November 21, 2014

Interstellar

Hats off to Christopher Nolan, not for his latest flick 'Interstellar', but for his sheer guts to portray interstellar travel as nothing more than a cake walk. I wouldn't suggest you to watch this movie if you are just hoping for a visual fascination, it would be worth watching if you are in the theater with an open mind not only to appreciate what you see on-screen, but to appreciate the determination of a man to bring onscreen what usually is associated with a nerd physicist's cup of tea. Whatever be the critics verdict, I would give a thumbs up for 'INTERSTELLAR' even though the movie comes with flaws.

The movie begins with the camera panning over burning fields somewhere in United States. The crops seem to fail one after the other due to ... (I am actually not sure what is the reason). There is dust storms everywhere around. The director has tried to portray a gray picture of earth that is wanting to be perished. The generation of the protagonist is termed as mere 'caretakers' of the world which is running short of its  resources. Meanwhile our protagonist is an ex- astronaut, engineer and a successful farmer who has a daughter whom he loves a lot. Before you catch up with whats happening, you see the hero is suited for his space adventure. But you really cant blame Nolan for any of these because he has lot of things to show you and he has time restrictions, so does his characters.

The concepts of time, black holes, relativity, gravity, space-time fabric, quantum mechanics, time dilation, worm holes are all covered and it would be very difficult to comprehend everything unless you have an idea about these things. But then again, you don't always need to know swimming to enjoy the beach. This movie possibly could be the first of its kind in terms of a realistic effort in bringing into screens what has remained within the books authored by astro-physicists or CERN labs. Nolan tries to let people know what time dilation actually is. He dares people to dream of a future where we will be capable enough to transcend galaxies in search of new home.

The visual extravaganza of Interstellar is not as rich as that of Gravity, but this has a holistic purpose in the the theme which Gravity didn't. Nolan has cleverly avoided mentioning the era the story is taking place. It was fascinating to see how gracefully the concept of multiple dimensions and the time warp has been captured. Even though I couldn't find the 'bookshelf in a black hole' convincing, I would still give it to him for there  couldn't be a better way of visualizing a scenario when you consider time as a physical dimension. The best thing about the movie  is the precision with which he has knitted intense emotional psych of the characters  into what would otherwise ended as another soulless sci-fi movie.

At the end , I can only say I saw a sincere attempt being made to show me something which I found only in  complex equations and incomprehensible definitions .

November 5, 2014

Gone Girl

Gone Girl is an absolute watch beyond doubt. But please don't take your kids to this movie.

David Fincher is one guy whom you can certainly term 'Mr Dependable'. You wont sob over the money you spend to watch his creation. 'Fight Club' was an absolute cult, a master class; 'The Social Network' was good, so was "The Girl with Dragon Tattoo' (Though the Swedish version of the same was stand out). Be rest assured, "Gone Girl" wont disappoint you.


Ben Affleck plays the lead role and Rosamund Pike portrays the role of missing wife. I saw her last as a typical Bond girl in 'Die Another Day' where she flaunted her curves more than her acting skills. But believe me , she is a damn good actress and 'Gone Girl' is all about her. The movie begins with Ben Affleck having a drink with his sister at their bar. When he returns to his home, he finds his wife missing. He reports at the nearby police station and the plot develops with more complex ingredients being added at every moment. The movie gets interesting with each passing moment and maintains the suspense and intensity throughout.

The movie is a dark one. It, certainly doesn't have a sad ending, but can you call it a happy ending?, you certainly cant. Actually you would certainly come out of the cinema with a mixed feeling and its neither happiness nor sadness, its more of a fear, more of an empathy, more of an inexorable agony . You would  never want to live a life you saw on the screen . I probably think at least one Oscar would go to the movie and I wont be surprised if Rosamund Pike grabs it. As I came out of the cinema,  I felt, "Of all the demons you can think of, nothing can be more dreadful or torturous than your unfathomable fear/ agony.