Tag Archives: hollywood

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 Neon Demon Review

The Neon Demon Review

written by Souranath Banerjee

Blinding colour contrasts, a beautiful world so filled with blood and gory!   

My Ratings: 3.9/5

When you are watching a Nicolas Winding Refn film, be it the slick and classy Ryan Gosling starrer Drive (2011) or Tom Hardy‘s loud and insane performance in and as Bronson (2008); there is always something to expect, something quite out of the ordinary.

neon-demon-posterAnd even in his latest movie The Neon Demon, Mr.Refn haven’t let us down for sure.

This time he presents the unique story of ‘beauty’ and then he introduces the ‘beast’ as well, portraying the dementia and delirium that lurks behind the glitz and glamour of the fashion world!

16 year old Jesse (Elle Fanning), new to Los Angeles fashion circuit quickly manages to climb the ropes to become one of the top models making her competitors jealous and insecure. And they will do anything to get back in the game, to compete with Jesse’s spark and youth!

And before you realise, the film The Neon Demon changes from a story of a pretty vulnerable girl looking for stardom to something unimaginably horrific – often surreal but almost always effectively neon-demon-poster1disturbing.

Acting performances are top notch, specially for young Elle Fanning and Jena Malone, whose transformations in the film are simply brilliant!

Even Christina HendricksBella HeathcoteAbbey LeeDesmond Harrington demands attention. Even if you see Keanu Reeves in the film – stay calm.

Natasha Braier must be credited for the brilliance of the colour, tone and ambiance of the whole film – the feel of a brutal fantasy, a savage dream from which there is no waking up!

The Neon Demon essentially revolves around the idea of human obsession with natural beauty. Unique style and treatment, disturbingly beautiful, but then again not recommended for everybody.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

Swiss Army Man (2016)

Swiss Army Man Review

written by Souranath Banerjee

A bit over-glorified but then again, certainly the most eccentric film of this year! 

My Ratings: 3.6/5

Some films have pretty weird storylines (in Hollywood standard) but a rare few can really define the word ‘weird’ in its true context, and Swiss Army Man is one such film.

A young man named Hank (Paul Dano) gets stranded in an island all alone – yup, exactly like Tom Hanks in Cast Away but instead of a swiss-army-man-posterfloating Volleyball named Wilson, Hank gets a farting dead-body named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe)!

A dead-body who soon starts talking!

But then again, Manny is not just any ordinary talking-dead-body.

He is an unique multipurpose friendly-body who farts away on water like a speed-boat, his penis can be used as a compass, his fingers for lighting fire, his vomit as pure drinking water and he can also spit out things with superhuman velocity!

Didn’t I tell you in the beginning that this would be a very weird 1hr 37 min journey?

And so, Manny the super talented dead-body gets very friendly with Hank and tries his best to make Hank survive and return to swiss-army-man-poster1humanity or what we in general refer to as the ‘normal’!

Being a satire on our current society, writer/director duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert through their over the top loud gags and often pretty gross comic situations does manage to give us some deep imbedded messages through their film Swiss Army Man

Acting is superb, specially of Daniel Radcliffe as the dead body!

Imaginative, often really humorous and even cinematic, overall, Swiss Army Man is a film that embraces the absurdity and irrationality around us and makes us question and redefine our current social scenario (to some extent).

A decent one time watch if you can survive the repetitive dead-farts till the end!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

The Accountant (2016)

The Accountant Review

written by Souranath Banerjee

A math genius who can also kick asses big time as and when required!

My Ratings: 3.8/5

Ben Affleck is back, not exactly as ‘Batman’ but then with pretty much similar life goals to achieve – saving the weak and punishing the evil! 

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is THE accountant who works for the world’s most dangerous criminal organisations, maintaining their ledgers and straightening out their accounts.

Too many secrets to handle, he soon gets involved into a conspiracy that makes him the target. Now, when hunted by a group of ruthless accountant-posterkillers his primary goal is to save himself (which seems to be a problem too easy to handle for him) but then (to complicate things) he chooses to save the life of a junior accountant Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), an innocent girl, a victim in this dangerous racket.

The whole film revolves around this Christian Wolff’s character, who as a kid had a certain form of autism but still under his father’s strict guidance does manage to turn himself into nothing less than a superhero – a math wizard by default and also a trained warrior in all forms of combat!

Directed by Gavin O’Connor (of Warrior fame), overall The Accountant is a very well made film, subtle and surprisingly sensitive accountant-poster1inspite of being essentially an action flick. 

The supporting cast J.K. SimmonsJon BernthalCynthia Addai-RobinsonRobert C. Treveiler and John Lithgow all have managed to convincingly hold their grounds.

But the ending, by which I mean the climax of the film could have been much better if it had been a bit less dramatic – too Bollywoodish!

Other than that I somehow feel that the film is pretty similar to the ‘Solomon Grundy poem‘ (repeatedly recited by the main character as a chanting to calm himself down), where a series of events unfold in quick succession (almost on a daily basis), a tad repetitive but with a quick definite conclusion!

Definitely worth a watch for Ben Affleck’s super cool performance!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

Everybody Wants Some!! review

written by Souranath Banerjee

Philosophical, often hilarious, and otherwise pretty much Dazed and Confused!    

My Ratings: 4/5

Movies generally follow a pattern to create enough drama that eventually leads to a theatrical climax, following a conclusion that ultimately resolves all related confusions whatsoever.

But again, there are a few films that are structured exactly like a piece of life – small day to day incidents and dialogues wrapped with genuine emotions, with surprisingly non dramatic endings, more everybody-wants-some-poster1inclined to portray a realistic overview of life.

Everybody Wants Some!! is one such film, rare and ingenious!

The groovy 80s is the setup – the trendy rock and roll music, the colourful disco lit parties, youth dressed in the-then fashionable outfits, classic hairdos and stylised moustaches; and in the midst of all we have a team of young Texas college baseball jocks enjoying their moments to the fullest!

Essentially though, it’s the story of Jake (Blake Jenner), a surprisingly cool and composed freshman pitcher who steers his way through various new experiences that includes getting along with the other baseball jocks (his frat mates) and also finding love with beautiful Beverly (Zoey Deutch).

Be it BoyhoodSchool of Rock or the “Before” trilogy, when you watch a Richard Linklater movie, you never give enough credit to the actors because they look so natural – it’s like they don’t seem to act at all!

Tyler Hoechlin,  Ryan GuzmanWyatt RussellGlen PowellTemple BakerJ. Quinton JohnsonWill Brittain every one of them have put their best and made their presence felt in the film. 

everybody-wants-some-poster2Overall Everybody Wants Some!! is more focused around the ‘male bonding’ part, where a group of crazy, irresponsible, drunk, high and almost always looking for sex type of  youngsters (highly competitive as well), who share the same space and create new experiences of their own!

Crisp combination of Shane F. Kelly‘s cinematography, period-look costumes by Kari Perkins and Sandra Adair‘s editing gives the film the authenticity and edge it deserves.

A continuation to either Linklater’s previous film Dazed and Confused (1993) or may be even a follow up of Boyhood (2014) – but even as a separate individual film Everybody Wants Some!! has all the right reasons to be on every cinema-lover’s favourite list.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

Sully (2016)

Sully review

written by Souranath Banerjee

A film that restores faith in humanity as well as in good cinema!

My Ratings: 4.2/5

‘Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time.’

“Miracle on the Hudson” (as the press labeled it) happened on January 15, 2009 when Captain Chesley Sullenberger (nicknamed Sully) managed to unbelievably land an Airbus A320 right in the middle of the sully-imageHudson river without a single casualty!

Saving 155 lives, Captain Sully instantly became a hero in the eyes of the public and the press, but still there was something that bothered the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB – an independent U.S. government investigative agency.)

According to the NTSB, due to the failure of both the engines after hitting a flock of birds at an approximate altitude of 2,800 feet, the airplane had to be landed for sure but why did Captain Sully chose the freezing Hudson river to land and didn’t opt to make it back to the nearest airports – LaGuardia or Teterboro?

Now if the NTSB can prove that it’s a pilot-error, Sully’s career and reputation will be ruined forever!

A superbly constructed biography that made actor Tom Hanks and director Clint Eastwood join hands for the first time in the history of sully-poster1cinema!

A class act by Tom hanks as expected, even Aaron Eckhart as the co-pilot was just perfect.

But the best part of the film is its non-linear narrative; such clever form of story telling by the director Clint Eastwood and the editor Blu Murray.

The little details of the passengers, the fear and panic in their eyes, the confident decisions of the pilots, the thankful acknowledgement of the public, the NTSB inquiry and their simulators – the film engages you throughout it’s entire 96 minutes.

Based on the autobiography, “Highest Duty” that was co-written by Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow, undoubtedly one of the most intelligently crafted cinema you will watch this year!

P.S. – An unsolved mystery: Clint Eastwood is currently 86 years old (born in 1930) but then how come his films are yet so fresh and young and innovative?

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

The Light Between Oceans (2016)

The Light Between Oceans review

written by Souranath Banerjee

A brilliant romantic period drama – a magical experience!

My Ratings: 4.2/5

Since Blue Valentine (2010) I have religiously followed the work of film maker Derek Cianfrance. He has this unique gift of handling actors, he makes them live together on set for weeks that gives light-between-oceans-poster2Derek’s films that rare spark of casual spontaneity.

And so in Derek Cianfrance’s latest film The Light Between Oceanswith two Oscar winning actors Alicia Vikander and Rachel Weisz and one Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, you can only imagine the level of performances that are put on display!

A powerhouse of brilliant acting that teleports you to the post-WWI era (1921) in an instant.

Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a veteran of World War I and currently a lighthouse keeper discovers a row-boat that has been washed up on the shore near the lighthouse. He along with his wife Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander) finds a baby girl on that boat and decides to keep the baby as their own.

But then the distressed real mother of that baby Hannah Roennfeldt light-between-oceans-poster(Rachel Weisz) arrives and Tom’s conscience doesn’t allow him to keep away a baby from her mother!

A combination of dramatic moments and subtle sentiments; romance, agony, guilt and forgiveness – a perfect blend of emotions that makes The Light Between Oceans a classic.

Then again Alexandre Desplat‘s music perfectly justifies the fantastic way of capturing the essence of nature, specially the sea – thanks to the brilliance of cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.

Adopted from a novel by the same name, written by M. L. Stedman, this slow paced 2hr film is a treat for all cinema lovers!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

Don’t Breathe (2016)

Don’t Breathe review

written by Souranath Banerjee

Rejoice all you thriller-junkies out there, this ruthless claustrophobic film promises not to give you much of a breathing space, so don’t you dare – breathe!

My Ratings: 4.1/5

Remember the edgy climax scene from the 1991 Oscar winning film The Silence of the Lambs where FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) in pursuit of Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) gets inside this spooky basement where there is complete darkness – well, check out the scene below and refresh your memories.

And now imagine something this intense and nerve-wrecking, such acute tension boiling up scene after scene throughout the entire length of a film till the very end-titles!

Yes, that’s exactly what writer/director Fede Alvarez (of the latest dont-breathe-review-poster3Evil Dead fame) have managed to deliver and that too in an unique stylised fashion. Along with co-writer Rodo Sayagues the script of Don’t Breathe simply races forward keeping the audiences successfully uncomfortable in the darkness (still breathing i guess).

Three friends, regular small-time crooks, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) plan to rob a blind man’s house but then of course things doesn’t turn out the way they have planned (to put it in a mild way).

Believable acting by each and every one but Stephen Lang as the helpless blind man with negligible dialogues is definitely worth a dont-breathe-review-poster2special mention.

Great camera work by Pedro Luque, the camera moves around the house effortlessly pointing out objects and props-to-be-used-in-future that enhances the anticipation of the viewers, and that too well punctuated by appropriate use of neurotic music by Roque Baños.

But the spine of the film is probably it’s water-tight editing; crisp and swift, never letting the momentum fall, and for that thanks to Eric L. BeasonLouise Ford and Gardner Gould.

Don’t breathe is a film that you were waiting for. Go watch it and you will thank me later!

Poster courtesy: http://www.impawards.com

The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

The Man Who Knew Infinity review

written by Souranath Banerjee

The Man Who Knew Infinity: An important story of a legend that needed to be told for sure but at the same time could have been told in more style.   

My ratings: 3.9/5

From a poverty stricken village in Madras a young self-taught mathematical prodigy eventually becomes an elected fellow member of Trinity College, Cambridge!

Within a short life span of only 32 years this Indian math genius independently composed nearly 3,900 unique equations, most of
Srinivasa-Ramanujan-posterwhich are revered globally such as the ‘Ramanujan prime’ and the ‘Ramanujan theta function’.
 

But his hall of fame doesn’t end there; very recently (in 2012 to be exact) modern scientists have confirmed that in one of his precious (lost and found) notebook this legendary mind had scribbled certain intuitive notes that actually suggests the existence of black holes!

Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar – he is the man who indeed knew about infinity and much more.

The film The Man Who Knew Infinity directed by Matt Brown is the biographical tale of Ramanujan’s life; a bit of his personal life, his devotions and beliefs, his never ending quest for pure mathematics and mostly his unique collaboration with English mathematician G. H. Hardy.man-who-knew-infinity-poster2

First of all, let me acknowledge the fact that the very idea of making a film on Ramanujan’s life is impressive because no matter how legendary he was, but a biography on a Indian mathematician is always difficult to portray in an interesting and commercially viable manner.

But on the same note i must confess that the film could have been more innovative and appealing (specially when compared to some awesome biographies like A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game); the script could have been woven in a more endearing way not only to show the mere facts of man-who-knew-infinity-poster1Ramanujan’s life but also to make the audience really feel the genius of this man.

Dev Patel as Ramanujan though has done a great job. He is such a talented and versatile actor and I am convinced that only because of his honest attempt to portray the iconic figure that the film The Man Who Knew Infinity holds it’s ground till the end.

Jeremy Irons as G. H. Hardy is also impressive, the professor who not only recognized Ramanujan’s immense potential and helped him achieve greatness but also used his talent till exhaustion (of course for the sake of a better future of mathematics).  

Toby Jones as Littlewood, Devika Bhise as Ramanujan’s wife, Stephen FryPadraic DelaneyRichard Cunningham and all the others did
man-who-knew-infinity-postertheir part to support the main cast.

Overall The Man Who Knew Infinity is a decent film based on the life of an extraordinary man to whom our modern science and mathematics will be indebted forever.

Compared internationally to the likes of Newton and Einstein, on Ramanujan’s 125th birth anniversary in 2011, our Indian Government have declared 22nd December as the National Mathematics Day which will be celebrated every year. 

Do watch the film and henceforth don’t forget to solve at least one math problem on every 22nd of December!

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com

Mistress America (2015)

Mistress America review.

written by Souranath Banerjee

A refreshingly intelligent comedy that guarantees a smile on your face!

My Ratings: 4/5.

Personally a fan of director Noah Baumbach, who started his career Kicking and Screaming, swam around with The Squid and the Whale for good, then introduced us to the brilliant Frances Hamistress-america-poster2and While We’re Young his latest film Mistress America has finally reached us and it’s simply awesome!

A dry and witty comedy, often hilarious though, which revolves around the unique friendship of two women and their inhibitions.

‘There’s no adultery when you’re eighteen. You should all be touching each other all the time.’

‘You are much more of an asshole than you initially appear.’

‘I don’t give a shit, because I am not a friend of Tennessee Williams.’

That’s Brooke (Greta Gerwig) for you and some of her hilarious dialogues – she being the older woman and a self-proclaimed artist who is always ready with such valuable pieces of advice and comments for mistress-america-poster1her would-be step sister Tracy (Lola Kirke), a young college teen.

In the very beginning of the film Brooke, unconsciously though seduces young Tracy with the promises of the cool and carefree bohemian lifestyle of an artist in New York, but can she live up to her fancy commitments forever?

Mistress America apparently has the fluidity of an easy going comedy but the insecurities and fears, the hopes and yearnings of the characters adds so many layers to the film that it becomes a perfect light-hearted study of human psychology!

A film that hinges on the superb performances of the two lead actors.

Greta Gerwig, (unforgettable earlier performance in and as Frances Ha) in this film joins director Noah Baumbach as a co-writer and also manages to deliver superbly as an internally confused woman who mistress-america-posterdesperately wants to fit in.

And very well complemented by Lola Kirke as the young not-so-confident girl who is ready to be charmed by someone she can look up to but soon finds out how misleading the real world and it’s people can be. 

Great screenplay, crisp dialogues and terrific natural acting that makes the film a delight to watch.

Not too early to profess but Noah Baumbach for me is probably the only director who can keep up the tradition of the classic Woody-Allen-style of smart and witty comedy films in future.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.comthefilmstage.com