Just Watched: Black Swan There are times you are forced to watch a DVD screener of a film despite the fact that you are a sucker for good quality prints, and if the film you watch like this is something that has been brilliantly made, you start cursing yourself inside your head, to no avail. Something similar happened to me when I watched a screener of Black Swan two months back, only because Arko insisted I had to. I just wasn’t able to watch it at a stretch because of the fact that the print wasn’t as clear as I would like it to be. Obviously, I would have loved to watch it on the big screen but that wasn’t possible then, and then we have the wonderful Indian Censor Board which simply doesn’t understand how aesthetic sensibilities work. So when the film was released in Ahmedabad multiplexes right after Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her fantastic performance, Arko and I had to make a run for Ahmedabad with Rohan (Thomas) and at the end of the film there was only one thing to agree upon – you haven’t seen anything unless you have seen it on the big screen, censorship notwithstanding. Darren Aronofsky has been one of the three most enigmatic filmmakers in the modern era for me, the other two being Wes Anderson and a certain Christopher Nolan. With Black Swan, Aronofsky creates a world of strange horrors which are bound to make you feel claustrophobic and, worse, schizophrenic. Therein, however, lays the beauty of this film. Based on the famous ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, this film about the extreme emotions of a ballet dancer under stress is without a doubt one of the very best films to have come out last year. Natalie Portman is superb as the troubled Nina and honestly I don’t think any other performance deserved the Oscar this time. I can say this confidently despite having seen only one of the other films nominated in this category. Mila Kunis is wonderful too in a rather restrained role. It’s a pity that she didn’t get a best Supporting Actress nomination. Vincent Cassel is very good too and so is Winona Ryder, who, thankfully, retains most of her usual grace. Barbara Hershey is almost terrifying as Nina’s mother, and that is a compliment of sorts. Raising her daughter the way she does in the film is very scary considering the lengths she goes to ensure that her daughter becomes nothing but the very best. The music by Clint Mansell is brilliant. Too bad that he didn’t garner an Oscar nod as he had attempted to make radical changes to Tchaikovsky’s original ballet. Oh, well. Aronfosky has, once again, managed to come up with yet another masterpiece with this ode to the passion for perfection. Gujju audiences need to use their heads though, and that isn’t something I am hoping to see in the near future. Looks like the applause after Inception (Click here for my post after watching Inception) only happens once in a very long time. Till then, we can all continue to aspire to be perfect, as long as we are able to set the limits. Personal Rating: 9.0/10
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Just Watched: Black Swan

There are times you are forced to watch a DVD screener of a film despite the fact that you are a sucker for good quality prints, and if the film you watch like this is something that has been brilliantly made, you start cursing yourself inside your head, to no avail.

Something similar happened to me when I watched a screener of Black Swan two months back, only because Arko insisted I had to. I just wasn’t able to watch it at a stretch because of the fact that the print wasn’t as clear as I would like it to be. Obviously, I would have loved to watch it on the big screen but that wasn’t possible then, and then we have the wonderful Indian Censor Board which simply doesn’t understand how aesthetic sensibilities work. So when the film was released in Ahmedabad multiplexes right after Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her fantastic performance, Arko and I had to make a run for Ahmedabad with Rohan (Thomas) and at the end of the film there was only one thing to agree upon – you haven’t seen anything unless you have seen it on the big screen, censorship notwithstanding.

Darren Aronofsky has been one of the three most enigmatic filmmakers in the modern era for me, the other two being Wes Anderson and a certain Christopher Nolan. With Black Swan, Aronofsky creates a world of strange horrors which are bound to make you feel claustrophobic and, worse, schizophrenic. Therein, however, lays the beauty of this film. Based on the famous ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, this film about the extreme emotions of a ballet dancer under stress is without a doubt one of the very best films to have come out last year. Natalie Portman is superb as the troubled Nina and honestly I don’t think any other performance deserved the Oscar this time. I can say this confidently despite having seen only one of the other films nominated in this category. Mila Kunis is wonderful too in a rather restrained role. It’s a pity that she didn’t get a best Supporting Actress nomination. Vincent Cassel is very good too and so is Winona Ryder, who, thankfully, retains most of her usual grace. Barbara Hershey is almost terrifying as Nina’s mother, and that is a compliment of sorts. Raising her daughter the way she does in the film is very scary considering the lengths she goes to ensure that her daughter becomes nothing but the very best. The music by Clint Mansell is brilliant. Too bad that he didn’t garner an Oscar nod as he had attempted to make radical changes to Tchaikovsky’s original ballet. Oh, well.

Aronfosky has, once again, managed to come up with yet another masterpiece with this ode to the passion for perfection. Gujju audiences need to use their heads though, and that isn’t something I am hoping to see in the near future. Looks like the applause after Inception (Click here for my post after watching Inception) only happens once in a very long time. Till then, we can all continue to aspire to be perfect, as long as we are able to set the limits.

Personal Rating: 9.0/10

Just Watched: Inception Two years ago, when I came to Gandhinagar for the first time, a certain cinematic event took control over me. My arrival in Gujarat coincided with the release of Christopher Nolan’s fifth feature film, the classic superhero movie that we know as the The Dark Knight.  I was in awe of the film; so much so that I was quite sure that Nolan could never better it. That was till today, where I was bowled over by the same film twice, in a matter of a few hours. Yes, twice. Never before has a film tried to involve the audience in the details of the story in such a way that they just can’t withdraw themeslves. It is an experience that completely dazzles the viewer. The best thing, however, is the film’s unpredictability. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you keep getting these plot twists, which logically twist the concept of shared dream states, the very bedrock of the film’s story. It isn’t possible to single out any one performance as all the actors have done a brilliant job, as expected. The surprise package, though, is Marion Cotillard, who pitches in a powerful performance as Mal. Cillian Murphy shows a lot of depth too. Leonardo DiCaprio gives what is probably one of his finest performances, and so does Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ken Watanabe and Ellen Page are adequate in their roles. Tom Hardy’s act as Eames is a whiff of fresh air. The film is technically brilliant in most aspects and the background score and cinematography are simply amazing. Most of the credit, however, should go  to Nolan, who has penned the screenplay entirely by himself and has given us one of the grandest cinematic spectacles in recent times, one with numerous interpretations. Has to be one of the very best I’ve ever seen. This one requires repeat viewings to understand, and it is totally worth it. A classic, in every sense of the word, and also exercise for the mind. “Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.” Personal Rating: 9.4/10
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Just Watched: Inception

Two years ago, when I came to Gandhinagar for the first time, a certain cinematic event took control over me. My arrival in Gujarat coincided with the release of Christopher Nolan’s fifth feature film, the classic superhero movie that we know as the The Dark Knight.  I was in awe of the film; so much so that I was quite sure that Nolan could never better it. That was till today, where I was bowled over by the same film twice, in a matter of a few hours. Yes, twice.

Never before has a film tried to involve the audience in the details of the story in such a way that they just can’t withdraw themeslves. It is an experience that completely dazzles the viewer. The best thing, however, is the film’s unpredictability. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you keep getting these plot twists, which logically twist the concept of shared dream states, the very bedrock of the film’s story.

It isn’t possible to single out any one performance as all the actors have done a brilliant job, as expected. The surprise package, though, is Marion Cotillard, who pitches in a powerful performance as Mal. Cillian Murphy shows a lot of depth too. Leonardo DiCaprio gives what is probably one of his finest performances, and so does Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Ken Watanabe and Ellen Page are adequate in their roles. Tom Hardy’s act as Eames is a whiff of fresh air.

The film is technically brilliant in most aspects and the background score and cinematography are simply amazing. Most of the credit, however, should go  to Nolan, who has penned the screenplay entirely by himself and has given us one of the grandest cinematic spectacles in recent times, one with numerous interpretations. Has to be one of the very best I’ve ever seen. This one requires repeat viewings to understand, and it is totally worth it. A classic, in every sense of the word, and also exercise for the mind.

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.”

Personal Rating: 9.4/10

Just Watched: The Fountain After procrastinating for quite a while, I finally managed to watch this movie and I was touched. After a long time a movie has actually managed to get me to shed a few tears. The acting by the lead pair was phenomenal, and Clint Mansell’s score is superb, and haunting. Darren Aronofsky has done a fantastic job. No wonder he’s amongst my three favourite modern directors, alongwith Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson. Personal Rating: 8.4/10
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Just Watched: The Fountain

After procrastinating for quite a while, I finally managed to watch this movie and I was touched. After a long time a movie has actually managed to get me to shed a few tears.

The acting by the lead pair was phenomenal, and Clint Mansell’s score is superb, and haunting. Darren Aronofsky has done a fantastic job. No wonder he’s amongst my three favourite modern directors, alongwith Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson.

Personal Rating: 8.4/10