Spiderman Homecoming — A Retrospective

The battle of New York in Marvel’s first Avengers films has had an impact on all earth bound MCU movies, since it did happen, in 2012. Also every studio feels the pressure of making a cinematic universe now. So to be able to contain a “story” within one movie nowadays is becoming a rare thing. The recent wonder woman movie handled it best by book ending the film by a voice over and virtual communication with Bruce Wayne.

The first thing that hits you about Spiderman Homecoming is the youthful gushing energy of the character that’s so reminiscent of the comics. The world is based in smartphones and YouTube which grounds the film to a level which is a fresh change from cosmic or Greek God adventures. We know we’ll go back to that (In November) but this story is about a high school kid and who doesn’t like that? Now I want this to be a change of format cause I’m split on this film.

Spoilers ahead:

The Good

The best scene of the film is with Tom Holland, Laura Harrier (Liz, the girl who plays the crush) and ‘The Birdman’ himself Micheal Keaton in a car. The simple nature of shots of the great actor as his understanding of the detail (That apparently random kid, Peter Parker is Spiderman) changes is phenomenal storytelling. The highest possible quality for me. Also the pacing, is smooth throughout the film. My IMAX screening was without an interval yet I didn’t look at my watch once which is always a good sign. Most times 3D is annoying still but looking down the Washington Monument Sequence gave me a physical reaction of trying to find my ground while looking down how far the ground is and the next shot was Spiderman doing just that. I love the fact that this film is about growing up with real life problems of being a kid and dealing with an aunt and her life and dealing with friends and girls in high school. The fact that all his friends think he is a douche bag but he’s only doing the right thing by leaving them at a party when a explosion happens nearby. That’s a tough choice for anyone who knows his potential. This is what makes Spiderman unique from other heroes and these are the gods we do worship in modern times so.

Other things that I thought were cool

Genetic diversity

The Suit and the fact that Jennifer Connelly (married to Paul Bettany aka Vision aka Jarvis) gives the OS Voice.

Robert Downey Jr. being a bad-ass and Gwyneth Paltrow “peppered” in.

The Bad

The fact that this isn’t a self contained story and all threads will move on to the other films sucks. I don’t like it. I wanna complain about it. This feels like a TV episode where things happen but almost nothing is resolved. I don’t know if this is unfortunate or if this is the “new way” some films will be. The third act showdown in the night sky, on the plane is generic to say the least with no real stakes explained or expressed. This Spiderman film does not still have that moment or the emotional heart we’ve come to expect in Spiderman films. Looking back at Spiderman 2 where it played out in a operatic fashion with a ticking clock and something scientific at stake (like clean free nuclear energy at the cost of an egotistical and equally brilliant scientist, Doc Ock played brilliantly by Alfred Molina). I do feel this film does not not have ‘that’ moment.

P.S. Chris Evans as Captain America is the boss.

Wonder Woman – Savior of the DCEU

If you don’t know (or feel) the cultural significance of Wonder Woman right now let me just put it in your conscious once again. Wonder Woman is a 75 year old character who’s ‘never’ had a large screen adaptation ever till now. She considered a part of the trinity of the most popular comic book characters ever. Yet she’s never had a movie because people believed it will never make as much money as Batman and Superman. Recent reports show Wonder Woman has grossed more than BvS in the US Box Office. Could any sane person say this even 5 years ago? Think of all those people who are getting represented for the first time ever on screen. If you’re a white or brown dude, like myself, we’ll never in its full capacity, grasp the meaning
of seeing someone relatable do the things we want to do. But if you’re a 14 year old girl who sees this powerful and strong willed woman fighting for peace and not obeying the words of a war general who sits comfortably while giving orders to soldiers to shed blood instead of doing it himself, you are being brought up just fine.

Now as a film it’s no secret that Wonder Woman is heavily influenced from Richard Donner’s Superman. In tone (a couple of scenes taken directly from it to pay homage) and with the pacing, yes but Wonder Woman is essentially a god unlike Superman. She’s a myth and she’s all powerful and righteous. What they (DC) do manage to do is tell a comprehensible and complete story. In the modern world of flashy trailer like editing or meaningless Bayhem, we do get a human story from an idolized god figure. A story where not everything went well. They did not live happily ever after, Diana has her delusions of mankind busted and yet she chooses to trust the imperfections of man. She makes a conscious decision to love inspire of the prevalent hate of a World War. That’s whats resonant and unique. The fact that Patty Jenkins (The Director) was given the creative license to portray a singular vision is great. There are some special moments in the film which will stand the test of (and grow with) time. This version will be the quintessential wonder woman origin for this generation. And that is huge. Chris Pine will forever be Steve Trevor and Gal Gadot will always be wonder woman for some no matter how many remakes they make. That’s the power of this film.

Now it’s not perfect but no film is. Our own subjective desires entail us to nitpick but there is little petty minds like myself can do anything about the fact that I felt the pacing in the second half could’ve been improved. But that’s probably the YouTube attention span of my mind talking. If this was 1975, people wouldn’t mind it being longer. Gal Gadot is, I don’t know, one day I’d say she’s the perfect casting choice because of the charm in her smile and the physicality but on another day, I would prefer someone who’s accent didn’t take me out of it. Again I am just a dumbfuck sitting and judging. The movie was great. It made me emotional at times. The chemistry between Chris Pine and Gal Gadot was infectious and the writing was smart and deliberate. Patty Jenkins made this movie with heart and passion because of what this film needed to do. The fact that she did empower the character of Wonder Woman without having to downgrade or diminish the male counterpart, Chris Pine, is truly admirable and respect worthy. Their love wasn’t cynical at any stage and it was framed with a romance of a time gone by. I was a fucking mess when she leaps off from a platform in the comtemporary world (was it london?) and her intensly powerful theme song plays which fades into black and the credits roll.

Now Wonder Woman means a lot more in the DCEU going forward than ever before.

Unveiling ‘La La Land’: A Passionate Ode to Dreams, Jazz, and Love in Hollywood | Review 2023

La La Land is about Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling).

Mia is a struggling actress turned cashier who stands in front of executives from Hollywood who would rather concentrate on their phones instead of listening to her giving her soul into her acting auditions. No one cares for her dreams and there are plenty of insecurities and fears lurking. Things are not as vibrant as her clothing. Sebastian, with Ryan Gosling’s goodness, is passionate about Jazz. He plays the piano like a king. In terms of achieving success, he doesn’t really have anything but clearly a lot of desire. He aims to open a Jazz cafe in LA that plays “real jazz”. The story is an ode to the ‘City of Stars’ and our characters ask ‘Are you shining just for me?’ It’s a story about passion, love, jazz, colors, dreams, hopes, and real life at the same time.

It’s about how we stay focused on course to find our passions and sometimes in life some person we’d never thought we would date comes to completely derail us. The pain of gaining someone and then losing yourself. Now tell me you haven’t felt like that in real life.

The first shot of La La Land is a 3–4 minute dance sequence with some brilliant and technically astounding camera/dance moves on a traffic jam on a flyover in Los Angeles. To be able to see this 35mm film shot with cinemascope lenses in IMAX was incredible. The color palette of a beautiful dreamland of a city (LA) was an absolute delight to watch. I often love when filmmakers and filmmakers are confident enough to show meaningful wide shots of spaces where our characters live and breathe.

Damien Chazelle, the director of La La Land holds plenty of frames for a beautiful amount of time. The film, just because of the camera work, is able to allow us a proper window into the lives of these people. You might have heard/seen posters of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone dancing to beautiful sunsets of LA but perhaps what you realize when you actually see them doing this, is the hard work and commitment which must have gone into the process of making this beautiful film. This is clearly a film made with passion, with love, and for the artists and the dreamers. Yes, this film is for the ‘fools who dream’ ‘no matter how silly it may seem.’

Let’s talk about the music, shall we? You would imagine a modern musical to perhaps be a little distinct in terms of the singing, dancing, and dramatic scenes. No … La La Land is a differently-abled masterpiece. The music, the lyrics, the technical proficiency, the characters, and the story all tell the same coherent story as Damien’s first film Whiplash where the editing and shots are so precise that it feels like a perfect blend of quick emotional surges and slow breathing holding shots. The film makes you feel so many emotions yet gives you faith and motivation to continue dreaming.

Spoilers Ahead:

Stands out scenes for me were …

  1. Mia’s audition at the end: Emma Stone sings in this continuous take revealing what her character feels is powerful. Especially when an image of a struggling artist like that lingers on screen for a while it leaves a lasting impression. This is the scene that will probably nudge the Oscar in her favor.
  2. Epilogue at the end: Beautiful and mesmerizing musical montage storytelling. With an end so heartbreaking yet poignant and true. The writing and characters are magical.
  3. ‘City of Stars’ sequences: My favorite soundtrack in a long time.
  4. Basically, the whole movie is brilliant.

Make no mistake about it …

La La Land is destined to be a classic. It’s a worthy IMAX experience.

Although I have yet to see the likes of Manchester by the Sea, Silence, Moonlight, etc. I would be surprised if this one doesn’t win the 2017 Academy Awards for Best Soundtrack, best song, Best Actress (Emma Stone), and Best Film.

Arrival — A Retrospective

From the first frame of ‘Arrival’ you feel like you’re in for a serious and deep exploration of the mystical and philosophical implications if aliens, beyond our technological capabilities, ever visited us. But the approach is science and linguistics, to understand the what ifs and not the usual taken for granted approach of the mystical (Marvel/DC movies). This is where this feels fresh. The almost transcendental qualities of this film comes from the real time showcasing of events with hypnotic music.

One can enjoy every second of the camera work. Every second of it. The wide shots to allow us entry to the world of the character, the little time she spends in her apartment opening her door and keeping the keys or as she talks on the phone is crucial. Everyone’s heard the buzz about how good Amy Adams is in the film but I felt this was purely a three-person show. The director, cinematographer and music composer all excelled in their ways. The editing falls just a smidge. One realizes when one watches a movie like Arrival how difficult it is to hold onto one tone and be constantly engaging and simulating but it manages that in the form of excellent direction. The cinematography is the most satisfying mix of, geometric and industrial yet inspired and essentially the tool telling the story, I’ve seen this year. I bet Oscar nomination if not the win. The music is not memorable yet fits in as an experiential device.

Spoilers Ahead:

So let’s not deal with the science fiction of it. There are time paradoxes and loopholes if you go too much into the why’s of the plot. The plot’s weak but the message and the visual narration is very strong. The first contact section of the screenplay is the strongest and we connect with the character of Amy Adams immediately. The underdog, the linguistics professor in a class where the kids hardly seem to care with their gadgets and relationships to hold their attention, who’s had a kid taken away from her by death are all things we relate to somewhere with someone we’ve seen in real life. She’s called upon by the CIA to decode and ask the big question from the aliens. What is your purpose of coming to earth? She feels important and overcomes fear and in the end becomes at peace with who she is and what she wants. That’s the essence of the film. Also how language plays a part in the international trade and political scheme of things and how we as humans treat each other due to different languages and how we’re crippled by the issues of the past. These are ambitious themes that are tackled within a story following “Louise” (Amy Adams) all the way through, going further in time and backwards in a flashy/dreamy loop of things that the writer of the book wants.

“Story of Your Life” is a science fiction short story, on which the film is cased, by Ted Chiang. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award.

“So many of our conflicts and our problems stem from miscommunication.” — Screenwriter, Eric Heisserer

The dreamy, mixed with realistic nature of the film, will make its way for comparisons with 2001: A space odyssey, Contact and Interstellar but the film is not for everyone’s taste and it is its own kind of animal we’re trying to communicate with. It asks more questions than it answers and that for me a strength for films sometimes. Questions like …

“Would you change anything in your life if you knew it from start to end?”

The Only Letter — Original Short Fiction

India, 1997

An old lady enters a very old post office. She clearly has developed difficulty walking as she limps forward and asks the only visible postman to direct her towards the postal boxes. As she fumbles the key in trying to open the rickety old box her eyes light up with excitement. The way her heart pounded almost worried her and so she deliberately stops to take 4–5 deep breaths. The nasty old box finally opens and she stretches to feel for paper inside.

There it was.
The only one letter left inside read like this…

“I’m sorry, it’s been a while but you know that I always want to write to you. Sometimes you know, time flows in a way that it’s hard to tell what life’s progress has been. How have you been? Everyone at home?

The other day I was thinking about how our own minds play tricks on us. Sometimes it feels nothing could possibly be better and while at other times you feel something is definitely missing. I got a chance to visit your city at last and I couldn’t stop thinking about our countless conversations about all the places that you knew of and kept telling me about. This place has the best Poha, this place has the best sweets in town, this store has the best sarees and the widest collection in the state and whatnot. I did try everything you had so meticulously detailed in terms of the overall sensory experience. And I wish we could have been together at that time. It used to take more than a week to deliver our letters to each other, remember? Everything has become so fast now suddenly. I’ve heard in large cities like Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta
it gets delivered within 2 days. Imagine talking to each other three times in a week! That would’ve been maddening. You’d never run out of things to say I am sure.

It’s been so long since we met. Yet the time just keeps passing without ever stopping for anything, does it? You must be wondering why am I babbling about things I feel instead of giving you some actual news or maybe not,
maybe this is exactly what you need to hear. All the major life decisions I have taken have only been taken after consulting you in some way. And I felt on this occasion it’s opportune for me to thank you for all that you’ve done for me. All that you’ve been for me. How I see things is that without you things would have been hard and the hurdles of life perhaps impossible to overcome. You sat hundreds of kilometers away and clapped at all my achievements and cried when something didn’t work out. Our paths didn’t have to match but they needed encouragement and you gave me that. So thank you. Sometimes
its weird that we have to do it this way, hidden from everyone. You know what I mean. But I’ve valued our relationship quite
a lot.

Perhaps only death will do us part.
I have a photograph of us smiling during college that I got developed and I am sending it over. Remember how much we laughed when a truck splashed water all over you and fell in the mud behind from the force of it? I had a physical reaction in my stomach that time because it hurt so much.

Hope you like it.

Your friend Jeet”

This was the last letter the old lady received.