Monthly Archives: April 2015

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