matter how bleak a situation is.

Apart from '2001 : A Space Odyssey' , 'Gravity' also references many other movies. Here are the references that I picked up. Comment below if you think I missed out on something.

Movie Review : Gravity

'Gravity' is essentially a survival movie in space. The main character has to battle an unforgiving environment in order to survive at the same time deal with some personal issues. Gravity is a roller coaster ride with elaborate and intense action scenes alternated by quiet moments for reflection. 'Gravity' has been hailed as the intellectual successor to '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968). Though 'Gravity' references 2001 several times, this movie refrains from dealing with the larger questions put forth by 2001. Rather it is more about the human condition, more specifically, about resilience, letting go, growth, sacrifice and the basic primal instinct in all of us to survive no matter how bleak a situation is.

Meme : Not sure if 'Gravity' or 'Life of Pi'

Why "Now You See Me"'s magic doesn't work.

An important aspect why movies or magic shows or any work of fiction like stories and poems succeed in entertaining us  is the idea of "Suspension of Disbelief". It is expected from the audience that they would let go of their perception of reality in order to enter and appreciate a fictional world and connect with characters in that world. We know that fictional worlds of ,say, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars are a figment of someone's imagination but we are willing to accept that these worlds are real for the time we are watching or reading about them in order to be entertained.

Diving into an imaginary world.

Movie Review : Now You See Me

In spite of having a wonderful cast of actors and a great premise about four magicians robbing banks and distributing their spoils with their audience, leaving the FBI dumbfounded, the movie fails to create what is called 'movie magic'. It is a plot-driven movie as opposed to a character-driven movie. The cast give a fine performance but never gel together or work together as a unit. The plot twists and turns and in the end gives you a twist that makes you feel like finding an empty table, standing at one side and then flipping it out of dismay at how lazily the plot is written.  

Movie Review : World War Z

World War Z is like a hastily made pizza. It is flat, cheesy in some parts with different portions of it tasting different. It will fulfill your hunger for the time being but will leave you wanting for something that is more complete. The movie plays out like a series of distinct scenarios that are loosely connected into a story. Each scenario involves some people who have to complete some task by going from point A to point B with obstacles presented in their path by (you guessed it!) zombies. There is no overall theme of the movie ,except that it's a zombie apocalypse movie, nor is there any emotional core or driving force to the movie. The special effects are great and some of the visuals are stunning ,but no amount of seasoning and ketchup would hide the fact that you have a poorly made pizza.

Movie Review : Iron Man 3

"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men.
No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."
-Elbert Hubbard.

Iron Man 3 is essentially a story about rediscovering yourself after some traumatic and overwhelming events make you realize how little control you have over life. It is about realizing what your true potential and abilities are rather than the image the outside world imposes on you after you start losing faith in yourself. Though the movie is called 'Iron Man 3' (Iron Man Three in the credits), it is basically about Tony Stark, the man behind the machine.

Tony Stark is a "piping-hot-mess" after the events of 'The Avengers'. His perception of the world turns upside-down when he encounters Gods, Aliens, a super-soldier from 40s and an "enormous green rage monster" during the events that lead to what is now being referred to as 'The Battle of New York'. Add to these the fact that he had a near death experience when he carried a nuclear warhead into a wormhole and then barely got out.

Movie Review : The Wolverine

'The Wolverine' is essentially a story of a man filled with self-reproach over the death of a loved one, and how he comes to terms with it and ultimately finds redemption and lets go of his guilt. The muscular Huge Jackman (not a typo) reprises his role as the rebellious, gruff and damaged X-men who must now take up the role of a hero and save the future 'most-powerful-person-in-Japan', Mariko Yashida, from her own family while facing great challenges most of which are of a personal nature.

The movie begins with a scene depicting the World War II Nagasaki bombings. It is really brutal scene filled with hopelessness. A nuke is being dropped onto what looks like a village, everyone is running for their lives and some soldiers are stabbing themselves with swords to avoid getting vaporized by the nuke. Logan says,"You can't run from what's coming.". But the overall movie does not share the dark tone of the beginning scene.

The Wolverine and the Bear

Once upon a time, there lived a shy bear and a sulky Wolverine in the jungle. The bear would spend most of his day searching for food. He would eat berries, honey, flowers, grasses, herbs, tubers, nuts of all kinds, ants and other insects. Occasionally he would find fish, small marine animals, and other small animals such as squirrels. Sometimes he would get lucky and find the carcass of a dead elk, moose or a calf.

The Wolverine on the other hand had no interest in food. He would listen to his radio and would sleep most of the time. In his sleep he would regularly fidget and occasionally scream, "Jean !".

Meme : I will find him !

Meme : Error 404

Meme : Keep Calm and ....wait

Meme : Keep Calm and Cancel The Apocalypse

Movie Review : Pacific Rim

The first time I saw the trailer for Pacific Rim, I thought that we were going to have another big-budget, senseless and over-the-top, mind-numbing action Transformers-like movie. But as it turns out I was fortunately wrong. Instead I got a movie that excited me like few movies have in recent years. Comparisons of Pacific Rim to Transformers are bound to take place because both are essentially humanoid mecha (science fiction genre related to robots and machines) movies. The difference lies in execution, thoughtfulness, artistic appeal and sheer enthusiasm with which both the movies were made. Despite having a lower budget than Transformers 2 and 3 , Pacific Rim's special effects are much better as the CGI robots look and feel completely real. If a comparison is done on aspects other than special effects like story, characters and overall appeal of the two movies, then rest assured Pacific Rim outperforms Transformers by many parsecs ( ;-) ).

Meme : Do Not Read This in My Voice

A Dark Post

A young man moved from his parents home

into a new apartment of his own and went to

the lobby to put his name on his mailbox. This man 

here was aimless with no sense of direction in his life. 

He returned to his apartment and switched 

on his computer. He logged into Facebook

and scanned through his Newsfeed. At the same

time he was also surfing some sites offering free

jokes in a different tab. He chanced upon

a joke that he thought was hilarious.

So he copied it and pasted it in a group of 

his close friends hoping for some acknowledgement

of his efforts at finding the joke.

Movie Review : Man of Steel

"What a day !", thought Superman as he flew over Metropolis and turned to fly towards his home. The night was getting darker and Superman smiled as looked down and saw all the people going about their lives, preparing to go to their beds to start afresh with the sun the next day. He paused and saw a family sitting down to dinner and contemplated his own loneliness. The ideals and responsibilities sometimes felt like a burden.

"Help ! Somebody please help !", a voice from a building.

Superman burst in through the window of the apartment from where the voice had come, "It's alright. I'm here."