Category Archives: Articles on Cinema

The best articles from Cinema Forensic. Enjoy!

Robert Pattinson – Batman or Bust?

Written by Maria Hart

There was as much love as there was hate for Ben Affleck’s portrayal of the iconic character of Batman in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the follow-up Justice League. But whether you loved Affleck as Batman or hated it, we now know that he will not be returning to the role.

Ben Affleck as Batman. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

According to DC comics news, in 2021 DC is planning a solo Batman film simply (and aptly) titled: The Batman. And now, we’ve learned the none other than Robert Pattinson is finalized to take up the role of the Caped Crusader in the much-anticipated 2021 release.

Matt Reeves (director of Cloverfield (2008), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)) is going to be at the helm of the project with Robert Pattinson going to play the leading man. In case you’ve been under a rock, we are talking about Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame.

As might have been expected, this announcement of the Twilight star taking up the cape and cowl of a beloved character like Batman has sparked a lot of chatter online. Is he the right guy for this job? Will people be able to get over his vampire roots in order to play a blockbuster character like Batman?

These and many other questions are flying around the internet. But we thought it’d be good to take a step back and look at the history of Batman in films. Perhaps that will give us some perspective on how to fit Robert Pattinson in for this role.

Batman Films Throughout the Last Century.

Lewis G. Wilson holds the distinction of being the first big-screen Batman all the way back in 1943. That’s right, Batman has been in movies since the middle of World War II! Wilson was only 23 at the time. There was a show in 1949 called Batman & Robin in which Robert Lowery played Batman. With not much background in film, Lowery was initially a bit of a surprise to get the role.

If you ever had the pleasure of coming across Adam West’s version of Batman starting in 1966, then you know that some versions of Batman are not quite as moody and serious as more recent versions. West went on to voice Batman through some animated versions of the superhero starting with 1977’s The New Adventures of Batman. He was literally the voice of Batman for almost 20 years.

Michael Keaton as Batman. Batman Returns (1992)

Then we all remember Michael Keaton’s take on the superhero in 1989 with Batman and then Batman Returns in 1992. It was at this point that Hollywood started to realize what they had in the Batman character. Which explains why 2005-2010 saw a whole bunch of Batman movies starting with Val Kilmer then moving on to George Clooney and then moving on to Christian Bale’s iconic performance in Christopher Nolan’s legendary Batman trilogy.

All of that leads us up to 2016 when Ben Affleck became the Batman. And while some hated it and some loved it, it was just not destined to last for very long. Affleck leaving the role left people asking – who will take up the cape now? And now we know – Robert Pattinson is the guy.

The newest version of Batman is coming to theaters in the summer of 2021. This solo film is going to be an interesting development in the character.

Can Robert Pattinson Pull It Off?

Prior to the internet, people’s opinions of who was acting as Batman were largely unknown. However, in this digital age, an announcement as big as who the next Batman will be is definitely going to be met with a lot of positive and negative comments regardless of who it is.

Robert Pattinson is no exception!

Fan poster of Robert Pattinson as Batman

Some people are arguing that Robert Pattinson is the perfect choice for Batman. Man has cited the fact that he’s already proved that he can pull off the moody, mysterious type of character. Being a teenage vampire for 4 different movies certainly will give you some practice in being moody and mysterious. Like Edward Cullen in Twilight, Pattinson had a lot of time and room to grow and develop as an actor. Add to that the fact that he already has a very large and very loyal fan base, commercially, casting him as the next Batman could bring in a whole new segment of viewers to the new movie.

Another reason put forth is that Pattinson has the right kind of look to play Batman. The same could not be said for every actor who has played Batman.

But while to some people, Pattinson’s work on Twilight is seen as a huge plug, others see it as a huge negative. There’s a large slice of the population that literally hate Twilight and argue that the main actors (Pattinson included) did a bad job of acting. Whether this is true or not, many people are up in arms, calling for Pattinson to reject the deal.

Something to remember is that Twilight was quite a while ago. Pattinson has continued to act and improve his abilities. In fact, he’s made a fairly successful career so far. Pattinson’s work in Good Time and High Life were pretty well received and showed that the actor had more range than he showed in Twilight.

It’s way too early to tell whether or not Robert Pattinson is the right guy for the job. There are countless examples of casting decisions that were decried as horrible at first that turned out to be genius later on. Let’s hope Robert Pattinson as Batman will be one of those choices.

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com, sunny99.iheart.com

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir – trailer Launch

written by Souranath Banerjee

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir: The trailer launch.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
The Fakir in mid-air!

When you enter a movie theatre you don’t really expect to see a colourfully dressed Fakir (wearing a turban and cool shades) sitting calmly in mid air without any visible support, right in front of the auditorium gate! Cheerful people are busy taking selfies with the pious man who certainly doesn’t seem to mind all the attention.

And this is exactly how you know that you have reached the right location, the right event – the Trailer Launch at Juhu PVR for the film The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir.

Ajatashatru Lavash Patel has lived all his life in a small Mumbai neighborhood tricking people with street magic and fakir stunts. He sets out on a journey with the intention to find his estranged father, but instead gets dragged on a never-ending adventure.

An adaptation of Romain Puértolas‘s best selling novel by the same name, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir (English) and Pakkiri (Tamil) will release on 21st June all across the world – in India, Singapore, Malaysia, USA, UK, Canada and Sri Lanka.

An official French – Indian – Belgian production!

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
The event had just started.

And so back at the trailer launch, buzzing with reporters and film-industry people all waiting for the event to start, but in the midst of all the filmy crowd the most happy-faces were of those many die-hard fans patiently waiting for their Superstar, the Hero, the Lifeline of the movie to arrive, none other than Mr.Dhanush.

The rest of the cast include some big names from around the world, the likes of Bérénice BejoErin Moriarty, Barkhad Abdi and Gérard Jugnot.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
The man himself!

Finally Dhanush walked into the theatre and the show began! We watched the trailer amidst deafening whistles and shrieks from Dhanush-fans which is a sure sign that the audience are more than ready to love the extraordinary journey of this Fakir!

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Director Ken Scott hugging Dhanush.

Then as the trailer ended with huge applause and appreciations, Dhanush spoke a bit about the film, his first International movie experience, his on-set chemistry with the other actors and specially about his bonding with director Ken Scott. Then he spoke directly to his euphoric fans and answered some questions from the audience – Dhanush is such a soft spoken, modest and down to earth person. A real Star, a real gentleman.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Dhanush interacting with the audience!

Others on the stage were the producers of The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir – Saurabh Gupta, Gulzar Inder Singh Chahal, Aditi Anand, Samir Gupta, Piiyush Singh and music director/singer Amit Trivedi.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Ken Scott

Director Ken Scott spoke about his own experiences of visualising the film, interacting with Dhanush and the overall creative process.

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Saurabh Gupta

Among the producers Saurabh Gupta and Aditi Anand put forward some interesting insights as to how the story of the Fakir had begun, the idea, the initiation, the collaborations, the challenges – an extraordinary journey indeed!

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Aditi Anand

Amit Trivedi guaranteed us that the music and songs in the film will be something to look forward to!

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Amit Trivedi

Finally it was the end of a superbly entertaining trailer launch, and when Dhanush was accompanied by Aishwarya on stage the shutterbugs went crazy!

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir
Aishwarya with Dhanush

Save the date, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir aka Pakkiri (Tamil) will release on 21st June. You won’t dare want to miss Dhanush’s first International movie on the big screen – do you?

Image courtesy: @CinemaForensic

The Shining – a plethora of confusions, reincarnations, theories and assumptions!

The Shining – a plethora of confusions, reincarnations, theories and assumptions!

written by Sebastian DK

In the year 1980, Stephen King‘s famous novel The Shining got adopted into a feature film (by the same name), directed by none The-Shiningother than Stanley Kubrick, casting Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers among others. A film that became a cinematic milestone and since then being celebrated around the globe as one of the top psychological horror movie ever made!

But then, how many of you have watched The Shining more than once just to comprehend the overall notion of the film – please raise your hands!

Well, to be honest I personally needed repeated viewings of this mystic feature in order to grasp the various complexities in the The-Shiningstoryline and also to dismantle the various theories that circles around this Kubrick classic.

And here are a few such theories that I hope will clear out some of the doubts which invariably people have after watching The Shining for the first time!

/ The 1921 Jack Torrance Photograph Confusion

I think this confusion could be cleared up to some extent (though not completely) with the help of certain points/facts placed under two theories: a) The Reincarnation Theory, and b) The Absorption Theory.

Before reading, keep in mind the fact that the hotel only reveals its dark magic when people are alone there. By isolating its inhabitants, the hotel illustrates how people behave differently when they know there’s no one else around.

a) The Reincarnation Theory:

There are many (tiny, easy to miss) hints throughout the film that suggest that Jack had been at the hotel before, and the present Jack The-ShiningTorrance is actually a reincarnation of the old Jack. These four hints stated below are the ones I found out to be the most significant:

* The bedroom conversation scene between Jack and his wife Wendy, in which Jack says, “I feel as if I had been here before”. One of the very first hints, and it actually points straight at ‘reincarnation’.

* In the washroom, Delbert Grady, during a conversation with Jack, says, “You’ve always been the caretaker. I’ve always been here”. Delbert implies that it was actually Jack, and not him, who was the The-Shiningactual caretaker of the hotel.

* During a conversation with the ghostly bartender Lloyd, Jack exclaims, “I like you, Lloyd. I always liked you”. Now that’s a strong suggestion that Jack sure had visited this place before, no?

* Jack is always at ease while being around or with ghosts. Though negligible, this fact is also a tiny suggestion that Jack was very much a part of The Overlook Hotel, in a different life, at a different time, and since he is used to it, he therefore blends in pretty well with the ghosts at the party/ball. Its all a normal occurrence to Jack, and that’s what Kubrick wants to show us.

b) The Absorption Theory:

Okay, if you wish to dismiss the idea of Jack’s reincarnation, go ahead, I say! Yeah we could do that since there isn’t anything solid The-Shiningthat confirms it, just mere dialogues that could very well be ignored. Now let’s look at it from a different angle.

It is possible to place a fact stating that “the photo might signify that Jack has been ‘absorbed’ from the present into the hotel’s past”. What if (a strong “if” here) Jack is a normal person who has been sucked into the hotel’s darkly violent spirit? My point is, its a horror movie adorned with a smooth touch of the supernatural, no? The message in that scenario might be that we can’t escape such powerful histories or forces of evil, and The Overlook Hotel was itself built on stolen native land and founded on cruelty.

Now we sure can give Jack the title of Mr. Protagonist, and the title The-Shiningof Mr. Antagonist to The Overlook Hotel. Funny, but actually makes (a little) sense!

In the reincarnation theory, Jack was always a part of the hotel. In the absorption one, Jack is merely sucked into it. Either way, Jack becomes a part of the hotel’s history and that’s all there is to it.

Many other things also come into play, like ‘environmental isolation leading to madness’, and (I’m repeating here) The Overlook Hotel itself being a supernatural evil spirit (“Delbert Grady opening the door to set Jack free” is a valid strong point as in this scene a supernatural force does a ‘real’ thing). But, to be honest, there is no specific clear explanation to anything at all, and I think the director intended to keep it that way.

/ The Charles And Delbert Grady Confusion

What about the two Gradys? Ever noticed Charles Grady being mentioned only once, while Delbert Grady is seen several times in the movie? Think it was a mistake on Kubrick’s part?
Confusing, no? I agree!

Ok here’s what…..
* The hotel manager tells Jack that his predecessor did hire a
‘Charles Grady who was totally normal to begin with, but lost his
The-Shininghead because of cabin fever (environmental isolation) and murdered his wife and two daughters and subsequently took his own life with a shotgun’. Nobody mentions Charles post that scene. (correct me if I’m mistaken, I don’t remember hearing ‘Charles Grady’ more than once)

* As for bald Delbert Grady, well, he is seen quite a few times in the movie. That dude is like a bad disease that won’t go away!
In the washroom, Jack encounters Delbert’s ghost (their first
meeting) and addresses him as the caretaker, also adding that he
recognized Delbert from the newspapers. But Delbert only replies
The-Shiningback saying that the caretaker is in fact Jack himself and not him (already stated above). Remember Delbert saying that one of his daughters attempted to burn the hotel down, so he had to ‘correct’ (kill) them, and also his wife when she interfered.

* Striking Common Fact: Charles and Delbert both ‘had a wife and two daughters each, and both committed familicide’.

So, about the confusion surrounding the two Gradys, I guess its possible to place three contrasting facts:

* Well, if ‘reincarnation’ is the trend here, then its possible that one
is the reincarnation of the other, and that both are from the past (Jack’s past).

The-Shining* Filmmaker’s error with the names.
I’m not neck-deep into this as Stanley Kubrick is one of the finest guys in the business. But he is also human. What do y’all think?

* Fun fact: What was baldo’s full name again?
Could be “Delbert Charles Grady” or even “Charles Delbert Grady”.
I mean, it sure is yet another strong fact that sure as hell satisfies the condition!

Hope this post clears most of the confusions surrounding the movie The Shining. Undoubtedly one of the most confusing, multilayered film, but then I believe that’s exactly the reason why it is also one of the greatest, and of all time!

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com

The Rage – a Psychological Thriller (Short Film)

The Rage – a Psychological Thriller (Short Film)

The Rage is a psychological thriller that explores the relationship between sex, anger and violence. Take an atmospheric trip into the life of Oscar as he deals with his rage and the decision it drives him to make.

Directed by Alrik Bursell, starring Oakland California actors, L. Jeffrey Moore, Sophia LaPaglia and Gretta Sosine, The Rage challenges our understanding of sex and violence, and the passion that can come out of anger.

There is nudity and violence in the film so it’s totally NSFW.

Writer/Producer/Star – L. Jeffrey Moore

https://www.ljeffreymoore.com

The Rage is a fictional diary of my thoughts in my personal life as both a father and a black man dealing with a wide myriad of things. I wrote this knowing that not everyone would like it or want to see it, and honestly I’m fine with that. Art isn’t necessarily made to be liked the-rageby all audiences. Art is an expression of the human experience and should not be afraid to push boundaries, The Rage is no different.

The film started as the simple yet complex thought of a man, put in a situation where his role as a husband and “provider” are questioned, and the toll it can take on him.

Writer/Producer/Director – Alrik Bursell

http://www.bursellproductions.com/the-rage

When Jeff first brought the The Rage to the table I saw that this was a story I related to, not only as a man but as a person having gone through a tough relationship. We wanted to translate into a film that the-ragehad no voice over and no dialogue. Given the intense graphic material, I knew I wanted to keep it raw in translating it into a film and that we wanted to make a statement through the story. What Jeff and I came up with was a metaphor using the sex and violence to deliver a message as the story unfolds.

Like Jeff said, this film won’t make everyone happy, but I hope it will get every person who watches it talking and open up discussions about violence, sex and anger, so we can help keep all of our the-rageemotions in check.

We did a kickstarter to raise about a third of the budget for the film, the other two thirds was paid out of pocket.

Here is more information about the podcast, we had our star Sophia LaPaglia on this weeks episode to talk about nudity in film and we are going to have Jeff on next week to talk about making polarizing films.
We’ve been making this podcast for almost three years now and it’s just a forum for indie filmmakers to talk about their struggles making their films. My co-host Timothy Plain pulled this quote from the-rageone of our episodes of me describing what the podcast is.

“Who am I to even have a podcast? Why is my opinion more valid than anyone else? In some ways it’s not, but that’s also kind of the point. We’re just two examples of people making movies in our own ways. We’re not any more special than any other filmmaker. There’s nothing about us that makes us any different or unique. We’re just doing it. And I think that’s the point, just go out and do it, make your movies. And these are the struggles that we face and this is how we’re trying to overcome them.”

Poster courtesy: Alrik Bursell and his production team.

Oscar Nominations 2018 Best Picture – what’s your call?

Oscar Nominations 2018 Best Picture – what’s your call?

written by Souranath Banerjee

Oscar Nominations 2018 Best Picture: Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (for the second time), on this March 4th evening we have a date with our beloved movies from 2017 – the nominations for the Oscars – The 90th Academy Awards ceremony traditionally presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

After last year’s La La Land hiccup and Moonlight‘s sudden triumph speculating this year’s Best Picture has certainly become more difficult a task but have to admit the fun remains the same, even more!

In total nine nominations for Best Picture and I have listed them according to my order of liking, in a way keeping my favourite one in the number 1 spot. You all do your own homework, predict, guess and wonder, and let’s see who can hit the bull’s eye!

9. Darkest Hour

A historical biography directed by Joe Wright which in total has six Oscar nominations this year!

The film revolves around the early days of World War II when Churchill was appointed the British Prime Minister and showed immense character that changed history forever.

Gary Oldman is undoubtedly an actor par excellence and his performance as Winston Churchill is awe-inspiring (every chance of winning the Male Leading Role). But I am real doubtful about the movie winning big this year.

8. Dunkirk

Directed by Christopher Nolan and brilliant music by Hans Zimmer (will probably win the for his Original Score).

Another film about World War II portraying the tensed war-front drama when soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France were at the mercy of the German Army.

In total eight nominations, though there are no acting or writing nominations and I think the movie won’t run till the end round of this year’s Oscar race.

7. The Post

The epic battle between the press and the government, a dangerous mission taken up by female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to unmask a massive coverup.

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks together, that too directed by Steven Spielberg – this movie seems to be the perfect Oscar recipe but yet for me this is not really the Best Picture of last year.

6. Lady Bird

A delightful coming of age story of an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl and her chemistry between her friends and relatives – especially the love-hate relationship with her mother.

Directed by Greta Gerwig and brilliantly performed by Saoirse Ronan this is one film I absolutely enjoyed watching but still am not so sure about its Oscar win.

5. Phantom Thread

Paul Thomas Anderson collaborates with none other than Daniel Day-Lewis (supposed to be his last movie as an actor).

Superbly artistic, a visual treat that portrays the early world of fashion through the romance between a renowned dressmaker and his muse – a beautiful and determined young girl.

But then again the movie winning the Oscar – a bit doubtful scenario.

4. Get Out

An African-American guy meets his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend but things are not exactly what it seems to be. There lies some dark dangerous secrets that changes his life forever.

Now a low budget horror thriller gets nominated in the Best picture category – well, that’s a first!

Jordan Peele‘s direction and Daniel Kaluuya acting are spot on; though honestly to me the film apparently doesn’t look like a tough competition as an Oscar contender but you never know, unpredictability is the name of the game!

3. Call Me by Your Name

A summertime gay romance between a 17-year-old boy and a twenty-something man who has visited Italy as the young boy’s father’s research assistant.

(Click for Review)

A beautifully shot film directed by Luca Guadagnino and superb performances by Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet. Though not nominated in the direction, cinematography or editing categories it is a tough aim for the big spot but then if the movie snatches the Oscar I would  say it totally deserved it.

2. The Shape of Water

An incredible love-story between a mute lady-janitor and an amphibious creature that being held captive at a top secret research facility.

With 13 nominations, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and a superb performance by Sally Hawkins this visually stunning movie probably has the highest bets for the award. My favourite too. Fingers crossed!

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Three billboards asking for justice – a mother’s unique way of challenging the authorities who failed to capture her daughter’s murder.

Directed by Martin McDonagh and a powerhouse of brilliant acting from Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell (sure will get awards for Female Leading Role or/and Supporting Male Role).

With total seven nominations, brilliantly written and shot with great precision – this is my most favourite film of last year and I hope this film gets its due i.e the Oscar of course!

Similar Interest: Best of 2017 you may have missed!

Similar Interest: Best of World Cinema 2017

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.com

Oscar Nominations are here!

Oscar Nominations are here!

written by Souranath Banerjee

The 89th annual Academy Award nominations, the Oscar nominations, the entries for the biggest entertainment award ceremony of the world is just been announced!

And this year we have La La Land leading the pack with 14 nominations, a tie with Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950) for moonlight-postermost nominations for a single film.

Then again we have some brilliant films like the sci-fi drama Arrival and the coming-of-age story Moonlight with eight nominations.

And then, a unique historical war-film Hacksaw Ridge, a superb drama ‘based on a true story’ Lion, and the sad yet poetic Manchester by the Sea, each entitled for six nominations!

In total 24 categories, and the final award ceremony itself will be on Sunday, February 26.

For now, let the Oscar race begin!

You can watch the announcement on the Oscars’ official YouTube channel, which is also embedded above.

Poster courtesy: www.imdb.comwww.impawards.com.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – it’s all about HOPE!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – it’s all about HOPE!

written by Twishashish Roy

If you’re a fan of the Star Wars series two things apply to you. One, you are NOT confused by the order in which they release their movies because you’re used to  Yoda talking and two, you have seen Rogue One.

Now for those of you who haven’t, I suggest that you don’t read this rogue-one-poster12articles because this contains spoilers.

Rogue One directed by Gareth Edwards in a way changed the way I looked at the original series. Now, it doesn’t have any massive plot twists but perhaps reflects on one of the messages from the series.  HOPE!

Now anyone who has seen the original trilogy would think that the title for Episode IV was a reference towards Luke. Luke being a ‘New Hope’ in dark times.  And probably that is what was meant. However, Rogue One makes you look at the Hope message from the series in a very different way. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) was not a Jedi.  She was a simple warrior who went into war against the evil Empire on nothing but hope.

Rebellions are made on hope”, she said.  The Empire brings a monarchy in the Galaxy. They want to introduce a submissive rule.  The Death Star will bring that submissive rule. Jyn Erso and the rogue-one-poster10warriors of Rogue One have something to say about this.

And if you look at it, it was their sacrifice that ultimately helped Luke, Leia and Han to destroy the Death Star. And like Leia (Ingvild Deila) said at the end of the movie, Rogue One sent them, “ Hope”.

What this says is that A New Hope not only referred to Luke but to the entire Rebellion. The War to not fall under the Evil Emperor’s submission.  And all if it happened because of a decoy imperial starship named Rogue One.

Rogue One, may the force be with you.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

2016 Oscar Winners leaping ahead!

2016 Oscar Winners leaped ahead! 

written by Souranath Banerjee

It is that time of the year when decisions are made and a few extraordinary artists take the leap ahead with the golden statues shining in their hands.

Pic-12Yes, the time for the 2016 Oscar winners!

The competition was exceptionally tough this year (just like any other year), and though we always like to say that everyone nominated are all winners but then sadly, only some people actually win.

Here are the movies that ruled the Oscar stage yesterday and a flashback of all these films for a quick recap.

Spotlight (Won 2 awards)

Category: Best Picture and Original Screenplay (Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy)

spotlight-poster2My Ratings: 4.4/5. 

‘Since All the President’s Men in 1976, I think this film here, Spotlight, has taken the theme of ‘reporters unveiling a conspiracy theory’ to a new height of extraordinary.’

‘Written and directed by Tom McCarthy (his directional debut The Station Agent is one of my all time favorite), and here also, he has done a tremendous job. The pace and the overall effect of the film is so intense that it gives you the feel of a classic thriller. ‘

 

The Revenant (won 3 awards)

Category: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Director (Alejandro Inarritu) and for Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki)

revenant-poster2My Ratings: 4.4/5.

‘there is an immense amount of expectation for Mr. Iñárritu’s latest film The Revenant, and then again, when the ever-impressive Leonardo DiCaprio is in the lead, tagging with him all that debate about – can this be finally Leonardo’s Oscar moment or not?’

‘the film is shot by ace cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki who has already won two Oscars for his brilliant camera work in films Birdman and Gravity.’

 

Mad Max: Fury Road (won 6 awards)

Category: Best Editing (Margaret Sixel), Best Sound Mixing (Chris Jenkins, Greg Rudloff and Ben Osmo), Best Sound editing (Mark Mangini and David White), Best Production Design (Colin Gibson), Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan) and Best Make Up and hair Styling (Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin).

mad-max-poster6My Ratings: 4.1/5.

‘A two hours non-stop action extravaganza, a roller coaster ride of brutal excitement, insane adrenaline rush and high-octane drama.’

‘a super-fast editing by Margaret Sixel and Jason Ballantine perfectly complements the mood of the film.’

‘Minimal use of dialogues, quick introduction of characters and real horrific violence – Mad Max: Fury Road is a treat for action genre lovers. Undoubtedly the best action flick of recent times.’

 

Room

Category: Best Actress (Brie Larson)

room-poster1My Ratings: 4.4/5.

‘Specially Brie Larson who as the protective mother, dealing with her certitudes and also her vulnerabilities has given one of the best performances I have seen in a long time!’

‘Essentially it’s a thriller that involves the account of a daring attempt to slip away from the clutches of a ruthless kidnapper but on a deeper note the film is a complex sensitive drama and an expert dissection of human psychology.’

 

The Big Short 

Category: Best Adopted Screenplay (Charles Randolph and Adam McKay)

big-short-poster2My Ratings: 4/5.

‘Based on the book with the same name by financial journalist Michael Lewis, co-writer and director Adam McKay has been successful in adding enough humor to dilute the financial jargon and make the film coherent for everybody.’

‘focuses on a group of people who noticed and predicted the devastating financial crisis well ahead and even profited from it!’

 

The Danish Girl

Category: Best Supporting Actress (Alicia Vikander)

danish-girl-poster1My Ratings: 3.8/5.

Only such powerful acting could hold the film together with enough distinction.

‘to an utter surprise to his wife Gerda, Einar has a sudden urge to change his sexual orientation and reveals that he actually wants to be Lili in her real life; he claims that he seems to be a women trapped in a man’s body!’

 

Bridge of Spies

Category: Best Supporting Actor (Mark Rylance)

bridge-of-spies-poster1My Ratings: 3.8/5.

‘Bridge of Spies is actually a biopic on American insurance-attorney James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks)’

‘Firstly, he had to defend a captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in the American court of justice and then, he was recruited by the CIA and sent to the-then hostile Germany (Berlin being partitioned) to negotiate a spy-exchange mission between the two rival countries – America and Russia.’

 

Ex Machina

Category: Best Visual Effects (Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett)

ex-machina-poster3My Ratings: 4/5.

‘But the real winner in this 1 hour 48 min futuristic drama is the brilliant use of visual effects. The amazing special effects give the film it’s much necessary believability.’

‘A bit slow paced maybe, and mostly dialogue based but in spite of not being personally a fan of Sci Fi movies, i find it pretty impressive.’

 

Spectre

Category: Best Original song (Song: Writing’s On The Wall, music and lyric: Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith)

spectre-poster6My Ratings: 3/5.

‘Though music by Thomas Newman is as usual effective and blends well with Hoyte Van Hoytema‘s cinematography.’

‘Spectre starts with a thrilling helicopter sequence in Mexico that promises a power pact film but unfortunately, by the end of it’s almost two and a half hours run time, the film struggles to keep you entertained.’

 

Inside Out

Category: Best Animated Feature Film (Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera)

Inside-Out-Poster2My Ratings: 4.5/5.

‘This 94 min film gives the children their beloved world of funny characters and colorful fantasy but at the same time it offers enough scope for serious thoughts (and admiration) for the grown-ups.’

‘Superb voice overs by a variety of talented artists. Animation quality at it’s best but again that is kind of expected from a Pixar feature. But the best part of Inside Out is its concept – so brilliantly innovative!’

 

Bear Story – Animated Short Film (Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala)

The Hateful Eight – Original Score (Ennio Morricone)

Stutterer – Live Action Short Film (Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage)

Pic-11Amy – Best Documentary – Feature (Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees)

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness – Best Documentary – Short Subject (Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy)

Son of Saul – Best foreign language film (Country: Hungary; Directed by László Nemes)

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.comoscar.go.com.

2016 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture

2016 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture

written by Souranath Banerjee

On Sunday, February 28th, it’s that time of the year when they give away those awards!

Yes, on this day, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences will hand over the most prestigious awards of the entertainment world – the Academy Awards or the Oscars.

On the basis of the ‘preferential voting’ system (democratic and unbiased), all the nominees are chosen each year for the various award categories and then they simply wait, hope and pray to win!

This year Chris Rock will be hosting the award ceremony on ABC.

In total 305 feature films are competing for Best Picture nominations. Though the final and official seven/eight nominated ones will be announced on Thursday, January 14th, it’s always fun to guess, predict and anticipate a little before hand.

So let the predictions for the ‘Best Picture’ category begin!

10. Beasts of No Nation (Netflix)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xb9Ty-1frw

beasts-of-no-nation1An African country at war, where violence is routine and murder is the law.

Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, this is the story of a kid who is forced to join a group of soldiers and take up the gun to fight and kill people.

A raw and deadly film that shows the emotional turmoil of a child soldier. And surely a favorite in the Oscar race.

9. Carol (The Weinstein Company)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4z7Px68ywk

carol-poster1The combination of New York in 1950s and Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, and a perfect love story.

Full of emotions and breathtaking visuals, superb music and brilliant acting – the film is a complete package of aw

Directed by Todd Haynes, this one is a favorite of mine as well as the Oscar nominees. 

8. Youth (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T7CM4di_0c

Youth-poster2Michael CaineHarvey KeitelRachel Weisz and director Paolo Sorrentino cooks up one of the best mouthwatering cinema of this year.

(click for the review)

A film that reflects on the youth and relishes the old age with the same intensity. It deals with friendship, love, marriage, lust, professions, emotions and above all emotions. I bet my

7. The Hateful Eight (The Weinstein Company)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRbXn4-Yis

hateful-eight-posterQuentin Tarantino is back with his 8th film and along with Samuel L. JacksonKurt RussellJennifer Jason Leigh and Tim Roth among others this one gets as gritty and violent as you can expect it to be.

Powerful performances with awesome visuals and a superbly entertaining story line.

An Oscar favorite because ‘No one comes up here without a damn good reason’. 

6. Brooklyn (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15syDwC000k

brooklyn-poster11950s Brooklyn as the backdrop, the film is about an Irish immigrant’s life, her love story and her past, and the choices she makes.

Directed by John Crowley, and outstanding performance by Saoirse Ronan, this is a film that breadths perfection.

My personal favorite and I wish it all the luck for the tough Oscar chart ahead.

5. Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Brothers)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEJnMQG9ev8

mad-max-poster5In the year 1979 Mad Max was established – a drifter, a loner and of course mad as hell. And this is the latest addition to the popular franchise.

(Click for the review)

Powerful, dramatic and full of energy, directed by George Miller, this is undoubtedly the best action flick of 2015 and a leader in the Oscar race for the ‘Best Picture’. 

4. The Revenant (20th Century Fox)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoebZZ8K5N0

revenant-posterDirected by Alejandro González Iñárritu (whose film Birdman won the ‘best director’, ‘best picture’ and ‘best screenplay’ awards last year), has come up with this brilliant tale of an explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio).

A fur trading expedition in the 1820s; inspired by true events this is an epic adventure, a quest for survival and also a sure favorite in this year’s Oscar.

3. The Big Short (Paramount Pictures)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDlYm15ztK4

big-short-posterWhen Christian BaleSteve CarellRyan Gosling and Brad Pitt come together – you know it’s worth it. 

Directed by Adam McKay, this is a biographical account of the time (mid 2000) when there was a financial crisis in the US, and four individuals decided to fight the greedy banks for their lack of foresight.

Looks like a pretty sure thing for the award ceremony. Watch out!

2. Room (A24 Films)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_Ci-pAL4eE

room-posterAdopted from Emma Donoghue‘s famous novel, this is one unique story of a five-year old boy who is told by his loving mother that their 10-by-10 foot ‘room’ is the only world that exists! 

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, a brilliant film that surely is becoming people’s favorite and a likely contestant for the Oscar.

Brilliant performance by Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay

  1. Spotlight (Open Road Films)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwdCIpbTN5g

spotlight-poster1Probably the most significant cinema on ‘journalism’ made after the epic All the President’s Men (1976).

Directed by Tom McCarthy, this is one film that is considered certainly as the top favorite in this year’s Oscar game.

With Mark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdams and Liev Schreiber among others this is one safe film to put your money.

and (The ‘+1′ film is not necessarily the best but certainly the most popular one).

+1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney)

Film trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE

star-wars-posterThe recently released ever popular addition to the Star Wars franchise and a sudden favorite for the Oscars.

Directed by J.J. Abrams, this film with it’s immense fan following has the potential to be a game changer in the race for this years ‘Best Picture’ Academy Awards.

By the way, this film has recreated the U.S. box office record beating James Cameron‘s Avatar!

And now the films though not included in my list but are certainly fair competition for the award: Straight Outta ComptonCreedTrumboSon of SaulBlack MassThe Danish GirlLove & MercyTangerineSicarioSteve JobsThe MartianBridge of Spies and Joy.

And finally – A Thank You to the movies of 2015.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

Angry Indian Goddesses & Kajarya – the voices of the Women of India

Angry Indian Goddesses and Kajarya – the voices of the Women of India.

This week, the voices of the women of India are doubly intensified!

written by Souranath Banerjee

It has always been a paradox that in a country like India, whose gender has been proudly defined as ‘female’; our beloved ‘mother land‘; where people visualize and worship the female form as their Goddesses but at the same time issues regarding angry-indian-godesses-poster2women empowerment‘ are still been a topic of considerable concern!

And it’s about time that the current Indian filmmakers should focus on these various dilemmas and intolerances faced by the women of our country, and portray the female sentiments, their grievances and exasperations, their demands and desires, and even their vulnerabilities on celluloid.

And the good news is, that’s exactly what they are doing!

kajarya-poster2And the result is the release of two ambitious films this week, Angry Indian Goddesses and Kajarya.

Apparently, both the movies concentrate on telling stories based on the lives of the Indian women of our current society but then again, these two films are poles apart in the way they are made and also the amount of impact they make.

Firstly, let’s talk about the much hyped film Angry Indian Goddesses made by renowned director Pan Nalin (of Samsara fame).

It’s a relatively easy-going masala film with spicy dialogues and peppy music, in a way showcasing India to the world (pretty much tailor-made for the International festivals), and definitely The ultimate manifesto of feminist problems. My Ratings: 3/5.

angry-indian-godesses-poster1Six friends (along with a maid) get together to celebrate the wedding of one of them in the ultimate fun paradise of India, Goa. And there, they not only open up to each other and discuss all their individual problems, but also get into some tough situations themselves.

And eventually the current male-dominated society makes them very angry and by the end of the film they have all become ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ (a direct reference to the angry Hindu Goddesses Kali).

Scoring points for the film are the effortless acting by the girl team Tannishtha ChatterjeeSandhya MridulSarah-Jane DiasRajshri DeshpandePavleen GujralAnushka Manchanda and Amrit Maghera And also Cyril Morin‘s music.

The film’s energy level and intention is no doubt commendable but the quest to tap on every possible female related problems along with an extra dramatic (illogical) ending; well, at least it’s entertaining but a bit too mainstream to expect from Pan Nalin i guess.

On the other hand, the film Kajarya, made by debutant writer/director Madhureeta Anand focuses on the specific problem of ‘female infanticide’ (the deliberate killing of newborn female children) and churns out a thrilling tale surrounding the issue. My Ratings: 4/5.

kajarya-posterIn a village not far from New Delhi, a young ambitious reporter named Meera (Ridhima Sud) tries to investigate a suspicious case of child sacrifice and soon meets Kajarya (Meenu Hooda) who shares some terrible facts that eventually becomes the prime media story.

But in this whole incident of finding the gruesome truth and then in the process of punishing the guilty, the lives of these two women, Meera and Kajarya become entangled in a strange way.

Brilliant acting by the two main characters, good story telling and direction, and powerful score by Richard Horowitz.

Though the ending is a bit too hasty for me but Kajarya surly raises some important questions for our society to answer, a film that doesn’t shy away from addressing such serious issues with enough courage and honesty.

Overall both the films solve their purpose, they are made for different kinds of audiences and I am sure they are successful in their own ways.

More such powerful Indian films should be made and encouraged; but then again, they shouldn’t be treated simply as a trend or the latest formula to box office success.

‘We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back’ the perfect words of wisdom by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.(also recommend He Named Me Malala, a documentary recently made on her courageous life).

Poster courtesy: www.koimoi.comwww.imdb.comfilmicafe.coindiannerve.comthereviewmonk.comwww.india.com.