Gisteller

            One of the most successful TV shows in recent times of world TV, which has recently taken even the subcontinent into it’s pie as a major occupant, is to be aired in India a few hours from now. Certainly there are a lot who had adjusted their timetables and shoved their schedules to accommodate the hour long episode of the sixth season. There are many assumptions of ascendancy, attempts at foreseeing of twists, new forms of torture, how musical chairs of the thrones will evolve and most of all guessing of the cast, who will get under the guillotine of the serial killer known as George RR Martin (mentioned as purely fun). The man’s pen is mightier than any westeros’s knight’s sword.             George RR Martin was surely a compulsive and obsessive writer. This trait should obviously be the character of any author. He had dedicated almost all his life designing westeros and garnishing ...

Movie review by Zulfiqar Nitin Kakkar’s ‘Filmistan’ is a near global cinema. Near because it almost reaches there but falls short by a yard or two. It reaches in terms of emotion, universal brotherhood and drama, but falls short at the plot-drawing. It may be a partial way to look at things because what ‘filmistan’ possesses is a story with great flair and plunging drama. It makes the lack of sub-plotting look invisible. It starts with Sunny, the great movie-buff and probably the best movie-buff in Indian cinematic history, landing an assistant director’s job in a documentary movie. he actually aspires to be an actor but is shown closed doors when he performs at various auditions. He follows the foreign crew of his movie to Rajasthan and, in a jumble of sorts, he is kidnapped by Pakistan terrorists when they mistake him for the foreign director. He is shipped over the border to a nomadic village in Pakistan, where he is held hostage. His cinematic spirit, inherent in him, attra...

 Review by Zulfiqar                 Is ‘edge of tomorrow’ heavily inspired from ‘Groundhog day’? It is a story inspired from Japanese novel called ‘All you need is kill’. But the humour and screenplay belongs to Bill Murray starrer. Both are certainly of a gorge divided genres. But the main theme of revisiting the past day is almost done in a detail and way, which was shown in the 1993 comedy. The main difference is maybe ‘edge of tomorrow’ shows many days and offers explanations even for smaller nuances in the revisiting. But ‘groundhog day’ was self explanatory. At the end, you will come to know Bill had lived years and years there, practicing throwing cards in the hat, perfecting piano and mastering the ice-statue carving. But this is certainly not an insinuation. The inspiration stops less than half way, from where ‘edge of tomorrow’ has a completely different and its own flavour.             ...

Movie review by Zulfiqar              Now, we have another monster movie. It is Godzilla and it is an epic. I use it not as a present tense but as a universal truth. Japanese creation of this monster was an epic and it caused a slew of movies to be released under same name and what not. The legend was made. Now, the fascination with the creature remains and the fodder for big bucks is on. An attempt was made in 1998 and it was met with perfect disaster. It gained a raspberry too if it serves my memory. Years after, another attempt is duty bound to be stabbed. The era of the movies is always evolving. We are living now in the era of compact scripts, intermingled stories and non-linear screenplays and obviously, much evolved sfx. The latest edtion yet again suffers. It suffers from many points. Story-wise, I couldn’t point anything wrong. There are many novel concepts. Nuclear radiation as a fodder for the monster, a good wheeze. I mean, at least...

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Movie review by Zulfiqar                 Let’s just say that Zack Snyder isn’t a great director. The fan boys may get irritated when I say that, but I should stick to what I say. He is a great reconstructor, if that is the word I choose. He reconstructs the graphic novels even upto the last speck of dust. It isn’t a mean achievement. As much as ‘300’ and BvS have been a tedious and laborious watch for me, I couldn’t put my finger at the visual refining he does in creating the graphic images. They won’t be forgotten in a jiffy. When I went in for ‘300’, I thought it would be an awe inspiring tale of sacrifice and emotion, but Zack Snyder’s camera lingers more at the eight pack of the handsome Butler than on the storyline. The images, however,  were imprinted in my mind. I never envisioned a world of that sort. Maybe the due should go the graphic artist, b...

Some movies are made with good story, they pay. Some movies are made with compact script, they pay great. But some movies are made with heart, And they reward. Manam belongs to the third category. It is not everyday that movies like ‘manam’ are made. You don’t just need the lens and the commercial script for it. What you need is an eye for the day to day life, a beating heart for the person next to you and a warm regard for the lesser privileged. ‘Manam’ is a fantasy of the highest order, probably. Children crave magic for fantasy, youth lust after ethereal beauty, men after colossal riches, but what about the real, average man with no such imagination. He craves the things that he had lost. The things that had lushed him with love, but which he admired only in retrospect. The real soul of life, parents.  Only a person, who had lost his parents at a younger age, may feel the real pathos of life. Orphans are lost in the imagination of parents. But a child who loses the most valu...

Movie review by Zulfiqar PG Wodehouse was once quoted saying that the demise of Kipling had created a void in the history of literature. It would sound true if you happen to see the latest offering from the disney’s, Jungle book. The movie is as intriguing and as entertaining as it is a moral lesson for the tots. Along with the garnishing of the visual highlights and latest technological touches, it is a winner even in heart and spirit. Remaking old movies has been one of Hollywood’s traits. And most of the times, it didn’t meet the success and estimation, which the big bosses crave for. This had been solely because of the belief that the modern technical advances will facilitate in enriching the overall picture. The crux that the story and the spirit play the pivotal aspect is mostly missed. Except the batman series, I couldn’t count many movies which were better than the old versions. Jungle book here though is an exception. Favreau never loses the thread of his plot and stor...