Review of 'The Figther'

Having being in contention for the Oscars and having won a couple, was a good enough reason to see this movie. It did not win the best picture award but Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Oscars for their supporting parts. I will be coming to Christian Bale's performance in detail.

As the name suggests it is a story about boxing. It is the tale of Dickie Ecklund, a New England welterweight champion and brother of WBU World Champion Micky Ward. Well half brother. The movie isn't named 'The Fighter, just because of the boxing aspect, but there are a lot of psychological turmoils the main protagonist, that is Micky Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, has to go through. Not just him, but many other supporting characters as well. It is the story of how Micky, through the inspiration, support and training of his brother Dickie, played by Christian Bale, become a champion boxer.

This movie is made in a very natural and real style with very natural acting. It almost feels like you are watching a documentary of sorts at times. Quite unconventional for the kind of movie it is. Generally you would see boxing movies associated with a lot of drama and style. But the lack of it both, for me, was the USP of the film. In fact even the emotional scenes in the movie are done very natural without it being too dramatic. The family set up the way it has been shown naturally provides a lot drama. The end is dramatic yes. But well a feature film wouldn't be one, if there isn't even a hint of drama. The emotional quotient did hit me. But its very subtle and natural. I wasn't crying my eyes out but I was definitely left with a smile by the end of it.

Mark Wahlberg does a fine job of an upcoming boxer coming to terms with his family, mainly his brother and mother, and then winning a title. Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming who is Micky's girl friend,and now wife, also does a fine job. She plays the role of a woman who can speak her mind and stand up for what she believes in and does it pretty efficiently. Special mention for Melissa Leo who plays Alice Ward, Micky's mother. She has done a fine job of a mother who also acts as his manager. A strong, protective mother who is in denial and who learns the error of her ways.

Last but not least, Christian Bale. I mean what can I say. I just reviewed another movie of his last week. I am amazed and in awe of this actor. I mean the conviction with which he prepares and enacts a role is just magnificent. He had again lost weight for this movie to look like a pot head. The look and then the body language and the entire performance makes you believe he is a pot head. Your heart goes out to him when he learns the error of his ways. He has given a power packed performance and the emotional range and skill he has shown is brilliant. Watch out for the end just before the credits. His last few lines got tears to my eyes. Imdb.com apparently mentions that he actually had gotten emotional in that scene. That shows true conviction and preparation for a performance. This actor is seeming to grow on me.

A movie which talks about achieving your goals, realizing mistakes, mending your ways and standing up for what you believe in. Apart from Bale's performance, the main attraction is the story telling and direction. The director David O Russell has tried to keep it as real as possible. Please, if you like good cinema, watch 'The Fighter'.

My Review of 'The Machinist'

I had been told and also heard a lot about the movie 'The Machinist'. First off I had heard about Christian Bale's performance and the preparation he went through for this movie by loosing almost 60 pounds and looking anorexic through out the movie. The conviction is commendable. Then I also came across the name of this movie through a lot of web sites recommending mind bending movies with a lot of food for thought. I looked up the movie on imdb.com, and that was enough persuasion for me to watch the movie.

The movie starts off on a high note. Like a lot of such kind of movies, it starts off with the climax. It leaves you definitely glued to know what that was all about. But as the movie progresses you start to get a feeling where this is going. I guess the director wanted to tell the story by giving the viewer an idea about the twist way early. But you definitely aren't aware why this is happening. That is what keeps you sticking around for more. There are lot of twists which are brought in to keep you guessing as to exactly what is going on and why. But as I mentioned, you do have an idea as to what it can be.

To a certain extent this movie was confusing to me because as a storyline there was an element of mystery but it wasn't told in a highly gripping fashion. Some times you just get restless wondering what is the reason why this is happening cause you have kind of guessed it. So I was expecting a message, a comment on the society at large. The movie does talk about a machinist in the contemporary time, who is suffering from something. The constant washes with the bleach, the insomnia, the loner attitude. It gave me a feeling that it was the directors take on modern urban living where in people are surrounded but are still lonely, especially in America. Gave me a feeling of how I might turn out if I were to end up alone in life.

But I beg to differ as to how an incident can have such an impact on a persons brain for so long without going noticed. I guess what the director, Brad Anderson, was going for was a dramatic portrayal of sorts. Of how incidents in life can have an impact on your brain. That is the reason why this movie wasn't convincing enough. I guess this judgment could be also marred cause of the expectation I was having out of this movie. Or if may be the suspense would have been much tighter, it might have been a good thriller with a decent message too towards the end.

The high point of this movie is definitely Christian Bale. This guy shows true conviction to the part by loosing 60 pounds for this role. I cant even begin to imagine what he might have had to do to get that size and then post the shooting, to regain his shape. He has always been a good actor but this movie sold me on his conviction. I am definitely looking forward to seeing his other movies and also his upcoming movies.

I would definitely recommend you watch this movie. The high ratings are justified based on performances, direction and also the level of suspense that is there. But the story telling could have been different which could have made it more gripping. As I mentioned, may be I am not seeing it the way it is meant to be. Nonetheless, definitely a must see.

Bokya saat bande... not just a movie...

I just finished watching a marathi movie by the name of 'Bokya Saat Bande'. This movie marks the debut of Sanjay Narvekar's son. He plays the title role of 'Bokya'. A nickname he aquires within his colony where he lives. This movie is based on a story by the great Dilip Prabhavalkar. He also has one principal role in the movie of an aged man living in the colony. For people who don't know, he is a well known artist in the marathi film, theatre and television scene. And also, he played Mahatma Gandhi in the movie 'lage raho munnabhai'. Well what can I say about this movie. Its one of those movies that makes you wonder what have you achieved in your time? How do you react when a kid who barely is learning to understand the world around him, can put himself in other peoples shoes and try and understand them better. More than the ability to understand, it was the ability to act on that understanding and work towards trying to make a change. We as adults claiming to be more mature and understanding some times fail to go that extra mile to actually get that change. I personally am one of those who constantly gets bothered by the evils in society and keeps arguing over it with family and friends. But what am I actually doing to get that change? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This school going kid on the other hand understands the plight of an old couple who don't interact much with people in the colony. A chance meeting sparks this kids thoughts and he enquires to find out that the son of that old couple resides in the states and sends them money on and off. He finds out they don't have a hearty dinner cause they are too bored to cook just for themselves. He gathers food from a party at his own house very meticulously and delivers it personally to them and you can see the content in his face when he sees the old couple enjoying the meal like children. Such noble thoughts. Even we as adults don't end up acting like that. We put too much pressure on ourselves by doubting our moves and thinking what will the person think or whether we will be taken advantage of and so on and so forth. even the movie talks about this aspect. A kid who doesn't understand relationships as well, understands that when his mother shouts at her maid, she will end up taking that anger out on her children. And seeing the basic sensitivity in a 10 12 year old boy, that children belonging to the under privileged class also deserve the same happiness and things in life that we as the privileged enjoy, is amazing and humbling. He starts off a school for such children with the help of some people and some of his friends in the colony. They decide do this as their pet project in the summer holidays. I was teary eyed because I always thought the same myself. But I do not have the ability to do something so radical about it. I guess with age, when we loose our innocence, we also loose the ability to look at the obvious and then over complicate and over think a situation. Growing up you learn a lot. But sometimes may be a little too much than needed. Never the less, please catch this movie if you can.

what is going on?

We as humans are awarded as the most intelligent and hence the dominant species on the planet. Some people would go on to believe that is true all over the universe. That too, without considering the fact that we don't understand this universe completely as yet and also totally disregarding the laws of statistics. But that is an all together different debate.

From what I have just mentioned, one thing seems certain. Our kind is not definitely a commonly occurring one. As of now, the only known species in the universe that has such an evolved brain. A brain that has seen the human race exponentially grow. That too according to some experts, twice. Once also before the last ice age. No other animal has been able to compete with the human mental ability . Law of nature. Forced mutation by aliens. We being an alien race altogether? The theories are endless. Not just the brain. We had been strategically given opposable thumbs. This gives us the ability to hold and maneuver things the way we like it. We are bipeds compared to most species who are quadrupeds. But the most distinctive feature must definitely have to be the brain. I mean by the looks of it, these physical features might have held us back by a couple of hundred years may be to soem extent. But eventually the brain would have been able to figure out.

So the question that arises to me is, why this extra powerful brain? We as individuals, constantly try to look for purpose. But the purpose for most us stops at the usual. Educate. Work. Marry. Procreate. Grow old. May be live a little. Die. I do not know about you but reading it like this doesn't make it sound any different from an animal's life. I mean yes, animals don't take formal education and work in corporate. Man made systems to pursue the basic need of survival. Other animals though do learn hunting when growing up, keeping away from predators, and well any thing else that is needed to survive. So in a sense, our live's don't seem to be all that different.

So why have we been given this mega super brain. And if it had a limited scope, it would have been fine. But just look at us today. What all have we achieved. In the name of making things easier, business and just plain curiosity, what all we have created and understood around us.

But has anybody stopped to ask one question, WHY? If any body is to say that like everything in nature and the world we are here to play our part and go. Would any body care to explain what that part is? And after that, play our part for WHAT? I am not being proud of the human race, but based on what I have already discussed about the differences between the human race and everything else, why have we been blessed? Or may be cursed? Why this curiosity? Why this need to learn about our origins? Why the need to learn about the origins of the universe? Why the need to learn about all the possible details that can be there? Why doesn't anybody find out what is the purpose of all this discovery, innovation and progress?

It perplexes me sometimes as to what I am doing? And why am I doing it? If we are meant to play our part in this ever expansive universe, I wonder what is the reason for pursuit of this knowledge and the curiosity to know why, what and when? Leave it be and consider it a 'natural phenomenon' and move on with life. This human life which gives us with a highly developed brain, also brings us the evil of asking questions for which probably no one has answers. Or if any one does, it is difficult for mere mortals like myself to understand.

The Dark Knight

Today I saw 'The Dark Knight'. Why after so many months am I writing a blog and talking about a movie? Well the answer to that is in my first blog. My obsession for the 'dark side' nearly drove me insane to catch this movie as soon as possible. And the result was? Well I must say, I am not gonna be obsessing over a movie to this extent any more. Well I will at least try (lets see, if I can hold up for the next one).Because at the end, it had become just an accomplishment reaching the theaters itself. And then the excitement died down. Anyways, now that I have seen the movie, lemme give you a little insight into the movie. I am not going to tell you details about the script. I respect a good piece of art and I am not going to ruin it. Yes, it is definitely good. Just because the excitement died down, doesn't mean it wasn't good. Like the first robbery sequence in the movie. Because of my obsession about the movie, I had ended up watching the entire scene online over a billion times I guess. Sometimes, over and over again. Anywho, as I said earlier, the movie is good. And it is made fantastic by one man and one man only. Heath Ledger, you were brilliant. May your soul rest in peace. If you ever want to see conviction in a performance, look at him in the movie. He will just blow you away. From the look to the smallest detail, he had it covered. You cant help but get a chill down your spine looking at him playing the Joker. For me, I envied him. Not everyone gets to be maniacal, may it be for a movie, and still get laurels and praise for it. After that is Christian Bale, reprising his role as the caped crusader. He did well in showing the dilemma Bruce Wayne has over Batman and his lady love. His fight for justice and the choices he has to make for himself as well the people of Gotham. Maggie Gylennhal did a much much better job over Katie Holmes. She puts in more conviction.
Christopher Nolan did a splendid job, which I had liked in the first go as well, when he made Batman Begins. He carries on from there and takes it to greater heights. The only thing I am skeptical about is Harvey Dent/Two-Face. There are two reasons for it. One, Aron Ekhart wasn't, according to me, the right guy for the role. I am not gonna comment on who could have played the role, but certainly could have been someone different. Second, they have not done Harvey/Two-face the way it is in the comics. In the comics, the character is much more intense and has a disturbing history because of which he turns to two-face in the first place. May be if the movie was not a comic book adaptation, I might have liked it.
The is a certain amount of chaos in the city primarily instilled by the Joker. The Joker is trying to test the limits of the people in the city. He is cunning in how he can play with people's minds. He plays around with every one's mind. Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent, Commissioner Gordon etc. And it is quite interesting to see that in real life and our society, if we were to get a man like him, he could certainly do such damage. It is not a person with great ability or a costume. It is a man with a cunning mind, warped sense of right and wrong, ambition and no limits or conscience. This is not impossible. It has just not happened yet. Even a good man can loose it all when he is pushed to the edge. That is called being human. That is the beauty of this movie. All the characters are human, like you and me just under different circumstances. Even though its a comic book movie adaptation, they are real. May be that is why two-face was done differently. I am a realist and proud to be one. In fact, this movie shows us how characters who are bigger than real life can also be among us. And that is the best part. So I will say this to all of you, watch this movie. May be you might find yourself some where in there. (Please excuse me for the spelling errors for the actor's names)

THE US of A!!

Its been over a week now since I have arrived here. This long journey started on a pretty good note. I think it was my wisest decision to go by Jet Airways. Since it was just their third flight to the US, it was going to be a good flight. Jet is a well known name in the Indian domestic circuit so i was sure of having an aweosme flight. After we landed in Newark, I had no problems with immigration, customs, baggage etc what so ever. And then we were given a pleasant surprise by Shyamal's older brother at the airport. He gave Shyamal his new phone right away (that is helping us a lot right now to keep in touch with friends and family back home). Then Jigar(Shyamal's brother) came up with the idea of going to visit downtown Manhattan. We had almost four hours on our hands, with nothing to do. So we decided, what the heck. Who knows when we might be able to get such a golden chance again. And that turned out to be the highlight of our trip. We got to travel in the metros and the trains connecting New Jersey and New york. When we reached manhattan, the first thing we were greeted by was ground zero and the new world trade centre buildings. It was hard to believe that this was once the site where two, hundred and ten storey buildings used to stand. Then walking around we got a glimpse of the life in Manhattan. Its very much like Mumbai. But I guess not THAT crowded. Various people, from different religions, races, ethnicities were working, talking and walking together. One thing about Manhattan is that it has no small buildings. Believe me, all the buildings must be atleast sixty to seventy stories tall. After a while my neck started to pain, looking up at the tall buildings. We checked out places like Wall street and the NYSE bulding. Its humbling to actually see buildings which i had earlier seen only on television. Another thing which struck me, and which is not particular to NY only is road traffic. I mean firstly it is the left hand drive. Second is the driving sense the poeple have. I mean in India if you are crossing the road u might have to dodge a number of cars or ask the cars to stop by waving ur hand. In India, there is nothing like jay walking. Here if you are crossing the road the cars stop 500 mts away an allow you to cross. I mean I had read and heard about these things but actually seeing it was really strange (lol). And guess what. Jay walking has a fine (again lol). Newayz the whole visit to Manhattan was a rewarding experience. We had a funny experince on our connecting flight, something quite different from the Manhattan experience. Lets keep the mystery alive shall we ;).

Independence.......

Its the second day after my final exams got over. And it feels similar to 15 August 1947. Years and years of oppression finally coming to an end. Well in reality me completeing my engineering is nothign compared to India getting freedom. But now I sure do understand what the feeling might have been that time. Not many people would understand this feeling. All of us are doing something in life and everything is tough and it sure as hell feels like a pain. But for me it wasnt just that. There was a point in my life i had come to believe that I wont be able to do this at all. It was a time I had lost total faith in my self. After that when I decided to continue with engineering, it had become more of a challenge for me. I decided for my self that i had to take up engineering. During my first year I was totally laid back, believeing that if so many people have done engineering, why cant I do it? But I was wrong. The realization dawned upon me a little late to save myself a valuable year. But now that I look back upon it, Iwont say I am glad it happened, but I sure am not sad as well. I made a very good friend in Gopal during the failed year. After I joined college again, I did not realize that I was headed for a memorable three years. I learned that I can complete engineering. Slowly and steadily my graph went up and my confidence which I had lost started coming back again. I made some good friends in my class as well as outside. I learnt what we call 'duniya dari'. I learnt how each professor has to be dealt with according to his or her merit. I realised how important it is to sit through the entire 3 hours of a paper even if u donno shit. I learnt to be a fighter of sorts. The friends I made in my class had a lot to do with this change in attitude. People who are smart to study only what is required and people who know what is to be written in the paper and what is not. Basically what they say, its not I always hard work but smart work as well. These experinces of failure, sucess and triumph I had are going to help me in my life ahead. Now that I look at it, it isnt a feeling of independence from engineering but a feeling of liberation oy my mind and soul.