Reviews
princess mononoke
-vishnu kishor thampi
Powerful visuals, splendid music and amazing animation, Princess Mononoke has it all. The first time I watched this film, I was getting into my anime phase, and I never looked back after this. Creative director Hayao Miyazaki and powerful composer Joe Hisaishi come together to create a pure work of art.
I'm going to start by talking about the plot. It's intricately crafted and very clearly deals with the repercussions of war. Although it's supposed to be a movie for children, it never holds back on the gruesome and vicious details. We follow Ashitaka, a Japanese prince from a distant, long forgotten tribe. An encounter with a deadly beast leaves him cursed, and he spends the rest of the movie trying to rid himself of it. Each scene moves through the varying intensities and far reaches of war. It starts mellow, with battles against a few farmers and samurai and finishes with an epic struggle against the forces of nature and mankind.
What is most unique about the plot is that it doesn't have a ‘villain’ of sorts. Instead, the movie decides to focus on perspectives. Each character seems real because we understand their flaws, their strengths, their reason to fight and most importantly we see their good AND bad side. Miyazaki ensures that both the heroic and villainous sides of the character are looked at with equal amount of importance and clarity. We are left with a shade of grey. We never judge a character for what they do, because no matter how horrendous or delightful their actions are, we understand their reasons for doing the same.
Another aspect that Miyazaki has masterfully brought into this film is human nature. Each character reacts differently to the same scenario. They walk a little differently, run a little differently and talk with a wide range of emotion. Even in crowds, the elements remain. Never do we see monotony or similarity between any of the characters. All of these aspects come together to create a world whose reaches stretch far beyond the boundaries of the silver screen.
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The animation in this 1997 film is so spectacular that it holds up even to today's standards. It’s fluid, fast paced and exquisite in every sense of the word. One thing that this film has captured flawlessly is how the characters react with their environment. When the characters are moving through a forest, you see the drops of water on the leaves, the sunlight breaking through a canopy hitting the puddles and babbling brooks. The trees sway with the gusts of wind and the earth shakes with the movement of animals. Each component reacts with all that is around it, making the animation that much more realistic. Each frame flows, and each frame is a beautifully designed painting.
Ashitaka as shown on the poster for the movie
The sound design in this movie cannot be described with words. We hear grass crunch under feet, we hear the howling wind, the power of the firing cannons and cries of people clambering over one another, ready to fight. Every footstep, every swishing arrow, every trickling trail of blood is taken into account. The sound adds texture and depth to the film. Joe Hisaishi composed an extremely energetic soundtrack for the film. He adds real tension to a battle and grace to a fighting warrior. When we hear the music in this film, emotions swell and you have no control over what you feel. The film takes control of your senses using its music alone. But, Miyazaki very cleverly adds multiple moments in the film without a soundtrack. It's in these scenes we understand the sounds that define a place. For a tribe, we hear the gurgling streams of water, the swishing grass, and the quiet demeanour. For a city we hear the clanging of metal, the loud, muttering, rambling crowd and the powerful crackling flames. The sounds make what we see that much more believable.
For action and adventure fans this movie is an absolute treat. It has sophisticated scenes, powerful music, and stunning visuals that’ll blow you away regardless of your perception of animation or anime.
Dan brown's inferno:
a review
-snigdha dhameja
All of the Dan Brown books I’ve read so far consist of the same plot template: a breakneck chase across a historically relevant city, insearch of something ancient that threatens to purge the peace of the present. Not that this book was any different. However, ‘Inferno’ contains a storyline that is eerily coincidental to what is happening in the world right now, and presents a battle of ethics versus science that will leave you thinking, even days after you’ve deposited the book back on your bookshelf, even after you’ve turned many pages of a completely different story. It is an important book, not because of all the pumped adrenaline and thrilling description, but because it presents ideas and themes present in the world we live in now, subtly hidden between the covers.
If you’re wondering what I’m rambling about, the story essentially follows Robert Langdon, a famed art historian and symbologist who is in search of something left behind by a madman billionaire scientist, something that presents itself to be a threat to all of humankind. Haven’t guessed it already? I won’t spoil it for you.
What the ‘threat’ does is simple: it fixes the problem of overpopulation. The person who has created the threat has hidden clues and hints, most of them revolving around Dante’s ‘Inferno’, after which the book has been named. The book takes you along a scenic and action-packed tour of Florence, Italy, occasionally giving you a miniature history lesson, which is something I appreciated. If you’re also looking for a crash course on Dante 101 without the bore, this book might help with that too.
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This book is also rife with several rollercoaster-type twists and turns, and ends with a cliffhanger that sets you off on the ethical dilemma I mentioned before. I
Dan Brown's Inferno:
It takes you on a utterly thrilling, whirlwind of a story, set in both the modern and medieval landscape of Europe.
enjoyed this book, and am constantly amazed by Brown’s ability to describe the events of one day in a whopping 620 pages. Talk about heavy description, research and attention to detail!
What I liked about this book, was of course, the pace at which it was set. Most books narrate a story of months, or even years in much lesser pages, but this book tells us about the unfolding events in a matter of hours, written meticulously.
However, there were some flaws in characterization, as some personas weren’t explored completely, or were portrayed as too perfect or too flawed. With the historical and artistic allusions, the book was grounded in reality, but some parts of the story seem too far-fetched to be part of the storyline the writer had conjured.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a stimulating thriller, and has a a keen interest in history. The story leaves you on the edge of your seat, and the themes and ideas portrayed couldn’t be less important when it comes to present day scenarios.
hamilton:
an american musical
-ishana modi
As someone who has had the Original Broadway Cast Album of Hamilton on repeat for the last three years, this recording feels sacred. Shot in June 2016, this movie captures the iconic chemistry of the original cast of Hamilton: An American Musical on film. For those of you who have never seen or heard of this cultural phenomena, it follows the life of the American founding father Alexander Hamilton, as he fights in the Revolutionary War and goes on to become the first treasury secretary. If you haven’t watched or heard it, I recommend you do so before continuing to read this review.
I have to start with the cinematography. The shots were absolutely stunning and well thought out. Thomas Kail, the director of both the musical and movie did a spectacular job of integrating as much of the live experience as possible. The set design and lighting incredibly depicted the mood of each scene. My personal favourite was when the red light changes to blue in order to suit His Majesty’s tantrum. The props and costumes gave the entire show a dream-like feel of being transported back in time, yet seemed to make the story more real.
Lin-Manuel Miranda DESTROYING Daveed Diggs in a rap battle as a horrified Chris Jackson looks on
As for the cast, I don’t think any words in my limited human vocabulary will ever be able to describe how fabulous their performance was. What truly blows me away is that they performed with this same passion and emotion eight times a week. The fact that the actors on stage look nothing like the people in textbooks really shows what a marvelous storyteller Lin-Manuel Miranda is. Modernising the story and diversifying the cast to make the message of the musical more relevant was a genius move that revolutionised musical theater in such an incredible way. Every character was distinct and unique which allowed the same actors to play different characters without causing much confusion.The choreography and the ensemble truly made the show complete by fleshing out the scenes and adding the Broadway feel to the musical.
From left to right: Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thanyne Jasperson and the Company of Hamilton in one of my favourite scenes, Farmer Refuted
A poster of the pre-recorded musical
The vocals and music together formed two halves of a masterpiece. Lin-Manuel Miranda somehow manages to create and compose catchy songs that tell a story. A feat that seems to be nothing short of a miracle. (Notice that I haven’t named any cast members other than Lin, that’s simply because I’m scared I’ll forget someone and I loved them all.)
My only complaint was that the intermission was too short and I wasn’t able to find the adequate number of boxes of tissues to prepare myself for the second act. No matter how many times I watch it, It’s Quiet Uptown always gets me to bawl my eyes out. But recently, this musical has sparked a lot of controversy. Many are saying it glorifies people who were either engaged or complicit in the act of slavery. I believe that this musical purposely doesn’t dive into that topic as there is only so much you can fit in two and a half hours. And judging by how fast the raps are, every second is being utilised to its maximum capacity. At the end of the day, this show is about hope and how countries keep evolving over time and I think we should try to look at it from that perspective.
The incredible Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones being feminist icons in the ‘Schuyler Sisters’
Lastly: the Gasp. I love that Hamilton ends on an open-ended note rather than a defined end. Of all the theories, my favourite is that Lin is the one leading Eliza to the edge of the stage, not Alexander and what she sees is a packed theater of people listening to her story. The expression that crosses Phillipa Soo’s face at that moment always causes tears to spring to my eyes.
This musical to me is a revolutionary and bold piece of art that transcends time. It has inspired me to fight for what I want and do as much as possible with whatever time I have. It also teaches me that someone else’s success does not mean your failure and jealousy only drives you to make mistakes.
Now, I’m going to watch the musical one last time, even though I’ll never be satisfied. But I can’t wait for it as this musical just renders me helpless. (See how I did not throw away my shot?)
The mandalorian
-Aryan mahesh
Star Wars as a movie franchise has taken a turn for the worse in the latest movies. Then came the Mandalorian. It was refreshing to see a star wars show that actually felt like Star Wars - full of wonder, excitement, melodious soundtracks and amazing dialogue. It is one of my personal favourites in the franchise. And this is why.
The Mandalorians are a group of bounty hunters that will do any mission for the right price. The story follows the adventures of ‘Mando’, one of the Mandalorians, and the mission the he goes on is to hunt down a mysterious life form which has powers that people haven’t seen in a long time. He is informed that the creature is fifty years old but when he actually finds it, it’s a tiny green baby of Yoda’s species - a beloved character from the original Star Wars movies who instantly won over the audience. Mando feels bad for the baby and decides to take it with him and not deliver it to the hunters as he was supposed to do. As a result of his action, all Mandalorians turn against him under the leadership of a new Imperial Army. Mando now goes on a run across the galaxy. Each episode describes another one of his adventures with the Baby Yoda and meets funny little characters and visiting locations that are iconic to this series, like the Workshop, where the Mandalorians get their gear upgraded by a skilled blacksmith, or Tatooine which is a planet where the first Star Wars was set. Finally in the season ending, all the episodes connect in one epic showdown and a brand new antagonist is introduced.
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From its scenery to its dialogue, The Mandalorian is a wonderful, well-crafted story that deserves much
A still from The Mandalorian.
more praise and attention than it actually got. The acting is done well and the computer graphics look believable and aesthetically pleasing. There is a good character arc in the story where many characters turn on what they believed in for the greater good, in a way that isn’t jarring or out of character. For instance, Mando himself is supposed to be ruthless and apathetic, but when he saw Baby Yoda, he empathised with it and even shot the droid that was about to take its life. Another aspect is that he earns every piece of gear that he wears by impressing both the other Mandalorians and the audience.
The only flaw I can find in this show is that the episodes up until the final one seem a bit disconnected. I feel the show could have done a better job transitioning episode to episode. Yes, the point of it was to connect all mini adventures together by the finale, but that could have been executed better, in my opinion.
In conclusion, the Mandalorian is a must watch and I highly recommend it to everyone, not only people who are familiar with Star Wars as the story doesn’t depend too much on the rest of lore.