SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: A modern day fairy-tale in a bad, bad world

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle
STARRING: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla.

REVIEW: Having sat through the roughly two-hour long screening of Slumdog Millionaire, I felt as if I had been through an exciting roller-coaster ride of emotions. Danny Boyle pitches out 'Slumdog Millionaire' with remarkable intensity, and the narrative is so engrossing that one seems lost in the addictive plot.
Jamal Malik (Dev Patel, also portrayed by Tanay Chheda and Ayush Khedekar) an illiterate slum-inhabitant, is just one question away from winning the Indian version of the famous game-show 'Who Wants to Be A Millionaire'. He is arrested and interrogated by the police on the ground that he is cheating. When interrogated, he tells the cops about how he knew each and every question that the celebrity judge (Anil Kapoor) of the show asked him, drawing instances from his life. He tells them how he, his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal, Azharuddin Mohammad Ismail, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala), and his love-interest, Latika (Freida Pinto, Rubina Ali, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar) spearheaded their way through the hardships of life.
The movie showcases a very pessimistic view towards life. Every character that the protagonists meet throughout the movie, turn out to be twisted minded or a sadist. The fact that the movie is full of ever-plotting and greyish characters ensures that the viewers stay glued to their seats until and unless the hero finally walks away with the heroine contently. The director transforms a typical Bollywood plot into a magical and gripping movie with fantastic screenplay and swift camera-work.
Also, what assists in enhancing the cinematic experience is the Oscar-nominated music of A.R. Rehman, which is, in the true sense of the word, electrifying. It's a great soundtrack with peppy soundtracks splashed all over it.
The acting was decent by each and every member of the cast, be it the innocent-looking Dev Patel, or the charming and fairly beautiful Freida Pinto. Also, the child artists have acted wonderfully well, and their innocence really gets imprinted on the audience's mind. Anil Kapoor is also memorable as the host of the show.
In a nutshell, it would be suitable to declare that "Slumdog..." is an extra-ordinary survival movie, and young Jamal's story is truly inspiring and moving in every frame. Jamal's never-say-die attitude acts as a bleak ray of hope even in the darkest of the situations. It is tremendously inspiring at places, and at other places it is particularly demoralizing, so much so that the whole experience gets cancelled out, if you know what I mean.

RATING: I'm coming out with 3.5/5 for gripping narration and plausible acting.

THE DARK KNIGHT: An edge-of-the-seat thriller

DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan

STARRING: Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Micheal Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal.

REVIEW: 'The Dark Knight', the latest offering of director Christopher Nolan, justifies the hype it had been given, and is one of the best superhero flicks of all time.
Firstly, I would like to pay my tribute to the legendary portrayal of The Joker by the late Heath Ledger, which, I am sure, will act as a text-book act for the generations of actors to come. The performance is brilliant, and the energy with which the actor portrays the character really comes through the 70mm screen, and leaves the audience spell-bound.
The movie carries the Batman saga forward from where its predecessor, 'Batman Begins', had left it. This time around, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the "spoilt" heir of the multi-billionaire corporation 'Wayne Enterprises', has a schizophrenic terrorist, The Joker (Heath Ledger), to save Gotham from. The Joker teams up with the mob family of Gotham, and offers to kill The Batman in return of money. He takes the city on ransom when he warns the people that if Batman does not show his real face to the public, he would kill-off one citizen of Gotham everyday. The police department, led by the honest cop James Gordon (Gary Oldman), teams up with the recently elected District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and the Batman, to bring an end to the Joker menace.
'The Dark Knight' is quite similar to 'Batman Begins' in terms of its tension and darkness, only that both these factors are exponentially higher in the sequel. The film has much more deeper characters, and the settings are also darker and more disturbing. The feeling of tension is prevalent throughout the running time of the movie, and the viewer cannot help but end up with a satisfied grin at the end of the movie, when the bubble of tension finally bursts.
Christian Bale carries-off his act as the extravagant billonaire in pure genleman-ish style, and is surely a good choice for Bruce Wayne. Aaron Eckhart is also a natural actor, and does full justice to the character of Harvey Dent.
But the real show-stealer is Heath Ledger, who walks away with all the accolades. His act as the Joker is a milestone in acting history, and almost touches perfection. Both his facial expressions as well as his voice-modulation are excellent, so much so that it disturbs the hell out of the viewer. His body language is so very casual, that you get the goosebumps every time he walks or acts weird. He turns out to be scary, funny and awfully entertaining, all at the same time. The audience relishes every moment that he spends on-screen, and yearns for more when the credits start rolling. His sarcastically humorous antics have you laughing in splits in many scenes.
Thanks to the gritty camera-work and the powerful backgroung score, the film creates quality tension-filled scenes, which one yearns to see once more.
This film is a complete package of top-notch acting, out-of-the-world direction, and a very gripping storyline. I end this review by mourning the loss of one of the most promising actors of recent times: Heath Ledger.
Don't miss this one.

RATING: A deserving 4.5/5, for great acting, good music score, and exceptional story-telling.

FOLLOWING: A definitive Film-noir

DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
STARRING: Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan.

REVIEW:'Following', the first full-length movie by Christopher Nolan, blows away the viewer completely, and by the end of this just-over-an-hour movie, you are completely convinced that this director is over-flowing with talent. The movie proves that one does not need to have an extravagant budget or a famous celebrity to create an intelligent and entertaining movie.
The story is of a writer (Jeremy Theobald), who hunts for his story's characters by following people whom he finds interesting. He sets rules for himself so as to prevent this habit from becoming an obsession. One day, when he breaches his own rules, he finds a man, with whom he shares his queer habit.
Calling himself Cobb (Alex Haw), the man teams up with him, and the duo break into people's houses, and rob them not of money, but of their personal belongings, just to let them know that someone had broken in, and has had a good look through their personal items. In one of their escapades, they infiltrate the house of a blond woman (Lucy Russell), and the protagonist gets obsessed with her life. He starts following her, which leads to him getting meddled up with gangsters.
Astonishingly clever, and very sadistic in nature, the film gets full marks for the gripping use of fragmented story-telling and a flawless script. The director puts the black-and-white effect to his full advantage, and delivers a film noir which surprises the audience with its intelligence.
Also mention-worthy is the music score, which fits in at all the right moments, and give an essential sense of suspense to the film. Kudos to the music director for the innovative background music.
The only minus point, as I see it, is in the acting department. Jeremy Theobald and Alex Haw's acting is acceptable, but not entirely mesmerizing. At some places, the dialogue delivery is just not natural. Lucy Russell also falls just fine.
Overall, this movie is a visual treat for suspense-seeking gluttons and those who like intelligent and sophisticated thrillers. Go for it.

RATING: A well-deserved 4/5 for intelligent plot, enthralling film-noir feel, and clever direction.