The Dark Knight releases on July 18th. Forty two days more. There is this thing about movies, the more you anticipate one, the more terrible it would turn out to be. Christopher Nolan - Christian Bale combo has given the right mix of everything in the past to make an interesting, watchable movie. And it’s Heath Ledger’s performance as ‘The Joker’ that would set this movie apart from other Batman movies. He sort of overwhelms Batman in the teasers.

Yes, we need to support this humble and irascible, actor turned politician who dislikes the word ‘Mercy’ in Tamil. We have to mobilize enough support for him to overthrow the likes of Harrison Ford from defiling his amazing stunt moves in Tamil movies. Harrison Ford, in his new Indiana Jones movie has tried to usurp our Gabtan’s throne. How dare he tries to outdo our Gabtan’s work? Do George Lucas and Steven Spielberg feel threatened so much so they try to pull this cheap trick off?

FAIL! Lucas & Spielberg

Harrison Ford escapes from a frigging nuclear blast in the Indiana Jones movie and even stands and watches the mushroom cloud over the site arrogantly. This is indeed a clear warning to our Gabtan and the Tamil movie industry which has untiringly come up with new gravity defying stunt moves and punch one liners tailored for Gabtan, movie after movie. As a ardent fan of his, I ask of you only this. Do not watch ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ or the Tamil dubbed version ‘Indiana jones’um Crystal Mandai Odin Rajaangam’um’. There is always the Gabtan movie, ‘Arasangam’. Jai Hind!

Cartoon Network was a part of our growing up. I can’t remember a day after school when I didn’t watch Cartoon Network. After so many years, those cartoons are moving onto big screens which bring up those old times we spent watching them. Speed Racer was one of my favourites. I loved it! Who can forget the opening theme song when speed racer jumps out of the car, freezes and the camera pans 90 degree or Mach 5 doing stunts like jumping ahead of racing cars, cutting down obstacles with rotary blades at the press of a few buttons on the steering wheel. It was insane. And Chim-Chim and speed racer’s brother duo hiding in trunks busting bad guys and talking incredibly fast. I saw this Speed Racer movie trailer. They have made it look futuristic. At least they stuck to the same car and also they have the same ‘chuck-chuck’ sound effect when the car jumps.

Don’t worry, no spoilers. I watched it and thought how they choose such ordinary movies for Oscars. I watched it again. It all fell into place and it was ordinary and
spectacular. There is a reason why such movies score at the Oscars. They don’t go explaining things, they leave it to the people. They don’t preach, they just bring the reality onto celluloid. I don’t blame the Indian Cinema, it’s just the Indian people are not cut out for that. They want to enjoy the movie, not sit and puzzle out what’s going on and where’s it heading. ‘No Country For Old Men’ is violent. And the Coen brothers have done a good job. The theme is simple. The world outside is dark, cruel and random. You can’t stop what’s coming. Tommy Lee Jones fits perfectly as the helpless, harried old sheriff. It’s only after considerable time into the movie you get he’s the protagonist. Javier Bardem as the psychopath with principles, with that ridiculous page bob cut is terrific. The scene where he harasses a shopkeeper shows how dangerously crazy he is. The movie ends abruptly and it’s a fine ending. People who didn’t watch it yet, I advice you to see it at home. You’d want to go back and see some scenes again and they all drawl as if their tongue is stuck to the roof of the mouth. You wouldn’t like it if you didn’t get it and come grumbling out of the movie.

I wanted to compare Jason Bourne with James Bond. Funny, they have the same first letters for both first name and the last name (quite silly, I know). But the similarity ends there.

Jason Bourne

He’s more close to reality. I mean the bourne movies draw you in instantly. Bourne gets hurt, groans and limps like everyone of us. The movie makers say what he is and they do justice to that. He’s broken down, trained hard as an assassin and always taught to finish the job no matter what. An objective always at hand and a target to hunt. He’s methodical in going about his task, never makes mistakes, finds new ways to fool his adversaries and stays ahead of them. And his lines, wow. One of his best lines would be when he calls CIA deputy director Noah Vosen to get his voice ID for a safe. Such lines make up for the lack of humour in Bourne movies. Brilliantly done with no gimmicks. The women, they have a definite part to play and never get objectified. And action? Well, no pointless gun fights, where enemies shoot everywhere but at the man. Actually, there’s no gun fight in Bourne movies if you come to think of it. A thing reminiscent of Bourne movies are car chases, shuttling between cities at either ends of the world - Goa, Moscow, Naples, London, Tangier, Berlin - and he speaks every existent language flawlessly! Heck, he comes close to a Super hero.

James Bond

I have nothing against this British chap. In fact, I like him as he is, ruthless and cold. Just that he depends too much on espionage gadgetry, Aston Martins and girls to complete his missions to suit my taste. Except for his iconic introduction ‘Bond, James Bond’, he does not much impress me with designer clothes and glasses. Beyond the occasional British pun, which goes over my head, there’s nothing funny about him. The only thing reminiscent in Bond movies are girls, gadgets and casinos with lots of Martinis to boot. Women are objectified to such an extent that you want to burst out laughing. He would bed them in one scene and next he will be somewhere in Nambia. Standard thing, never changed. I have to appreciate the villains though. They were from all over the world. The only consistent character was Judi Dench as ‘M’ in the recent Bond movies. You always stop short of groaning when skis latch on to his shoes at the click of a watch or when Aston-Martins convert into speedboats. True, every man would salivate at his gadgets, watches and cars but for how long. The recent movie, ‘Casino Royale’ shows promise to break these stereotypes to some extent. It shows him vulnerable, sensitive and for once not just playing with the lead lady. And of course, less gadgetry. Of all Bond movies, I liked only this one.

I think Bourne in just 3 movies is much more cooler than Bond in 21 movies. Watch this Bourne Ultimatum spoof… Hilarious.

Damn, damn… and damn again! The photos cannot get anymore slicker than this. And if you haven’t noticed Batman’s got a new suit, better than the one in ‘The Batman begins’. Yes, the new movie is allegedly shot in IMAX. Typically, the feature films that play in IMAX theaters are simply stretched out to fill the enormous screens that can dilute the picture quality and give the movie a wide, squat look.

Since we seem not to have those IMAX theaters here, in traditional theatres, the scenes will appear more vivid (think HD television standard). And shooting in this format is difficult. IMAX film, which is 10 times the size of standard film stock, is costly and must be shot using bulky cameras.

I just hope that Christopher Nolan doesn’t screw it up and rather stick to the story. But the images tend to brush your apprehensions away like they are dust on a brand new Batpod!! Take a look. The bad ass Batpod.

Here’s the description of the monstrous bike from the LA times. The tires “are both a monstrously huge 508 millimeters, and the engines are in the hubs of each wheel. Steering isn’t by hand but by shoulder, since there aren’t handlebars. Instead, there are shields that fit each arm like sleeves and have the ability to rotate around the bike’s frame. The two foot pegs are set 3 1/2 feet apart on either side of the tank, which the rider lies on, belly down.” COOL!!

And finally this posture reminds me the quote - ‘I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman.’ (Courtesy: Marc who says he remembered it from Batman, the animated series). The movie hits theaters on July 18th, 2008.

Heath Ledger who played the Joker in ‘Batman Begins’ sequel apparently died of drug overdose. Joker’s death is tragic. Simply tragic. Now, that’s all the more reason to watch the movie. His maniacal laugh in the first teaser trailer was absolutely stunning. In fact, I was actually looking forward to more of Joker’s action. It seems that the Batman sequel took its toll on him and might be a cause for his ‘accidental’ death. In his November TV interview, he’s quoted to have said that he had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he had called a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy” and that the drugs worked only for one or two hours. This shows the tremendous pressure these actors are in and how hard they drive themselves. Unlike some of our highly over-rated actors with questionable acting talent let alone screen presence down under in India. Especially, down south where they call themselves ‘Supreme star’, ‘Ultimate star’ and such superlatives. I wonder why they don’t drop dead.

Here, read about this wonder drug ‘Ambien‘

The full story, here.

Also, a 6 full minute bank heist trailer from ‘The Dark Knight’. Bad quality, but watchable.

This movie simply deserves all credit. Breath-taking attention to detail. This film is possibly a comeback for the director Alfonso Cauron after the infamous Harry Potter’s third movie installment which invited harsh reviews for the movie being too dark. However in this, it’s the grimness the clincher.

The dystopian vision of the future, a bare 20 years from now is nothing but total chaos. The world seems to face a biggest crisis of all time - an infertility epidemic. The futuristic London city subsumed by constant threat of terrorist attacks, religious fanaticism shows that the epidemic hysteria is all - pervasive. What really got me liking this movie was the constant stream of advertisements shown in the London city for suicide pills! Political statements are abundant in this movie touching on the current issues of increasing paranoia about immigrants in the UK to the disturbing images of the Abu Gharib prison camps.

All in all, a compelling movie that makes you sit up and watch it time and again, to take in the bits that you seem to have missed the first time around.

I’m really bored so I thought of posting something. And I’m really pissed at my semester results. So what the hell, here’s a post. Coincidently, I was watching this movie for like the fourth time when I got to know the results were out for us. So I paused the movie and checked my results. I was, you know, that feeling when your results aren’t very good & a train of thoughts, emotions and whatnots rattle the tracks of your brain. What’s that feeling again, yes, guilty. I resumed watching the movie. This movie really took my mind off the results (only for the time being).

This is a movie about four Londoners who garner a whopping 1 million pounds to play poker with a local ‘gizmo’ shop owner. They lose and what ensues is a complete pandemonium with typically extraordinary British humour chipped in. Each character is distinct and funny in its own ways.

The cast is just perfect and blends well with the storyline. It’s pretty much like Pulp Fiction & Snatch, where incidents of all the characters are somewhat interconnected, but goddamn side-splitting fun all the way to the end.

A must see movie. Oh and watch out for Mr. Rory breaker. He’s hilarious. And you know what, it was released in 1999.

Prepare to bid adieu to the movie going experience in Chennai come January 1st. Thanks to the Government fixing the rates which would only shunt the number of people going to movie halls in the city at least.

I’m very well convinced that Chennai is becoming some sort of test facility to evaluate particular schemes and services over the long run oblivious to the city’s populace. First the CAS, now this and other absurd ones that appeared sporadically through out and made it to the front page of newspapers. They all were implemented with least resistance from the people.

The plight of Mayajaal will be pathetic if this ticket price ceiling becomes effective. Since it comes under some village panchayat, the maximum price will be fixed at Rs 15 and minimum at Rs 5!! As Marc says they surely will hike prices right from parking to peeing. The CEO of Mayajaal Entertainment says there are no ‘immediate’ plans to hike prices.

The multiplexes will run at a loss. I wouldn’t be surprised if the walls of the screens are lined with betel yucky stains. This in turn will lead only to more piracy.

Well, we shouldn’t actually let that bother us. All we need to do is increase the frequency of burning DVDs manifold. The services of Ragha and brothers Shrey and Shitik for their exotic hobby of collecting movies will be applauded as never before.

Hail Ragha, hail Piracy!

Edit: The Govt. revised the plans for the multiplexes taking into account the facilities offered by them. Bugger that.