Movie Review : Dark Knight Rises

A tribute to Christopher Nolan’s Epic Masterpiece – The Dark Knight Rises
(Now I am an avid fan of Christopher Nolan’s movies.. but I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible and give this amazing rare breed of a director, who makes movies for his own creative fulfillment while never leaving the epic cinematic sense that has gotten a pop culture following, a well deserve ovation.)

The Dark Knight Rises begins years from where The Dark Knight ended and what follows is a piece of cinematic perfection. The first hour of movie is a slow steady buildup for a journey to doomsday and that when the movie takes a breathtaking pace. The Doomsday in itself is one of the best visual representation of the worst a society can get.

Where The Dark Knight, though a great movie in itself, left us with a sense of gloom at the end, this installment is full of surprises and definitely leaves you with an awed expression while leaving the movie theatre. And yeah the vehicles at disposal of batman are an art in themselves. (And damn, if I wouldn’t want that bike for me!)

Christopher Nolan’s mastery not just the strong story and direction but also lies in his characters. Each character has depth and a story of their own. Our Batman himself is not ever-present but deals a battle with himself; his darkness, his fight with his will and power and fear or lack there of, his self destructiveness.

This is a must watch movie and not just once. Even if I know all the surprises there lies for the viewers I wouldn’t miss to see the story unfold again and again.

Movie Review: The Pianist (2002)

To watch hands flying over keys of piano, as they play Nocturne C sharp major op. Posth by Chopin, in the pivotal scene in the movie. And I mean literally flying...the flick of wrist and finger so quick and light at some points and sharp thrusts on other. It was mesmerizing. Only love for the instrument and music can creat such an effect, really.

I would have loved to say the whole movie is about music. But it's not. Though music is the major part of it. Its an account of a Jew Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, a pianist from Warsaw, who survived the holocaust. For those who want to compare it with other holocaust movies like Schindler's list, don't. It's not a hero's tale. It's a survivor's account. The only things common in both movies are the gruesome acts of German so vividly brought to our sight; and that both are based on true stories. But here, there is no hero.

The movie is about how our protagonist survived merely due to shear luck and a lot of help from many friendly but also some unexpected sources. For some it might seem that some parts are detached from emotion but what Director Roman Polanski, himself a holocaust survivor, wants to portray is that most of the survivor did survive mostly by hiding, wandering off from places to places and because of help and support of friendly sympathetic hands. Their survival is not a hero's account because they had lived, carrying the knowledge that their loved ones died, and they couldn't do anything but live with the weight of it all their lives. His own experience and attachment to the horrific war is brought out elegantly in his work in movie. Adrien Brody's acting as Szpilman is commendable. He makes the character most believable.

The background score for most parts is best of Maestro Chopin's work, as Szpilman was known for his work on Chopin's compositions. They form the most key moments of the movie.