citizen_8 Reviews

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight rises quite high, Nolan's destiny has been fulfilled.

[10/10 · 22 July 2012]

The Batman series by Christopher Nolan was and is probably one of the best superhero series ever. In an industry where very few sequels have been that good, The Dark Knight, I believe was designed by Christopher Nolan to be head and shoulders above Batman Begins; and it was. The Dark Knight surpassed Batman Begins, end of story. Now that you have accomplished what very few have managed, how do you surpass this one. A daunting and mountainous task indeed. Only now, Nolan wasn't even trying to surpass it. He was merely trying to present a movie that would build on its predecessor.

The movie is set 8 years after the Joker incident so that anything related to the Joker need not be shown (RIP Heath Ledger). Nolan presents us a completely different Gotham. A different take on it. And how 8 years can change people. How the harvey dent and joker incident can affect people and batman himself. In a time of peace, it is quite easy to plan and attack even an entire city. Everything is taken into concern. And it all adds up to one seemingly invincible villain. The logic is never lost at any point of time. The screenplay is penned to allow the impact of what has happened to Gotham and its people in "The Dark Knight" and what could happen if something goes wrong now.

All things said, if you are expecting something better than The Dark Knight, you are mistaken. This was never going to compete or surpass that. This is a very good movie in its own right. As for the series, there cannot be a better conclusion and I really hope nobody else continues this series if Nolan decides not to.

TDKR needs to be appreciated for staying true to its roots and still giving us something good, exhilarating and unexpected.

The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers Initiative is a successful one

[9/10 · 29 April 2012]

The Avengers is what we all dream about on reading those superhero comics and watching the movies. We always would love the concept of having all superheroes assembled and fighting for justice and that if such a thing happens, nothing ever could happen to our planet Earth. However, rational thinking would suggest putting them all in one basket would make movie making quite difficult since the logistics of bringing an all conquering villain along with the bonding of the superheroes would change the dynamic of the superhero movie concept and can be a double edged sword if not handled properly. Certainly they cannot make a movie where the heroes are summoned to fight evil and they come and finish the job and they leave. It has to be more complicated than that for the movie to succeed and it is.

Hats off to the director and writers of this movie since they not only have a villain who is manipulative, evil and quite powerful with his own army who can provide quite a challenge to the heroes but also have handled well the tricky scenarios of putting all the heroes in the same room. Hulk, Iron Man and Thor are all used to fighting outside of the law as vigilantes in their own movies. These three would normally have no problem working together. The bonding between Ironman and Hulk was depicted aptly since they are both scientists and vigilantes. However, the presence of Captain America, black widow and hawk-eye, who are all used to following orders and work for the law, within this mix creates a lot of tension in the air when they start interacting. The blame games and one-liners are ON and believe me, the one liners from RDJ are really cracking. All this makes for a compelling first half.

Obviously, the second half is all about how they work together to destroy the enemy. Its predictable, but its fun and visually awesome as well. Visually its a spectacle and must be watched in 3D. The movie is not without its cons though. For one, I really thought, with Loki as the villain, Thor should have had a better role to play. Unfortunately he was severely under utilized. Scarlett is given an expansive role (I should say her body in that tight fighting outfit is awesome. She is hot) which sometimes even outshines Captain America and the rest.

Watch it. Even if its not awesome or amazing or whatever, you will certainly enjoy the ride.

Inception (2010)

Inception - is what Nolan has done to our minds

[10/10 · 18 July 2010]

Christopher Nolan has done it again.

Nolan has touched and dressed up the movie with action (gravity defying action), thrills, frills, suspense, guns, chase sequences etc etc etc. Yet underneath all the glorious detail in appearance, there is a brilliant story that is so unusual yet intriguing, imaginative yet possible, innovative and compelling. The story is so intriguing that you start questioning every element of it. However, Nolan does not give you enough time as he keeps you on the edge of your seats, pounding on you with the relentless pace of the movie.

There is one important aspect though - the movie keeps you guessing. It does not give you a definite answer. It is open so that each man can fill in his own answer to the questions raised in the movie based on his own understanding . That does not mean there is no conclusion to it at all. Your mind itself is the conclusion. There is enough detail in the movie for you to fill in the appropriate answer. He lets you wonder, think, review and discuss about it.

SO... By laying a strong foundation with the story that is original and adding a strong support cast with all the necessary elements for a blockbuster and then .. merging everything seamlessly into 2 hours and 30 minutes of brilliant screenplay(lengthy compared to current Hollywood trends) - Nolan has provided a movie that caters to all audiences.

This isn't a masterpiece in the true sense of the word. This is simply perfection. Perfect 10!!!!

REC (2007)

Horror in its best form.

[10/10 · 22 January 2009]

I have to first say that I don't easily get scared on watching horror movies rather I enjoy the frightening sequences and appreciate the way it is done if good. Coming to REC, a little over an hour in length, I assumed that this movie would be a good horror/thrill ride after reading some of the comments here. Boy, was I wrong. This movie made me jump out of my seat.

The movie started out pretty well and pretty usual for a horror movie. The build up was good for the first 20 minutes but things started to get a little boring for the next 20 minutes. But then what a movie it turned out to be in the second half. The slow and boring build up in the middle phase actually worked to the movie's advantage. There were some unanswered questions but there was no space to think about such stuff in the midst of the chaos presented in the film.

The Shaky cam style shooting worked amazingly well for this movie unlike Cloverfield where I was simply telling "put the damn camera down and run for your life".

My conclusion: Endure the first half and you would end up saying that it was worth it.