Space Cowboys ► 3.5 / 5 (Eastwood's Hollywood)

.. the not so right stuff

[your rating for the movie]

  It is fate, I guess, that first led me to see the marvelous 'The Right Stuff', before this Eastwood's idea of what may have become of those brash, uber-confident, womanizing, cowboy-pilots. This movie takes off right where The Right Stuff lets go. The latter was an 'experimental-epic'. A newness in the genre of science, drama and even humor. Semi-sadly, Eastwood's venture is a semi-experimental, non-epic. There is much of a muchness and the same of a sameness. Much of it is the lack of scientific verity and content. The context, though, is intriguing. Factually, the United States sent a chimp to space before men. There must been some incredulity and frustration for those pilots dreaming to be the first American in space. This movie starts with a fiction behind the incident, based on some history.

Feelin' lucky punk?

  The fiction is that the boss, Bob Gerson (James Cromwell) doesn't like the attitude and bravura of the pilots, Hawk Hawkins (Tommy Lee Jones) and Frank Corvin (Clint Eastwood). He heads a team Daedalus, which has these two and a couple more, Tank Sullivan (James Garner) and Jerry O'Neill (Donald Sutherland). He upstages their space-career by ending all military/air-force involvement with space-race and closing the Daedalus. In reality, this was handed over to a 'civilian' agency - NASA, and many military personnel, esp. pilots, went on to work there as engineers, administrators and astronauts. We later see Bob in an administrative capacity. No such luck for these guys as they finish their career entirely in the corps (think Chuck Yeager).

Toby ~ the young Clint

  This lays the setup for another one. Now, we find these cow-boys have become cow-grandads and Clint is wanted by NASA to help them fix a satellite, a Russian one to boot. There's a logical macguffin as to why only he can do that job. Conveniently for him, it requires space-walk and astronaut-ing. He demands from his ex-boss Bob, who is now managing this affair, that the good ol' Daedalus must be brought in. Ofcourse, he agrees or else the setup for the setup would have no purpose in the movie. The good ol' team is back in place and training at NASA to be astronauts, which leads to some humorous situations and then some. Launched into space they find more details about the weird nature of the macguffin job and the Russian satellite. It's a sinister twist and, well, anyone who loved Bond's Golden Eye could have made quite a good guess here, I suppose.

  I want to specially mention Toby Stephens (Die Another Day, Mangal Pandey) as the young Clint Eastwood, who not only looks uncannily like his younger version but gets his mannerisms and expressions to a T. Would have loved to see a bit more of him. Ingeniously, for his voice, Clint dubs as his younger self, and so do the other three, which completes the illusion.

    Coming back to the problem I have with the film - the spacewalking and shuttle sequences, esp. the latter. There is a beautiful sequence whence, whilst space-walking, the astronauts 'fall' over the continents in orbit and the shot captures them to be seemingly hovering over the earth. Otherwise, the magic of the space journey is destroyed for anyone who's even a little familiar with how they work, esp. after viewing a landmark movie like the Apollo 13.

Imagine me up there..

  There is an especially painful scene wherein we see the old geezers extinguishing a fire inside the shuttle with a good ol' extinguisher as if in a barbecue. Fire is at it's worst in a zero-gravity space environment. It spreads over all surfaces, as a 360 degree spherical burst, since it cannot burn 'up' when there's no 'down' in space. The geriatric subjects also potter about as if in a barn with apparently no regard to a zero-gravity environment. The only way I, personally, was able to sit through them all were due to the good and expected performances by these seasoned actors. A high school student can tear those space sequences to pieces with the science he learns. There are some NASA consultants mentioned in the credits at the end and I wonder if they cringed seeing these. They have sinned by omission. Nevertheless, it's not all a lost cause, and I can only wonder what a beaut this movie could have turned out to be if they got those effects or science right considering the good acting and plot, which is usually the casualty in most movies.

We can hardly run and dammit if you strap us on rocket..

  I researched a bit after the movie and found that Clint didn't want to use the 'vomit comet' that was offered by NASA to shoot zero-gravity sequences. He, thoughtfully, feared the ol' cowboys kicking the bucket before he could film a bucket full of rolls. Nevertheless, it shows in those scenes and it disappointed me greatly. When I saw as a young kid, I imagined the 'Apollo 13' crew to either have gone to a space station to film those amazing scenes inside the spacecraft or perhaps all brilliantly computer-generated. It was an immense surprise, although logical, that these were filmed inside an airplane that free-falls towards the earth from a high altitude. Clint could have tried the vfx route at the least. This was well before his now Spielberg-ian days and the Dreamworks backing, and maybe there were some budgetary constraints. One only has to see the beginning of 'Hereafter' and fully understand the technical quality Steven brings to Clint's films.

Sara Holland: I have never met a kid who didn't dream of being an astronaut when he grew up.
Col. William 'Hawk' Hawkins: Did you ever meet a kid who didn't grow up?

  Anyhow, this movie isn't about the vfx or the brilliant space journeys but all about the heart. It's a salute to the magnificent 'The Right Stuff'. We see a paper headline in the mid of the film teasing the team Daedalus as the 'Ripe stuff'. Being ripe as it may be, it's strength lies in the fact that this is a Clint's creation and it's his team. They get the job done and in style. The script doesn't turn manipulative despite it's contrived and feel-good ending. The whole film reaches out with kindness and humor as only our grandpas can provide. It's a compliment, which this endeavor deserves fairly. Maybe this would've been better on the big screen than catching it on the dvd.

Cowboyz Forever (|| -|

ID4 : The Ultimate Popcorn Fest

Independence Day (aka. ID4) 1996                 ►                          4 / 5

[your rating for the movie]
  Popcorn Fest. definition: A Movie (usually a blockbuster) that aims to find the middle ground between audiences of various tastes and generally caters to the popular opinions and imaginative will.
                        equiv. terms: A similar concept in Indian films are termed 'Masala'. Hindi Cinema(bollywood) ~ bollywood masala/masala fillim & Tamil Cinema(kollywood) ~ masala padam. differences: unlike popcorn, masala isn't served to the audience per se, but denotes the one seen in the story/film on screen. Also, Hollywood prefers to make the genre an art and not compromise on the overall quality. eg., Jaws, Star Wars, The Fugitive, Die Hard, E.T., Indiana Jones etc.
[The above definitions are entirely my own and I hold full responsibility  for the same.. ;)]

  You are alone/with friends and want to spend a mindless evening consuming popcorn/chicken bucket/soda watching a flick that is a visual feast, which doesn't require much focus or intelligent thought. In the event you missed this Roland Emmerich's blockbuster offering, then do rent it/buy it/steal it, and have a roller-coaster ride with antagonistic aliens, marvelous explosions, and some wonderful performances. There's a reason why I believe ID4 (as in Independence Day-July 4) is the ultimate popcorn fest. That's the reason for the review now. Moreover, I managed to spend such a time as I've described, last weekend, which brought back nostalgic memories for the zillionth moment.

Roland with his 'E.T' inside it's 'bio-mechanical suit'

  "What if you woke up tomorrow and found a huge saucer looming in the skies?", was Roland's retort to the reporter who was pestering him if he believed in Alien intelligence or not, after the release and success of Stargate. Wondering about his own question, he found an answer in this movie, along with his producer friend Dean Devlin. Ever since then, Roland has never looked back in his spew of blockbusting, popcorn-toting, disaster-fests (except his one-odd project 'The Patriot'). It seems he may have run out of disaster plots after finally having got to destroy the Earth in 2012, and is now directing an Elizabethan political thriller 'Anonymous'. I am quite curious to see if he will manage to make it without a single explosion.

One fine Manhattan morning..

  What I love about the screenplay is that it divides the film distinctly into three clear acts.
Act 1. July 2 > U.f.o enters the earth's atmosphere. Blasts all major cities by nightfall.
Act 2.July 3 > Survivors on the run. Area 51 exists. Various sub-plots converge.
Act 3.July 4 > American/World Independence day as the world unites in it's fight for survival.
  Somewhere in all of this, you've got a career making role for Will Smith, an awesome & a cool one for Jeff Goldblum (a favorite actor of mine), a revelation of Bill Pullman as the President (one of the best in movies), Judd Hirsch as a quirky but dignified dad, and several other able supporting casts.


  There's no way I can spoil this movie for you - it's all about the experience. You know the humans/protagonists will survive at the end (fundamental rule of all popcorn fests). Conversely, aliens will get their butt-kicked. Capt. Steven Hiller (Will) actually has a line in the movie where he tells he can't wait to whoop E.T.'s ass. Another Spielberg classic is poked at when he punches 'E.T.' square on the face and remarks, a cigar clenched, "Now, that's what I'll call a Close Encounter..".

Our Liberty at stake ..

  One is a fool if one tries to bring Boolean/Newtonian logic to bear upon such a construct as the 'Popcorn fest'. Armed with that axiom, I find countless fools on and off line, debating the merits of the devices and ideas used in the movie, esp. that which helps mankind conquer the alienkind. I use, what I call as, 'popcorn logic'. It implies the artistic license that works within the movie's framework, and within a reasonable degree, in the real world.

  Take for instance, people running away from the wall of fire, blazing towards the camera. Yes, the fire has been filmed in super-slow motion. People on the other hand run in real time. It is evidently a conscious choice on the part of film-makers, and it works. Firstly, the fire that engulfs the cities, almost consistently, spread at the same speed as a jet-plane taking off from the run way (lol). It is definitely fun to watch. Also, the explosion from the ray of death or whatever, is alien in nature. Maybe it isn't as effective as our Nuclear bomb. A point further enforced in the movie's final moments. So do you now see how the popcorn logic works? Hence, the contrivances of the film-makers clearly dished out for fun, serves it's purpose to the story without annoying one or make one laugh to death (see Indy escape a nuclear blast in his latest movie venture.. sic. That's poop-corn logic!)

   If Will drives the action part of the film (mostly), then Jeff as David Levinson commands the performance bit. There are several unique and beautiful moments, as much as can be provided, between his dad (Judd Hirsch) and himself. Fondness for his dad comes off effortlessly, from Jeff's eyes, as much as his love for his estranged wife. Jeff, as an actor, commands an intelligent aura about him and makes his characters immune to any bad plots. He first commanded my attention as the 'Chaotician' in Jurassic Park. Spielberg, infact, rewrote the Lost World around his character. Sadly though, it didn't do him nor the story any justice. It is sadder realizing that, until now, only this blockbuster has come close to giving him the kind of opportunity and role that enables him to be more. His David is etched with a finesse and subtlety that instantly elevates the human drama of the film, the moment we encounter him. Notice how deftly he plays the pivotal scene of the movie - demonstrating his plan to defeat the space goons.

Empire State - a wonder of destruction

  This is a movie made for the 'Big Screen' (another requisite of a popcorn fest). One doesn't experience the same on a dvd. The action, explosions and cinematography come alive in a cinema and I was fortunate as a kid to have had this seminal experience of a good popcorn fest. This is a movie, seeing which, Spielberg decided to stop making any further alien flicks (broke the oath though with 'war of the world', and no, the latest Indy with crystal skulls doesn't have aliens - they're supposedly inter-dimensional beings). This is the mother of all disaster movies and the father of alien invasion plots. Yes, there are several plots seen before and many cliches in the film, but in no other, does it come together that effectively and make a popcorn hoggin' audience root for more. Honestly, one of those few sci-fi blockbusters, that I wished for a sequel and the film-makers have wisely not made one.

David Levinson:  A toast, to the end of the world.

The Batman Rises : A Nolan Chronicle

Batman Begins (2005) 4.2/5


The Dark Knight (2008) 4.6/5


Growing up in India during the late 80s & 90s, the exposure to American comic books like DC and Marvel were limited. These were expensive. The popular exposure however, came through the cartoons and the animations on the national television. It ever so captured our imaginations. The darkest and the most intriguing however, were the Batman series. Square-jawed and dark caped, a utility unlike Superman's, the Batman was fearsome and quite real. As real as could be to an 8 year old with some imagination.

Fast forward to Batman Begins (2005). It's my great regret that I missed it on the big screen. The same year however I had the fortune of coming across Memento. Once I had learnt later that it was Nolan who has done the reboot of Batman I took out a DVD. I re-entered that dark and pulsing world of Batman again.


BATMAN BEGINS 4.2/5

[your rating of the film]

The first words of a conscious Wayne (Bale, Christian) is, "Nightmare". The basis and the motive of Wayne to don a cape, a mask, an array of gadgets, fists of fury and a nocturnal habit is developed steadily, relentlessly and nowhere does it seem surreal or comic-ish. I hadn't yet seen The Prestige, Inception and ofcourse, the darker sequel, then. I was learning the craft and work of the elder Nolan and the virtuosity of plotting and scripting by the younger. A brilliant experience that has been consistently ramped with their consequent films.

Bruce Wayne is tangible, real, gritty and tortured. He is a seeker. He wants to understand the unfair fate that he encountered so young. He immerses himself into the society's darkness and it's sinister crime-scape. He begins to learn to use his worst fear - bats, to conquer a morbid one - criminals. "You're not the devil. You're practice!", says Bruce to a bully prison-mate early on in the film. When we learn later how he came to be there, we realize some of his actions in the past were of a coward. A man scared and lost.

*SPOILER* { The greatness of the plot lies in how Ra's Al-Ghul, the conspirator and nemesis, helps create Batman the legend. Later in the movie he dismisses Batman's volatile presence and threat simply saying, " Well well.. you took my advice about theatricality a bit literally." }

Ra's Al-Ghul instructs and mentors Bruce initially on Ninja philosophies and arts, to embrace his worst fear and turn it on his enemies etc. The scenes are simple, effective, and help us understand that Batman is like a tormented wealthy caucasian Bruce Lee with gadgets.


The film simply does what it sets out to do and some more. I always love beginnings of any story more than the payoff or resolutions. We understand the source of a story, the origins of the character, and the hope and imaginations of the journey ahead. This is why The Matrix was immensely more exciting than it's sequels. Nolan on the other hand is an auteur. He knows how to construct a trilogy. The Wachowskis are exciting story-tellers but they have steadily refused to dare where their stories take them. What the Wachowskis failed to seize with their Matrix sequels, Nolan accomplished immensely through his Inception.

Surely, the movie isn't perfect. Initial action sequences lack some gravitas. Later they evolve and are more fun. Was that a conscious Nolan choice, I wonder. A few more shots like the one where Batman stands high atop the Gotham on a skyscraper as the silent guardian would have satiated my 'heroic' thirst. After all, the ultimate reason we love super-heroes is because we inhabit them a while, while we can. This again seems to be a deliberate choice to ground the vigilante in reality. An artistic license, I believe, used to show the origin of Bat-signal is when Falcone is strung on the Gotham Police searchlight. Such lights usually heat the air in the near vicinity upto a 1000 degree celcius. Falcone would have been deep-fry by the time Gordon gets to him. By now we are sincerely rooting for Batman and love the emotional satisfaction of the mafia head strung on the lights, logical or not. The truly magical performance of the whole movie is Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon. Jim Gordon seems to be a real cop, honest and wise to understand his limitations but quick to seize opportunities. This character was simply a part of the scenery in all the Batman stories, adaptations etc., until now. Gary Oldman is as scintillating and refreshing as Heath Ledger will be in the upcoming one.


The research wing of Wayne enterprises has a delicious secret in the person of Lucius Fox played well by Morgan. He offers Bruce his devices for "spelunking".
A bridging vehicle (batmobile), nick-named tumbler by the film-makers, and a batpod that will gestate from it in the sequel are brilliant and original.




THE DARK KNIGHT 4.6/5

[your rating of the film]

"What about Escalation?", queries Lt. Jim Gordon ('escalated' from Sergeant) at the end of Batman Begins. That escalation is The Dark Knight. Escalation of action, of performances, of crimes, of sins, of insanity, ending with the notoriety of Batman's legend, and the untimely death of beloved Ledger, H. in the real world.
Firstly, there is a definite shift of the visual tone and photography. The images are sharp, throwing immense clarity into the depravity and ambiguity of the characters. As a reference, check the two stills at the top from each movie. The narrows of the Gotham in the first were suffused with a slight golden hue, as if from the sodium lamps of poorly lit street-lights. There is no mention, as much as I recall, of the Narrows in the sequel. There isn't a distinction of upper and lower Gotham. The dark and clear nights belong to the entire city. Perhaps a visual cue that the crime and madness from the Narrows in the first has seeped through Gotham entirely.

This movie could be scary and disturbing even for teens. It isn't fear per se, but the chaos and insanity that the Joker brings to the tables here. It's a very good thing. Nolan dared to venture where his plot took him. An epic noir that tests our intelligence, mores, ethos, judgment and sanity as much as it does the Batman. What is missing here again is more of Batman's 'heroic' shots that one thirsts for in such a plot. Especially a lingering shot, with opera-ic trumpets of the now famous Zimmer/Howard score, when Batman outwits Joker with his batpod stopping with a 180 degree flip against a wall. It seems to be a deliberate choice and we do not stop to think about it much, as we are occupied completely by the Joker's machinations. The makers more than compensate for it at the end of the film with a highly original and adrenaline thumping shot of Batman vroom-ing into the Gotham streets, voiced over by my favorite character of Nolan's Batman, Jim Gordon.

I always felt joker was an annoying or a ridiculous persona in either comics or the earlier films (no offense Jack). However, Chris and Heath seem to have grasped the motive of that guy and managed to forge a clown from the depths of hell. The crazy part is he entertains. Looking at Heath, is like gaping at a live dinosaur wide-eyed. You may be eaten or trampled, but you are riveted at the sight. Minimal make-up, maximum devil. Lucifer has no dibs on this guy. As Caine's Alfred says, ".. some men just wanna watch the world burn". Alfred used to be just a solemn butler and inevitably, Batman's confidante. In Nolans' scripting he is more. A father figure, a gentle counselor and a wise friend. Not the sanctimonious 'great power and responsibility' catchphrases for Caine. When much is lost by the middle of the film, Alfred gently asks Bruce to 'endure'. We ofcourse saw him equally performed well in Batman Begins.

Two-face Harvey Dent is brilliantly brought to life by Aaron Eckhart (sorry Tommy). He is extremely brave and heroic in the first act. When the Joker diabolically gives Harvey 'a little push', the pendulum swings to the other extreme. The only performance that doesn't quite measure up is Maggie's. I find nothing charming or alluring in her Rachel that captivates two heroic men and infact, becomes the motive for one to give into Joker's insanity. It is not that Katie Holmes in the first pic left a big shoe to fill in either. Katie was atleast convincing as a sweet but justice craving attorney. She is insane to refuse this role in the sequel. Freeman's Fox does the role splendid as ever. The gravitas in action and effects that seemed a bit missing in the first, is here with a bang. There are several other supporting roles making up mostly the bad guys or ones giving in to them, that are wonderfully etched in the short screen time they have.

The Nolans have arrived and have risen in Hollywood with this daring artistry. Heath Ledger follows into those rare legends comprised of James Dean, Bruce Lee, River Phoenix etc. It is much like if Nolan had passed away before making Inception and many other wonders to come yet. I bet that, if Heath hadn't accidentally overdosed, he would have been our Cobb struggling with Mal in the limbo. The potential Brando. RIP oh great one! I have so far not written about Bale's Batman but only about the character. He is Bruce and Batman and there's no Bale. As a character-star he is generous, allowing his peers to elevate their performances and histrionics. He simply sinks into the guy he plays. What Gordon (Commissioner by now) says at the end, is subtly relevant to Bale as well..
.. because he's the hero Gotham (Hollywood) deserves but not the one it needs right now
.. so we'll hunt him, because he can take it.. because he's not a hero.. he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector..
.. a Dark Knight!

CHITTI DA ROBO &-|

I feel compelled to review Shankar's Magnum opus on two different perspectives.

A. That of South Indian/Indian/Asian popular Cinema.

Summed up simply, the following comparative equation says it all, Endhiran : Kolly-wood = Avatar : Holly-wood
Both were revolutionary Cinematic experiments and milestones in their respective Industries. Despite the implausibility and the 'already seen' plots, they carved their own niche creating a world where everyone were enthralled. Hereafter block-buster will have a new definition in Indian cinema.

Shankar and Rajni weave their magic abundantly. Frankly, with due respects to many tamilians, I'm not a big Rajni fan. I did love his occasional work in movies such as Thalapathi, Sivaji and so forth. What I did gather though from his previous works were - comedy and villainy are his forte. Shankar has so smartly spun his tale around his Star's strengths ( as evidenced in Sivaji too ) , that the final product is a showcase of the two's genius.

Tamil cinema is definitely feeling the bugle call of the standards set in this movie as much as Avatar is course-correcting Hollywood mainstream productions. I wouldn't liken Shankar to Jim Cameron though but rather a hybrid of Spielberg-Emmerich. Emotions are often at the forefront in his movies and he doesn't hesitate to play to the galley. Endhiran has its share of brilliance equaled only by its cheesy and pop-corny, chai and chat-masala mixed moments. The serving isn't inedible though and I do recommend a must watch. Though the ending is in the merit of the story, it does feel a bit hurried up (** spoiler alert **) esp. the court scene : which reminded me of a similar scene in Shankar's earlier bonanza "Anniyan" - hope this doesn't become formulaic. Shankar still has abundant creative power which would continue to entertain us decades to come.

Having compared Shankar, I sincerely believe I cannot do the same for Rajni. He stands unique in his performance and versatility (read style). The temperamental scientist is fine but is hugely overshadowed by his Chitti - sure to go down in the annals of sci-fi genre in cinema. He does what Arnold gave to his terminator.

3.5 / 5

B. That of World Cinema/Hollywood.

As said earlier, I couldn't liken Shankar to Jim as Cameron is The Auteur of Sci-fi and his "uncompromisable" plots. Shankar will time and again, compromise on his serving, to appeal and satiate the so called "common man". Spielberg and Emmerich do this, yet they have a rule of thumb : a moment could be either cheesy or implausible but not both. Shankar doesn't cringe to display implausible-cheesy moments and they are a dime a dozen in Robot/Endhiran.

Aishwarya after a long lull, looks genuinely attractive and showcases here acting prowess. There's something about Ash in a Shankar 's film that makes her wonderfully attractive. In fact many actresses have had their best cinematic Marilyn-Monroe-Moments with Shankar - a talent that defies explanation. Her emotions seem misplaced here and there, ( probably editing for time constraint ) yet the overall work is good. Other artistes do their job but the biggest artist in the movie, in terms of quality and quantity is Rajni.

Let's not even bother about the Science in the movie ( maybe the untimely demise of Sujatha has let Shankar run amok with his comical extrapolation of a Robot's concept and abilities ). I did suspect this before from the trailers and hence went into the halls with anti-hype and drummed down expectations. Still there are moments that litter the movie which impedes it's potential. Why would a robot designed for military application know every aspect of Carnatic music is beyond me! Would any creator of a humanoid A.I treat his creation like a cell-phone ,beating the crap out of it and swearing at it when there's no reception or when it hangs!? Maybe the creator is too arrogant for his own good! Influences from The Matrix, I Robot, Bi-centennial Man, Terminator are amply evident.

Surprisingly, the Indian-isation and the addition of local flavour are the movie's strengths and it's original script-work. To his credit, the director has meshed well the metal and the human plot. A.R. does a good job with songs and B.G.M is just fine. Resul's sound work is just fine too. The heroes of the movie are the VFX guys. I'd have loved to see Stan work with Shankar in this movie through his Stan Winston studios (legacy effects now). It wouldn't have been mind-bending for the man who was present for the birth of Terminators and T-rexes but certainly Shankar and Srinivasan - vfx, would have got valuable pointers from the legend. May Sujatha and Stan's souls rest in peace!

What could have potentially been a Super-star Sci-fi cult movie becomes a sci-fi movie for the super-star! It would attain cult status in Indian cinema though and will almost carve a niche in the world of sci-fi.

2.5 / 5