BLACK MIRROR SEASON 3 (NETFLIX)

A BLEAK FUTURE HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD !!!

The first two series of Charlie Brooker’s anthology served up some of the sharpest sci-fi in years. This year with the introduction of Netflix the budget has been upped resulting in some of the best production values on TV. The half dozen episodes of Season 3 are a cult TV offering with “unhappy endings” that’ll leave you fully entertained. This classic series revels in seeing people, usually unaware of their frightful destinies, powerless to halt the realizations of their fates. But for us the audience it is cathartic to watch them crash and burn !!!

Social Media. Online Gaming. Porn. Virutal Worlds. Philosophical Consequences of High Tech Warfare. And Social Media again…… are the themes of the six episodes. Don’t let the big words and bigger ideas fool you or put you off— the episodes are superbly scripted, extremely easy to understand and make a great impression on the watcher…

These new alt-future fables come with the same pointed warning: Beware the cost of technologies that dehumanize the human experience while purporting to enhance it.

Think of the episodes as 6 mini-movies which are so immersive that it will take you a while to return to normal once you’ve seen one. This crop of dystopian tales serves to remind us how terminally dependent we are on the iPhones, apps, gadgets, doodads, and next-gen inventions that may sooner “kill” us than make for better living.

This is MUST SEE TV (Warning: you may never look at your gadgets in the same way again !!)

If you haven’t subscribed to NETFLIX do so right away. This series itself is worth the Rs.650 per month !!!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

Captain America : Civil War (a more appropriate title – Avengers Infinity War part Zero)

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When it comes to superhero culture, can there be too much of a good thing? That’s the conundrum facing the purveyors of the shared-universe paradigm… They obviously think that there can’t — hence the 146 minutes!!

Civil War’s a remarkably coherent and tightly focused affair that by virtue of clarity and concision, manages to keep all its ducks in a row while providing both the movies billed, i.e. the sequel to Winter Soldier and the Avengers’ civil war, AND providing lucid and substantive introductions to new characters. (here we have a superhero movie that gathers no fewer than fifteen heroes and villains in roles that amount to considerably more than cameos, but it does so with both style and coherence). This is akin to a triple somersault, but if you can’t stick the landing , the audience won’t care. And the Russo brothers do pull it off….

You get a James Bondian film-opening action sequence times four (coz 4 avengers) , a centerpiece six-on-six clash of the superheroic titans, and a twist-y this-time-its-personal fight climax, along with enough quips to get you double-checking the credits for a Joss Whedon assist.

While I don’t want to give any of the story-line, I will stick to what is already known – Cap vs. Iron….Given both sides of the argument are represented by characters the audience assumes to be sincere and fundamentally decent in nature, the movie could only work if the plot contrived to give weight to both positions. Both characters are moral, both are slaves to their personal bios, and neither particularly wants to fight the other. Yet they do, and that tragic dimension gives the colourful blockbuster some much needed heft. (and prevents it from being a silly fight “over whether the dress is white or blue”)

On the minor flipside, the movie’s too damn long and inspite of that there’s a frustrating feeling of incompleteness. But you go in with the expectation that its trying to fit in a lot while at the same time setting up some other movies and you’ll be happy…. (Note: number of times I checked my watch = 0)

In conclusion, Marvel you’ve given us another Marvel !!

Bring on the next = Avengers: Infinity War—Part 1 and 2

Saumil Bhanshali

DEMOCRACY IS SO OVERRATED! – HOUSE OF CARDS

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A revolutionary idea in 2012-13, stream all the episodes of a top-notch TV show all at once on Netflix — is now commonplace. I can’t imagine now waiting for every episode week after week !! Netflix, for better or worse, has given its users a Pavlovian response to the consumption of its top-shelf programming: binge it soon, binge it fast, and get in on the conversation before it ends.

The new season starts essentially right after last year’s finale, with Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) off on her own after announcing her intention to divorce Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), following a tumultuous season between the two. To retaliate, Frank gets a few of his right-hand men, Stamper (Michael Kelly) and Seth (Derek Cecil), to begin trying to figure out Claire’s next move before she makes it. When Claire hires her own Stamper in the form of campaign adviser Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell), you could practically pop popcorn off the top of your streaming device of choice, given how much heat and tension boils to the surface of the once kinda-happily married power couple.

Having finally schemed, connived, plotted and doubled-crossed his way into the Oval Office, its now Underwood vs. Underwood – the real heavyweight bout – who cares about political opponents, you can’t possibly hit closer to home than this. And that works, since “House of Cards,” at its best, is part political thriller, part “Dallas”-like soap opera, part Shakespearean tragedy.

HoC’s cleverest trick is that despite committing some undeniably evil acts you still kinda like Frank. It’s the way he breaks the fourth wall, directly addressing the viewer, drawing you into his schemes, confiding in you. It’s a career best performance from Spacey, terrifying yet still effortlessly charismatic.

The other career best is from Wright, so good at being meticulously cruel – she makes it look like an art form. At one point, Claire’s mother tells her that she is stronger than Frank. That’s the whole question, now isn’t it? Claire might be stronger. But is she craftier, more sly, more manipulative? Those are the compelling questions hanging over this fourth season.

The 4th season deck is definitely stacked in favor of “House Of Cards” – I repeat binge it soon, binge it fast and get in on the conversation before the new addiction comes along…….. A small aside Netflix stock price on the airdate of the first season in January 2013 was $13 and today its already $100, you can’t argue with the market — we definitely want more such content!!!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

15 Years …..

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Mr. ROBOT

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The best new show of the year !!!

Summer television was once the place where good (but usually very bad) TV went to die a merciful death away from the eyes of the public… and advertisers. It was the place networks dumped their undesirables and under-performers. Mr. Robot has single-handedly changed this emerging as the sleeper summer hit of the year. Its freshman season is compulsively watchable and the new obsession of millions of fans..

For the uninitiated, Mr. Robot stars Rami Malek (a definite Emmy contender) as Elliot, a hoodie-ensconced, disorder-riddled antihero with a penchant for hacking. Mr. Robot confronts the everyday realities of massive corporate greed, cyber terrorism, and the way the Internet makes us all very, very vulnerable.

Unafraid to move furiously fast and hypnotically slow at the same time, it’s the writers’ ability to go from zero to (ro)batshit in the blink of an eye that keeps us hooked. Deeply immersed in current events it’s a rare gem that is the dictionary definition of fresh. The show also relies extensively on its star Rami Malek whose performance is twitchy explosive perfection. The others at Fsociety and Ecorp are also phenomenal and I almost forgot to mention there’s Christian Slater too…

Creator Sam Esmail’s background as a “film nerd” certainly helps to enthrall us for the entire series. He’s a virtuoso at intrigue and misdirection and the whole TV show seems as if it was made for the big screen! A feat few can boast of….

At its heart, Mr. Robot is cyberpunk, the sci-fi subgenre set in a near-future world where the reality that exists within computer networks can feel more real than actual reality — if this sounds and feels familiar – its because this is the way most of us live now and more importantly how most of us have chosen to live now !! Whatsup YouTwitFace — if you get the drift…

“Democracy(Capitalism) has been hacked” — better login as soon as possible to find out how, why and by whom. Binge-watch just got its next Must-See member!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug4fRXGyIak

STAR WARS – no further explanation required, just shut up and take my republican credits !!

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When the first Star Wars released on May 25th 1977, I was all of 12 days old !!! I watched the first one when I was 8 years old and that is my first clear memory of being mesmerized by cinema….

Star Wars has so profoundly influenced worldview that in the 80’s even President Reagan himself dubbed the Soviet Union as “the evil empire”…. Infact world over there are more than a few million people with Jediism as their listed religion. If you don’t believe this Wikipedia it. May the 4th is celebrated internationally as Star Wars day…..

On looking at the new trailer for the upcoming Star Wars (sequel) trilogy I couldn’t help but write about my fascination with this iconic franchise and urge anyone who still hasn’t seen the movies to do so faster than Hans Solo piloting the Millenium Falcon! You might have heard that it revolutionized special effects, ushered in the era of the modern blockbuster or any of a million things that are probably true but still downplay the film’s massive impact. If there is one truth in this world it is that the Star Wars films (all six of them so far) are worth your time !!

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. “ sounds as good today as it did 38 years ago !!!

The Force Awakens premieres on December 18, 2015 – Christmas is surely coming early this year……. Four months to go, better start camping out or queueing up soon !!!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

PS4 GAME REVIEW – ARKHAM KNIGHT

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ARKHAM KNIGHT – THE LAST BUT BEST IN THE BATMAN VIDEO GAME TRILOGY
Batman: Arkham Asylum created a combat system that has been replicated to no end. The sequel, Arkham City, decreased slightly in quality, but still offered a unique way to traverse across an open world…… Arkham Knight lets players know what it’s like to be the bat in nearly every way that most Batman enthusiasts would ever want, from diving deeply into his complex relationships with characters like the Joker and commissioner Gordon to exploring his arsenal of gadgets and weapons – including, for the first time, the Batmobile.

Few games – and certainly no others in the super hero genus – have allowed players to inhabit a character to the degree to which players become the Dark Knight in Rocksteady Studios’ Batman series.

Took me 22 hours in total to finish on the PS4 (spread over 5 days) though if I was living by myself I could have done it in a day – who needs to pee or eat food when you’re Batman !!

The detailed design and pitch-perfect voice work are two of the biggest reasons the characters you run into work so well…It’s brimming with detail, polished to a fault, and has some of the best gaming moments of the year. (Convince yourself – check out some of the gameplay on youtube). The improved combat and predator systems are worth the cost of entry, and a lot of the core combat mechanics are still the best in the genre.

Arkham Knight on the PS4 costs a little under $100 (or Rs.6000) but you HAVE to play it to believe it…. A fitting end, a definitive finale, you will become Batman !!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI
Switch Magazine issue for the week ending 4th July, 2015

MAD MAX = Maximum Madness

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Like one critic said “Believe the hype it will melt your face off”. 36 years after the original Mel Gibson epic comes Mad Max: Fury Road both directed by the same genius George Miller (Can you imagine in the interim he made adorable kids movies – Babe and Happy Feet…. This is certainly not a kid’s movie, though!!) . Call it a remake, reboot or a refuel, this movie is a perfectly orchestrated symphony of violence, beauty and insanity at the same time! Consider a T20 match with sixes hit in 18 of the 20 overs – it just doesn’t slow down to let the audience catch its breath. The vehicles are in constant motion for maybe 100+ of the 120 minutes running time.

The story is simple. A perpetual war for fuel will turn a sandy region of the world into a wasteland crawling with barbarous death cultists in souped-up stock cars. (Incidentally most of the filming was done in Namibia). In our ruined future, the Wasteland is run by a grotesque, misshapen tyrant called King Immortan Joe. Max, a prisoner finds himself swept along on a mission of vengeance and recovery.

And so commences a two-hour death race, enlivened with such impressive stunt work it’s seriously hard to believe that dozens of people weren’t killed getting it all down on film. There’s barely any reliance on CGI and amazingly, Miller paces the almost nonstop action so that it’s neither tiresome nor hard to follow. No shaky-cam here; we see the spectacular stunts and choreographed fights in full clarity.

Buried within the sand and the smoke is a surprising amount of heart as well. It is universally understandable even without subtitles for someone who doesn’t speak English – its that clear!

Buckle up for the adrenaline rush because this is the fastest and most furious movie I have ever seen (Apologies to the FnF series).

This is not a movie its an event so the ticket price is immaterial – go watch it on the biggest screen possible (and maybe it will help rid the disappointment of having watched “Bombay Velvet”)…

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

AVENGERS – AGE OF ULTRON … Awesome to look at! – But we’ve seen it all before !! – But we must see it again !!!

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Another year. Another crisis. Another time humanity is saved…. The déjà vu is strong with this movie…

This movie offers a handful of intriguing developments but lacks the same dynamic chemistry that made the initial installment so much fun. Though impressively made and visually remarkable, it suffers from the hollowness that plagues so many blockbusters carrying the sense that we’ve been through this before. …………In layman’s terms it has the air of a rerun.

Fortunately, Joss Whedon has done justice to the nefarious cybernetic villain, appropriately voiced by James Spader who joins the most impressive cast ever assembled including (…deep breath) Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L Jackson, Andy Serkis, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen — when you juggle more than a dozen marquee names the multi-tasking seems more like scatter-brain!

But the main reason to watch the movie is that it feels like the pages of a comic book come to life.. Age of Ultron not only feels like a Joss Whedon movie, from beginning to end – with its emphasis on flawed heroes, the repercussions of choice and characters trading not only witticisms but smart, deep ideas about existence – it feels like a Marvel Comics crossover, it has the wacky sweep of a comic book, whose boundaries are defined only by the crazy imaginations of the writers and artists.

Think of this as the movie equivalent of the world’s best, but longest, roller coaster ride. You’re never far from a moment of heart-stopping excitement even if, by the end, you’re more than ready to step off.

The original Avengers took just over $1.5billion at the worldwide box office and it’s predicted the sequel will smash this figure with the force of a Hulk punch. So, if a ticket at a Mumbai multiplex costs Rs. 500 it’s irrelevant what this movie is worth…. Just go and buy the ticket – the spectacle is spectacular……

SAUMIL BHANSHALI

GAME OF THRONES

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ARTICLE 1.0 TELEVISION SHOWS – REVIEWS IN SWITCH MAGAZINE APRIL 2015.

GAME OF THRONES – signifying the golden age of TV….

The main reason why TV shows trump cinema these days is the space it affords for the story to breathe and the characters to grow. When applied correctly, the elongated storytelling opportunities afforded by television trump cinema’s frayed reliance on the drudgery of 120-minute three-act plots. At its best, a TV show can be freeform, veering from comedy to thriller to horror and back again. Take House Of Cards, Breaking Bad, Homeland, The Americans, Battlestar Galactica, Lost or the big bad dragon of them all “GAME OF THRONES”

Viewership for the season 5 premiere topped 8 million first time and cumulatively 20 million the world over. Add in another 20 million who downloaded it and watched. If it were a movie with a $10 price of admission – the first episode itself would have raked in anywhere between 200-400 million dollars !!! It should be noted that the finale episodes get an almost 30% bump up in viewership, so ….. you get the math !!

Starting with the theme song and ending most likely with a twist – this is must – watch television. For the uninitiated, Game of Thrones is based on the still-in-progress fantasy epic book series called A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin. Epic, breathtaking, heartbreaking, vivid, violent, awe-inspiring and addictive, it remains the single most remarkable feat of television, possibly ever, increasingly admirable for its ability to grow rather than simply sustain. Ardent fan Jimmy Kimmel recently noted on his ABC late night show that the series literally could go on for thousands of seasons, given the voluminous goings-on in George R.R. Martin’s fantasy book series. All I’m saying is just don’t kill Daenerys !!!!!

If you’ve not started on this journey, please do so with haste you won’t regret it.

Winter is Coming !!! and it has never looked nor felt so good !!!

SAUMIL BHANSHALI