Tag Archives: Hoyte Van Hoytema

Spectre (2015)

Spectre review.

written by Souranath Banerjee

Few spectacular action sequences that struggles to patch up a very disoriented plot line.

My Ratings: 3/5.

spectre-poster6In 1953, novelist Ian Fleming created the fictional British spy James Bond (code name 007), and ever since, the daring MI6 special agent has managed to entertaining us (through his books and films) by taking up some of the most dangerous missions while valiantly serving his country!

And it’s early Christmas for all the James Bond fans out there (including me), the 24th Bond film is finally released, it’s called Spectre.

James Bond played by the dashing Daniel Craig (his 4th Bond film till date), along with renowned actors Christoph Waltz, Ralph FiennesBen WhishawAndrew Scott and the sizzling Léa Seydoux and Monica Bellucci.  

From talented director Sam Mendes, who also directed the last super hit Bond film Skyfall and is rumored to be directing the next one as well, Bond 25.

spectre-poster2Spectre 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.

An intense Bond and Blofeld confrontation drama was expected from Spectre but instead, mostly due to the lack of a strong script, there seems to be a complete absence of emotional storytelling.

And even the dialogues, the witty punch lines (which is one of Bond’s speciality) are rare to find.

The extreme action sequences, the numerous chasing stunts, the visually appealing titles in the beginning, the explosive destruction in the end, the theme music, the M, the Q, the car, the gadgets, the bond spectre-poster4girl, the villain with a master plan – you get everything as expected from a Bond movie but without much of emotions in them!

After a point of time the film kind of goes into an auto-pilot mode and lets you cruise through the so called Bond theme-park and then finally, when it comes to an end, there is No surprise, No twists – nothing!

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

On the acting department nothing extraordinary but everyone pretty much did their part. I think brilliant actors like Christoph Waltz and Ralph Fiennes are wasted because they didn’t have much of a role to show off their talents.

spectre-poster3Overall, definitely not the best Bond movie i have seen.

Then again, the sheer excitement of watching the iconic black-suited man walking through the circles and then shooting at you, the red curtain of blood coming down with the classic bond theme music in the background – all that in the big screen is always something to look forward to.

And now, a long wait for Bond 25. Hope it’s worth the wait.

P.S. – Thank God, we ‘sanskari’ Indians are prohibited from viewing all the sinful kissing scenes which were so abruptly edited out; our protective and caring Indian Censor Board have saved our moral and culture once again! Applause.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com.

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Interstellar (2014)

My Ratings: 4/5.

Interstellar is the latest by the acclaimed director Christopher Nolan.

Nolan is a genius, the guy who has been entertaining us with a string of amazing films like Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Night, Inception; he is undoubtedly one of the best directors of our times.

And over the years we, the audience have put such immense faith in him that we believe Nolan can never go wrong, he can never make anything less than a masterpiece. Though he tried to prove us wrong a couple of years back by making The Dark Night Rises but we still insist on claiming it as yet another Nolan-classic!

Well, now it’s Interstellar’s turn to take a dip in the Holy waters.

Don’t get me wrong here – honestly I liked Interstellar very much. It’s a great concept (writers Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan) – such level of imagination and so well executed.

interstellar 1A Sci-Fi starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathway and Jessica Chastain, Interstellar is a film about space and black holes, about dimensions and relativity; and then again it’s also about love and betrayal.

A town covered with dirt straight from the pages of John Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes Of Wrath, the film starts off growing on the general idea that our beloved planet may not be the permanent residence for us. The earth-resources all used up we need to find a new place, a new planet to survive.

And soon the expedition begins.

The first half of Interstellar is intense and full of adventure and then Matt Damon joins the party and make things even more interesting.

But the final Bollywood-touch of a father-daughter connection that miraculously solves all the mysteries of the universe is well a bit something to chew on.

But after all it’s Nolan and no one dares to complain.

interstellar-2Excellent acting by Mathew McConaughey (Cooper) and especial mention for Mackenzie Foy, a truly talented young actor playing Murph (Cooper’s daughter).

Great musical score by none other than Hans Zimmer and awesome visuals by Hoyte Van Hoytema.

Interstellar is a good film, actually a great film but the tremendous effort  to make it the ultimate classic – the best-space film ever existed – even better than Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey or Tarkovsky’s Solaris does make you fully aware of such dimensions like time and gravity and it’s a good thing they exist.

A must see especially for the Sci-Fi lovers. A lot of interesting and weird takes on relativity that will make you think and discuss about the film long after you are out of the cinema hall.

Even I am a Nolan-fan myself but a request to all you fellow film-lovers – please don’t judge a particular film by keeping in mind the past films of the filmmaker. That may bias your judgments a little.

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