Tag: steven spielberg

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Jurassic World : Fallen Kingdom (2018)

It’s tricky to make the 2nd instalment for a Trilogy, without it seeming like a bridge. This film, though relying vaguely on the back story of Jurassic World, stands confidently on its own while engaging the audience.

It’s a step forward in the area of genetic engineering, and sets up a simplistic plot to get the dinosaurs off the island. What ensues is some nurturing, some comedy, and some dare-devil acts never attempted before.

The result? Some decent twists and turns while keeping the human quotient intact. We feel for the survival and extinction of the species in an empathetic light.

3/5

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The Post (2017)

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Directed by Steven Spielberg, this matter of fact film couldn’t have been released at a better time. Its making and release was perhaps orchestrated to highlight what the American nation is currently going through.

Art has always been used to say a truth that may have been drowned or obliterated by history or power. What Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep give is one of their ordinary performances, doing an extraordinary service to the American people.

Sorry to side track in a review, but remember ‘WMDs’? Weapons of mass destruction which didn’t exist, leading to the invasion and ruination of so many countries. Were the leaders who did that held accountable? No.

This film speaks of a time when leaders were served justice, and history should and will repeat itself.

3/5

The BFG

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Steven Spielberg may not have made a blockbuster or box office money spinner but it’s still a sweet gentle tale which is made with great care and detail.

The Big Friendly Giant is a reminder of our childhoods, a simpler time where stories were all we had. Roald Dahl, a celebrated writer, contributed greatly to literature and story telling. This movie is just that, a story where you can immerse yourself and be captivated by its imagination which is brought alive by visual brilliance.

Actors Ruby Barnhill, Mark Rylane and Penelope Wilton deserve mention for doing their roles so sincerely and in the spirit of a fantasy tale.

2/5

Bridge of Spies (2015)

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Talk about Magic in the Muggle world! Steven Spielberg surely is a magician!

He weaves and creates Cold War USA and other locations with unerring ease. He builds a drama at a leisurely and rich pace. With the piercingly honest Tom Hanks he brings to the fore the nuances of a brilliant actor. Mark Rylance brings a mysterious clarity to his role, and a host of supporting actors add to the crisply edited proceedings.

Rooting his drama in history and fact, we are quickly unaware that we are watching a film. Every frame is authentic, there is massive attention to detail alongside a firm grip on the plot and screen play.

A cinematic experience, a sensitive decisive movie which is a treat for the senses!

4/5

Jurrasic World (2015)

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Old is gold and sometimes should remain old. The 4th instalment of the magnificent Jurrasic park which released in 1994, is bitten hard by the capitalist bug and doesn’t impress.

Why a director like Colin Trevvorow who doesn’t have much to his credit was chosen for such an iconic film isn’t clear, but its effects are visible from the moment the film starts. The caricature like characters and the overly simplified setting the dinosaurs are in makes you wonder how much could go wrong.

And go wrong it does. Limited thrills ensue, with most of the good stuff already shown in the promo, all we want to know is how it will end. The last 15 minutes redeem the film with classic action and some humour.

The film made more than $500 million in its opening weekend, the first to do so! A sequel is in the offing. But it wasn’t a patch on the first film. The back ground score wasn’t well developed, the film lacked tension, urgency. The complications were either too easy or seemed forced. Some old moments and cast make you nostalgic, but otherwise the drama was extinct.

2.5/5

The hundred foot journey (2014)

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Writer Richard C. Morais probably didn’t imagine such a stellar cast and rich production would be given to his novel. Two beautiful worlds collided in this film, where Indian spices and flavours gave age old French recipes and classic culinary a delectable twist.

The story is neither predictable, nor are the characters. Helen Mirren plays the Michelin Star restaurant owner who has new ‘neighbours’. They have opened ‘Mumbai Maison’, an Indian restaurant 100 feet from hers. There starts a journey which no one could have foreseen. Director Lasse Hallström’s repertoire of the ABBA videos and his impressive filmography show a flair to balance such contrasting elements.

Besides salivating throughout the film, and laughing at ‘Papa’ Om Puri’s exquisite ‘Indian-ness’, we are treated by the stiff and snobby Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) and the vulnerable yet talented Hassan (Manish Dayal). They are ably supported by Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) and a small yet adorable cast playing both Hassan’s family and Madame’s staff and town folk. Sensitive bonds, breath-taking French locales, cinematography that captures our own emotions and feelings set this film apart in 2014.

We take with us the tastes of both cultures, but above all, the lesson that good food never goes unrewarded. Prejudice takes a back seat and talent takes centre stage. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and five others, with music by A.R.Rahman, this is one masterchef you cannot afford to miss.

Running to packed houses in limited cinemas with even fewer shows, savour it now!

3.5/5