Saturday, July 21, 2018

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Friday, March 3, 2017

LOGAN BEST REVIEW

Yes its the save the best for the last Wolverine movie we have been waiting for so long.....but to me, its just the beginning...if Hollywood doesn't take this as a platform and launch Hugh Jackman to make some of the best Wolverine movies of all times, its going to make the worst mistake ever. A few days back a friend and me were having a discussion that how Hollywood has failed Wolverine, despite getting the best actor to don the Adamantium claws.
Hugh Jackman is Wolverine replete with panache and charisma but there is not one movie you can put a finger and say - Hey Bub - I will remember you for that!!!!
LOGAN CHANGES ALL THAT AND GIVES US AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!!!
It is by far the best superhero movie ever. It is a fiercely topical well meshed satire; an awesome back from the dead superhero movie; a fierce fun ride; a jack in the box gut hit punch; its everything and anything one would desire and wish from Wolverine, which hadn't been delivered till now.....Alas!!! if only this formula had been used earlier we would have got a couple of Wolverine movies par excellence without Hugh Jackman being relegated to playing second fiddle to all the other X-Men.
When was the last time I screamed? I guess when Batman took out Joker in his Batpod and rebounded off a wall. Well in LOGAN - I clapped, screamed and wish I could have whistled. Its exhilarating dark dull yet cool entertainment. Its spiked with Nolan's irony but is not pretentious enough to denigrate the very soul of a hero - Hope everyone gets a hint - the way Christopher Nolan and David Goyer killed Man of Steel -That's not Superman or even Jonathan Kent - Read the comics and get an understanding of the characters and then write the scripts - Dumb Bums!!!
Here that's exactly what James Mangold does - he creates a dark bleak unforgiving world but preserves Wolverine in Logan - He keeps the spirit of the killing machine alive. And that's how you make movies on superheroes. Not make Superman kill Zod and then make Batman cry " MA MA - Mere bhai tumko mein nahi maroonga""
The direction is sharp...the editing is sharper.. the sound mixing is solid....and the performances are beyond excellence. Even the cameos of the Afro- American family sheltering Logan & Co - Simple tropes but executed with finesse and skill and some quirky shock element thrown in.
Even the three act cornerstone of the narrative is well structured - Its a derivative of Old Western thrown in a with a salt of Terminator juxtaposed with Peter Pan albeit the new genre of The Maze Runner plot-line.
Hugh Jackman finally makes us feel for him as Wolverine and X23 - the girl has a nervous energy, which is quite Carrie-like and scary, yet endearing. I loved the Ryan Gosling look-alike villain - He was good fun!!!!
The bonhomie and ribbing between Xavier and Logan is magical - I cannot go on without giving spoilers therefore I won't - Just watch it tomorrow - Its a little gutsy and gory and gun-ho buts definitely the best movie playing in town.
DON'T MISS IT.
I will stop short of calling it an Oscar worthy movie, because of one reason - any well meaning gamer would realize that Logan is a very cleverly camouflaged copy of "Last of Us" This is a movie we have all watched and played before when traversing a zombie infested wasteland with Joel and Elle in "Last Of Us"
The look of Logan is completely modeled on Joel right down from his beard and shirt and jeans..some of the best father-daughter moments are complete frame by frame rip offs from the game...essentially Logan has a lot to owe LAST OF US - And that's just a tad disconcerting, when Mangold mentions Shane as his inspiration but conveniently forgets Last Of Us from where he has lifted virtually the whole canvas of Logan.
APART from that LOGAN is the best thing to have happened to the Superhero genre... its strips the super out of the man and makes him a true hero - a mere mortal all flesh and bone behind all the Adamantium.
Claw your fingers in and catch LOGAN this weekend. This is the best Wolverine movie, one of the finest superhero movies I have ever watched and a great movie in its own right...yes some of the best scenes have been snipped from the greatest Playstation Game of all times but that's us - Gamers - a perceptive lot - we play games and WE KNOW THINGS!!!
So ignore us and enjoy this unabashed glorious grunge gore fest. This is Wolverine!!!! TAKE A BOW OLD MAN LOGAN!!!
JIO BOSS!!! Aar doya kore plzz bolona SRK can play Wolverine...paglaa kaabi ki tui jhaaajhe more jaaabi....Hugh - You still have some mileage left!!
X23 and you - we can still pull out two more stories from Logan!!! Don't make this the final chapter!! Don't go when you have given the best of Wolverine now!!!

Sunday, October 2, 2016

SEVEN BEST ADVENTURE GAMES OF 2016

The games which have spellbound me in recent times.

1) Inside - Orwellian in scope and HG Wells in storytelling, this simple side scroller platformer has impressed me the most. Anyone who loved Limbo should play this game. It's a really simple game very easy to play but tough to master. This game is a prime example that you don't need super special graphics and tough controls to make a game which has a universal appeal. Recommended for novice gamers. Brilliant!!

2) Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma: I hit upon this game by accident and am completely mesmerized with this game. Anyone into Anime and Death Note and Butterfly effect and SAW, play this game. Somdipto Ghosh I think this game was made for you. If you can download and play this game. Deep, engrossing and twists you out like the roughest clothes going through a washing machine for hours. Amazing game with multiple ends and a complete brain-bender.

3) Batman - The Telltale series - After a brilliant first episode it dips fractionally in the second episode with just one crucial decision playing out which would determine the next few episodes. Yes - it's a slow burn story, which would pick up. The second episode may not be as good as the first one but still it can't take away the fact this is the first time we are seeing a unique take on " Bruce Wayne" rather than "Batman" and its covering unchartered territory dealing with his dilemmas and predicaments more than Batman. The best part of Episode two was when you are given a choice to influence a man either posing as Batman or Brice Wayne. Would you use Batman's brawn or Bruce Wayne's charm to get your way? Well - I chose Bruce Wayne - That's how this game gets to you...very interesting and dynamic!!! I have never read a Batman story like this before.

4) Pavilion - Simply put - a really stunning game. The Gameplay is so original. The developers have created a game which would be....to me..the closest I would think... if Salvadore Dali made a game.. it would be this. It's Weird Good!!! I was really blown over by the game. Very simple puzzle game but it's actually a pearl in the deepest part of the sea of games releasing every day.

5) The Bunker - My close friends who love Black Mirror and British television should play this game. It's a FMV adventure Game bringing back memories of Black Dahlia, Gabriel Knight 2 and Phantasmagoria. It's dark and bleak and acted superbly by some British actors. It's slow but it grows on you with every chapter. Solid entrant to adventure gaming.

6) Enigmatis 3 - A Wonderful Hidden Object cum puzzle cum adventure game. It's a hybrid but it's a really entertaining fun game.

7) The Detail - If you haven't played this game and you are a gamer.. then you are a DODO....Plays out like a cross between graphic novel and traditional adventure gaming mechanics it is a smashing game.

Hope some of you play games and some of you.. who don't...play a few of my recommendations, you won't be disappointed.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Rakshak Review


Finally after my fifth revisit through all the pages of Rakshak I think I am in a position to critique this awesome piece of comic book writing by Shamik Dasgupta. It took me some time as I didn't want to be hasty with my words or thoughts. At the outset I would like to say this is one of his best works and which on first glance, may seem an average fast read is actually a social commentary of our times, along with some clever genre-busting shots on one of the most endearing takes of a superhero type, which is a "human mortal" with no special superpowers, who takes on himself to right wrongs and fight against injustice. In my book, if I had to pick the best of these heroes I would go for Batman, Daredevil and Punisher. Bruce Wayne - the boy who lived with his guilt and blame; Matt Murdoch- the boy who made his blindness his strength and Frank Castle - the army man who believes in taking a bad guy out forever.Now, suppose you combine the best traits of each of these characters and build a hero- you get Captain Aditya Shergill. The way his character has been fleshed out layer by layer through some unique set pieces, sometimes amidst the din of a terrorist firefight in Kashmir or a flirtatious liaison with a pretty stranger on train or verbal tete-e-tete with his sibling or bonding with his niece or a fierce street fight with hoodlums is simply superb.

The story begins with an attack on a Lashkar hideout by MARCOS to eliminate a terrorist mastermind. A set-piece - which seemingly everyone would view as a run of the mill introduction for our hero turns out to be an eye - opening exercise for the discernible reader, when he realizes that the Indian Army is as dirty and cruel as the terrorists, whom they kill. There are some gut-wrenching tough moments, where you hold your breath and you turn a page and are horrified to see that our heroes can stoop to any levels to fulfil a military objective. It punches you hard as there is this complex interplay of myriad motives amongst these army men, a couple of whom believe ends justify means while some cling on to their shred of sanity of nobility that good is good and evil is evil. What is more striking is that by the end of the violent prelude you don't get to take a step forward with Captain Shergill. He is a cardboard cut-out hero still... but the genius of the first few pages is the sweeping oscillating emotions of a boy belonging to the terrorist camp who watches his family being massacred yet somehow tries to cling on to his innocence till the end. That's the revelation!! And once you get to grasp these character study you become aware that you are reading something infinitely special.
The story does not sag a bit from then. There is a slow build-up to the trigger points, which evoke the hero out of Captain Shergill. Its like a volcano. It shimmers, it hibernates, it growls and then it erupts. Perfectly balanced sequentially and then the pay-load is delivered "kickass" to signal the dawn of RAKSHAK. We have all seen this before but what is the clincher which makes this character special? In my view it's the subtle elaboration of his guilt contributing to the tragedy which befalls him, that pushes this story down to a quagmire of awesomeness. I feel Peter Parker's Uncle Ben trigger point is probably one of the best catalysts of a superhero saga. In "Rakshak" the trigger point is exactly framed that way. It's veiled, cloaked and like a red herring but you can smell it creeping up and that's what makes it more poignant. In fact it hits you harder because any middle-class family can identify with the scenes which lead up to the tragedy and also the act of Captain Shergill which is nothing, but just chatting on a social media website. But that's the ingenuity with which Shamik Dasgupta sculpts his story that you feel bad and rotten and know for certain that India has just become so terribly unsafe - these things could happen to you or me and its just not fiction or a movie. You need to be alert always or else life is the worst bitch in India!!!
There is a wonderful vignette between Shergil and an elderly lady in front of India Gate during a candle-light vigil in front of India Gate. It gives me the chill as she recounts her story. It's very common place but it hurts. It just spells out the disintegration of the illusion of democracy that is India. And Shergill's realization that a candle with some flames or Gandhigiri won't solve the problems of or nation. It's electrifying storytelling at its best kinda reminiscent of the Green Lantern - Green Arrow one shot where Oliver Queen rebukes Hal Jordan of the evils of society and tells him that all his superpowers in his finest green cannot make a boy forget his snuff of coke.
There are many more moments littered in this fabulous story which you will discover with numerous re-reads and that's what "RAKSHAK" is all about. It's an amazing pilot which begins with flamboyance, settles down, trudges a little, sprints through some heart-breaking episodes and then hurtles towards a thundering climax only to be cut short.....that's where my only complaint is....wish it was 12 pages more. Because it just whets your appetite and leaves you hungry for more of Captain Shergill.
The tell-tale ideas or subplots point to some interesting developments. We will definitely see Captain Shergill's niece evolve into an "Oracle" like role and he would be probably reprising a metal fist in the next episodes. Would love to have our every own Winter Soldier "RAKSHAK" take out the baddies. But these are just speculations. We can't guess for sure what runs through Shamik's brain ready to shock and surprise us with the simple turn of a page in the next issues.
Prasad Patniak is exemplary with the colours and letterings. The colours are vibrant and energetic infusing life into every pore and corner of the comic. Letterings is crisp and robust.
Pramit is pretty good with pencils. Probably he may give some thought about some of the facial features of all characters e.g. I thought Ruhi Sailo ( Shergill's railway passenger) and his sister's facial features seemed quite similar barring the hair colour. There needs to be a little diversity in the looks of each character. Probably that is one area of improvement. Secondly I also felt the word " Chinky" or "chinks" could be done away with as it has three references in the comic, which could inadvertently irk an odd reader. Just a thought!! I do understand it was written probably to inject realism and army camaraderie into proceedings but we should all be careful as we want " RAKSHAK" to grow into a global phenomenon and not get upset by any unnecessary controversy.
What else!! Nothing more to say but its a crime to not have purchased your copy of "RAKSHAK" till now. Order immediately and I promise you won't be disappointed.
Many years ago I went to watch a movie with my grandmother and its name was "PRAHAR" One of the greatest army movies ever made with a telling commentary of our times with one of the first attempts on vigilantism displayed brilliantly in very uncharacteristic Nana Patekar way minus flaring nostrils and "Ek macchar" ravings and rantings. A very cool methodical studious approach towards acting and bringing home an Indian major completely disillusioned with the Indian system all gone awry. "RAKSHAK" at some level brought back those lingering memories in me. Hope the next few issues build the momentum to a thundering climax.
All the best Yali Dreams for the forthcoming issues. RAKSHAK 1 is definitely a "hero among us - readers!!! " Keep up the good work and keep on entertaining us!!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Mohenjo Daro Review

There are two ways you can watch Mohenjo Daro. Be a boorish snob and scoff at the historical inaccuracies, giggle at the ludicrous flying crocodile, fidget about the amateurish CGI and rubbish the weak plotline.

There is another way you can approach the whole movie and actually love it. For starters appreciate that a Bollywood director has the guts to make a historical movie and attempt to make it work with utmost sincerity and dedication. I am really not much of a reviewer but I love movies and I love people who work hard in trying to surpass their limits. Ashutosh Gowariker is one such director. His love for movies and archaeology and ancient Indian history shines through as you watch this movie unfold.
It's not grand or has resplendent production values as Bahubali or Game of Thrones but it makes up with some ferocious energy exhibited by Hrithik Roshan. He's like a steroid in this Mound of Dead, which transforms it into a Raging Bull. 


Good parts -
1) Hrithik - Simply fabulous!!!
2) Songs are pretty catchy.
3) Art direction is superb. There is one song set in the Great Bath. Anyone loving history would just love that song and the setting.
4) The story is quite good weaving in plausible theories of how the civilization came to an end along with the rise of some powerful Lords.
5) The Colosseum fight of Hrithik with two barbarians is stupendous. Just don't try comparing it with THE GLADIATOR or SPARTACUS, while watching it.
6) It was good to watch Arunoday Singh essay a bit role as abir Bedi's son. This man has oodles of talent but is completely done down with the existing star system.


My only complaint was with Kabir Bedi. He is an atrocious villain. I was sorely missing my beloved asli ghee villain Amrish Puri - his laboured dialogue delivery and slow body language just put the brakes on this otherwise slow but steady chugging engine. The leading lady is eye-candy but acting chops - miles to go.....!!!!
Well watch it!!! Mohenjo Daro is definitely your time for just once at least!!!