The amazing SPIDER MAN - A well woven web that sticks!

Andrew Garfield fits the role of Spidey to the tee, so does Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey. Rhys Iffan  (Dr.Curt Connors) as the 'villain' a lizard with a conscience is apt for the role. Nice to see good 'ol' Martin Sheen and Sally fields, in a comeback of sorts! Well! our own desi Irfan Kkan essays with ease a small role in the film as Rajit Ratha (I wonder who thought of this name). Denis Leary as Captain Stacey deserves a pat and does bring a smile with his caustic humor. 

The Plot: Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

The graphics and animation scenes simply keeps u spell bound! I really wonder why Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood are unable to emulate this quality in their desi productions! Though we employ the best technicians in our films I think it's the basic lack of knowledge of our directors in the field of animation that we fall pathetically short in the field of animation and graphics and fail to produce such works of excellence on screen! Coming back to the film, the action scenes are commendable and in parts outstanding especially as Spidey soars and swings all over Manhattan whipping his sticky web on to walls, bridges, skyscrapers, and even gigantic cranes. The director makes u feel that u are swinging with him ! The Lizard somehow looks like an over made up GODZILLA. 

The chemistry between Peter Parker (Spidey) and Gwen gets a big WOW from me! The climax is rather predictable but you leave the theater with a feel good feel and a big smile! A great entertainer with all the ingredients in right proportions. In fact i really enjoyed Spider Man 4 more than the Spider Man 1!

I would also like to reproduce some of the quotes which i happened to read on the web: 

"What's most amazing in The Amazing Spider-Man turns out to be not the shared sensations of blockbuster wow! the picture elicits, but rather the shared satisfactions of intimate awww".

"The Amazing Spider-Man' is dizzying entertainment that once it gets going will hold you as firmly as one of Spidey's webs".

"All due respect to Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire, but this is QUITE A BIT better than any of the other Spider-Man films. Garfield and Stone are terrific".

KEEP SWINGING UNTIL NEXT TIME,

hc

SHANGHAI (Hindi) - A Political Thriller - The Plot - Adapted from Greek writer Vassilis Vassilikos’ 1966 novel, Z, the film, like the book and the 1969 Costa-Gavras thriller based on it, opens with a political assassination that is made to look like an accident. A political activist Dr Ali Ahmedi (Prosenjit Chatterjee, a suave videsi  male version of our own desi  Mamata Banarjee) does a 'la Nano by actively protesting against a business park which that displace hundreds of poor families.He is helped by his former student, follower and lover Shalini Sahay (Kalki Koechlin), daughter of a general facing a probe in a Rs 40-crore scam.  Those in power – including a woman chief minister (Supriya Pathak), her principal secretary (Farooque Sheikh) and a local politician who is part of the ruling coalition – are determined to stop the anti-displacement campaigner in his track.Permission is denied for the rally and a violent demonstration is organized against Dr Ahmedi. And then, one final act of desperation knocks the campaigner out of the picture, in cold blood, hit by a pick-up van driven by hired killers.A public outcry ensues and the activist’s strong-willed wife, Aruna Ahmedi (Tilottama Shome) joins Shalini Sahay (Kalki Koechlin), in demanding prompt action. 

The under-pressure chief minister (Supriya Pathak) and her principal Secretary (Farooqi Sheikh) set up a one-man commission of inquiry with a mandate to probe whether the police force was responsible for any negligence. The core question – was it an accident or a murder? – is placed beyond the commission’s terms of reference.

But IAS officer T A Krishnan (Abhay Deol), the man assigned the job of finding the truth, ferrets out more information than the powers that be had bargained for. It endangers everybody caught in the vortex of the case, including a videographer Joginder Parmar (Emraan Hashmi), who films political events in Bharat Nagar and makes pornographic videos. The Climax is rather predictable from the the very start, in fact from the very first scene and so nothing much to write about the end.

The film has been crafted rather well by Urmi Juvekar (screen play) and the director Dibakar Banerjee. The first half of the film starts rather slowly and one feels confused and perplexed as the film meanders its way and finally arrives at the midpoint. One has to be familiar with colloquial Hindi to understand the dry and sarcastic humor. Though it pleased me to note that for once a HINDI FILM makes fun of the way a Northie speaks 'firangi' English instead of deliberately making fun of south Indian languages (especially Tamil) and Abay Deol deliberately avoids making fun of Tamil, though there are a few places in the film the director does indulge in this well known and used Bollywood art of desi comedy. All the actors have performed their parts very well and a big kudos to the director for casting and extracting the best out of each one of them. Emraan, Abhay and Kalki excel. The songs are vibrant and colorful but it fades away from one's memory as soon as you leave the theater. On the whole a truthful and honest attempt from the director to stick to his plot and story line which takes the film a clear notch above the mediocrity we are used to these days. A film the producer and his team can be proud of and probably serve as an impetus to strive harder to make a film that can be termed as a classic the world of Indian cinema can be proud of!

Till next time, hC

PROMETHEUS - PROMISES TO DISAPPOINT

Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who in Greek mythology is credited with the creation of  man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of mankind.

The punishment of Prometheus as a consequence of the theft is a major theme of his mythology, and is a popular subject of both ancient and modern art. Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, sentenced the Titan to eternal torment for his transgression. The immortal Prometheus was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle, the emblem of Zeus, was sent to feed on his liver, only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. In some stories, Prometheus is freed at last by the hero Heracles (Hercules). Among the ancient Greeks, Prometheus was venerated as a divinity.

In the Western classical tradition, Prometheus became a figure who represented human striving, particularly the quest for scientific knowledge, and the risk of overreaching or unintended consequences. In particular, he was regarded in the Romantic era as embodying the lone genius whose efforts to improve human existence could also result in tragedy: Mary Shelly, for instance, gave The Modern Prometheus as the subtitle to her novel Frankenstein (1818).

'PROMETHEUS' - I really can't understand as to why this title was conceived or thought about for this film. The film promises to give us at least science fictional explanations for some of the great questions of human existence and the origin of the creator, but it ends up never having the the courage to answer these questions. The plot - A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Director Ridely Scott gets back to his favorite genre "Sci-Fi" after a brief hiatus! Well! He does show his class and there are quite a few portions of brilliance which will leave you spell bound, but at the end of it all falls short of achieving excellence. The film per say is devoid of boredom in most parts. A rather colorful star cast in Noomi Rapace, Micheal Fassbender, Charleez Theron etc perform their roles with aplomb. The 3D effects simply "GORGEOUS"! (pardon the pun). The visual effects and action sequences quite stunning. The space craft etc takes you back to the "Spielberg" era! All in all a visual treat for "Sci-fi" fans. There are quite a few gory and liquid oozing "jello" scenes which seems to be  a part and parcel of today's Sci-fi films. Over all an a reasonably satisfying  entertainer - Well!Could have been better. To sum it up "The tragedy of this Prometheus is that it begins to ask huge questions, and then saves the answers for a sequel.

UNTIL NEXT TIME WITH PROMise OF MORE! hC