The Man Without Fear

Not just me but every single person on this earth , who has come across the character or saw the movie starring Affleck was quite skeptical before watching this. And can’t blame them can we? The last outing is still considered as One of the worst comic book adaptations ever , I don’t second that thought to the fullest but ya , I do agree that the character didn’t get the adaptation he deserved. So , after 12 years after that Marvel decides to go for a reboot and to everybody’s surprise this time they decide to bring him to the TV-verse as A Netflix Original series : Marvel’s Daredevil. Man oh man , was that a treat to watch or what.

Netflix released all the episodes (13) which was the whole 1^st season(like they are known to do) on April , 10^th  and I couldn’t stop myself from watching the whole series as soon as it was available and I could finish the whole thing in a few sittings. And I have never ever been so glad , to have finished a thing in one go.

“You’ve got to feel what’s not there as much as what is”

Based on Frank Miller’s : The Man without fear , this TV series takes you on one hella ride from the word go. Starting from the 1st scene to the last scene of Episode 13 , everything was so beautifully crafted. Matt Murdock , a blind lawyer is actually a masked vigilante who fights crime and will be known as the Daredevil. What’s more awesome than this plot itself. So , the story unravels with proper character development of all the characters involved. The antagonist , who will eventually be called as the King-Pin deserves a special mention for his top notch portrayal as the cold blooded villain who is kinda insane  quite huge but normal in a way. He loves his city so much , that he can do anything to everything for it. 

The best thing about this show is the raw action sequences and the character trying to fight the devil in him. Is he actually a devil in a Man’s flesh or even thinking that is a blasphemy or he is just a guy who’s trying to do good?  Watch the series to know it for yourself. Not only the cinematography was fantastic and crafted to perfection but the whole feel to the series felt so darn right. For some it maybe quite dark but for a viewer looking forward to watch some quality superhero genre defining TV series which is also a crime drama , it doesn’t get better than this. This has got one of the best dialogues , awesome cinematography , jaw dropping raw action sequences and one of the best opening themes that I have come across lately. This is not just the best Superhero TV Show ever but it is one of the best crime drama shows out there with a strong plot intriguing enough to keep you interested till the very end. 

“Some men don't fear death , it is the living that scares the crap out of them”

True Detective

Season – 1 (No Spoilers for sure!)

Normally  , I don’t do reviews or recommendations until and unless the series has reached it’s Finale , but me doing this thing right now.. definitely has reasons attached to it and those reasons are…trust me..worthwhile. I couldn’t stop myself from sharing the awesomeness with you guys , frankly put.;)

I never thought I would watch a TV series as soon as a season is out , I usually wait for a couple of seasons at least , coz yeah , I have a tendency of “not-able-to -stop” myself from getting enough of the stuff I like. So , yeah I am definitely choosy when it comes to a TV-Series , not like movies. Everyone sometime in their lives has a head on collision with a crappy movie ….and God save those Poor souls, who undergo this collision quite frequently than the others. Seriously , God save ‘em!

So , yeah enough of the  this & that stuff , In straight simple words without much use of some real tough words selected pretty selectively from the “Damn-is –that –even –a-word” section from the English Dictionary, I would with no hesitation , simply like to state “ True detective is a purely class defining masterpiece , from HBO”.HBO does it yet again!.. ‘ coz I don’t know it’s just me or there are others who believe/think that most of the shows being aired on HBO are nothing less than pure Gold .

After the Oscar fame , Mathew McConaughey has just nailed it. His performance as Detective Rust Cohle, his lines , even the look or stare he has in eyes in various scenes are just Top-Notch and crafted to perfection. Man , he is a fantastic actor. He is definitely one of the best Fictional detective characters for sure. Then comes his partner Detective Marty Hart played by Woody Harrelson , and his acting skills are no news for us. As usual he makes us believe that there’s no one suited for this role than him.

And this show is about the lives of two Detectives who are in for a hunt for a Serial Killer for 17 years and their lives being affected by their duty. The creator Nic Pizzolato is just brilliant to come up with this masterpiece. The complete cast of this show are so well chosen and they stand up to the expectations as well.

Rusty(McConaughey’s character) is so believable and a complete detective material , he is miserable yet disciplined and determined to catch the Killer. Marty (Harrelson’s character) is not exactly opposite to him , but lacks a lil. control over his needs but then again he is a great detective and takes his job pretty seriously. And the way these two get along throughout is simply a treat to watch. Watch it to know and feel ,what I am talking about.

So to conclude , “True detective is sleek , hardcore ,engaging ,suspenseful,  dark , nasty and for most of the viewers it is gonna turn out to be a definite instant masterpiece/classic. And yeah it’s a murder mystery too..:p”

P.S. – Right from the opening titles you are hooked ‘coz the theme song has a thing that sets your mood right away. Dark and a deep kinda feel to it. And there’s the characters and the plot which is going to suck you right in. Looking forward to the next season with a never before felt anxiety and hope.

Season 1 – 8 episodes – Each episode with a run time of 60 minutes.

#DARKNESS BECOMES YOU

A post for Post-Oscars!

To say the least , 86th Annual Academy Awards was Bang on! :D

And If I say ,”Man , I’ll be damned if these are the academy award winners this year”, then that would be an understatement and that would make me a humble person. But then again , I am not that humble , right?....You guys know me. I am not :p
So , I am overjoyed to say “I told you so” :p
Yep , I am talking about the guesses I made via my previous blog post. To state the truth , I was literally flabbergasted while watching the event this morning (ya , I got up at 5:30 a.m. to see the Oscars .Thinking about that , if I would have got up during my academic years with the same dedication then probably I could have ended up as a scientist somewhere :p :p) to see , how accurate my guesses were and a lil.shocked too  o_O

Check out the following screenshot:

You guys can also watch the repeat telecast , which airs at 8:00 p.m.(Indian Time) today i.e. 3^rd  March on Star Movies. J

And the Oscar goes to....!

If you are a Movie Aficionado , you truly are as excited as I am then. And Academy awards are definitely the most prestigious award an entity on Celluloid can receive , not that the other awards are not important but an Oscar is indeed the maximum you can go.

So , yeah they are just a couple of days away , and I had this urge to write a post depicting my excitement and off course some guesses are on the way too.

Like we do for our home awards like IIFA ,Stardust etc. For me , Farhan Akhtar’s role in the Biopic was a clear winner and also a definite favorite for many too. Wasn’t sure about the best actress in a leading role , my top considerations would have been Sonakshi Sinha for Lootera and Deepika for Ram-leela I guess. But was sure about the Best film though , It had to be Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for it’s direction and screenplay . I personally wanted “The Lunchbox” to win the Best film award, but then again since I know how the Jury have been in the past years, odd were against it. A little commercial touch has to be there , to make it to the top. People say , Indian audience needs to be mature now, I say “Jury , you guys be mature first”. My best Bollywood films from the year 2013 are : The Lunchbox , Madras Café , D-day and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. And the movie that I can watch again and again, has to be Yeh Jawaani hain Dewaani , don’t know why but lately that movie is definitely my feel good movie after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara .:D

Now, coming back to the 86^th Annual Academy Awards , the year 2013 has indeed had some epic roles/performances  and there have been movies being tagged as “Cult” Classics. Plus  the movies this year being nominated are not particularly that exact “Oscar type” material as many may see. It’s like when I ask one of my friends  to tag along for a academy award nominated movie , he says“ I am not in for that slow,  boring , sadistic stuff man , I would rather sleep here on this couch”. It is the case with many , most of us think that an Oscar movie has to be Slow and extremely boring . But that is definitely not the case ,ones who appreciate it as a work of art rather than just  a commercial stuff would know the difference for sure. And what I could feel this year was , most of the movies being nominated are equally enjoyable too. Like American Hustle , The Wolf of Wall Street, Gravity, Her, Nebraska ….these movies were intriguing and engaging to almost everybody.

And from last couple of years , I do make sure I watch every single movie nominated for the academies. It’s kind of a ritual now. :p At least all the ones being nominated for Best Picture, I make sure I cover ‘em.”Watch ‘em all before the Red Carpet event”. So unlike last year I successfully watched every single one of ‘em this year . It gives you a feeling of content when you are actually watching the award ceremony and you can know who’s being acknowledged for what.

So here are my guesses or let say my gut feeling about the main event.

Best Picture – 12 years a slave

Best director – Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity

Best Actor Male – Matthew McConaughey  for Dallas Buyers Club

Best actor Female – Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine / Sandra Bullock for Gravity

Best Actor Supporting male – Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actor Supporting female -  Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen/Original Screenplay -  Her

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year – Frozen

Best Achievement in Cinematography – Gravity

Best Costume – American Hustle/The Great Gatsby

Phewww….that’s a hell lot of guesses . Yeah , let’s see what’s in store for us.

Sadly ,there are chances that  Leonardo Di Caprio will miss out again , after yet another worthy performance for the Academy Award.  The Aviator and The Wolf of wall street are his career best performances so far,according to me.  On one side we have Leonardo Di Caprio , who hasn’t got an Oscar yet , and on the other hand we have Meryl Streep being nominated for the 18^th time now, though she has won 3 Oscars. Yep , you heard that right , 3 Oscars for real. Caprio , it’s not like your career has been torpedoed by other performers , it’s just hard luck man . We all know you are one of the finest actors and we do understand your level of frustration too (by the sarcastic  comments he made on some actors) , so there….there…I sincerely wish ,you get it this year.

P.S. – I know people , for whom watching an Oscar winning movie scares the living daylights out of ‘em. But it is not true from a last couple of years atleast. They are deserving and equally enjoyable too. J

I still consider myself as naïve in watching some serious stuffs , but over the years I have learned to enjoy ‘em .

So do watch ‘em if you get a chance. :D

Another Important thing : When can you catch the event screening live?....If you are in India then make sure you do ‘ve a strong …strong cup of coffee for the event ‘coz you gotta tune into Star Movies  at 5:30 a.m.3^rd Feb March 2014 Indian time and 2^nd Feb March 2014 8:30 p.m U.S. time.

P.P.S – Eagerly waiting for “And the OSCAR goes to….” J

Dexter

[NOTE: “No spoilers!” ( You can trust it when a big fan says it…;) ]

“Tonight’s the night. And it's going to happen, again and again!”

The pilot starts off with a slight plot description & when I hear the above mentioned words for the first time…I knew back then only (5 years back) that I was totally hooked but little did I know ,”to this very extent”. Never thought that  after watching an episode from a T.V. Series (most likely the finale)&I would ever go to a state of profound cogitation. This show changed that particular thinking of mine, plenty of times. One word for this show : "Smart".

The year was 2009 I guess , when I first started watching the season 1 of DEXTER which had it’s pilot aired in 2006. Everybody has his/her fav. TV – Series. I have many but DEXTER  is certainly a much worthy contender for the top spot. Frankly speaking, the character holds a special place. Over the years I have followed this show  religiously. Yep , you heard that right . I have watched it carefully & religiously. “No food or disturbance when Nikhil’s  watching Dexter” my roommate would remark. I have watched plenty of shows & like I said choosing the best is certainly not possible but Dexter , as a character has been ,is & will be my favorite character.

Dexter :  “People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well. That's my burden, I guess.”

The plot – Dexter Morgan (Michael .C.Hall), a forensics technician(blood spatter analyst) for the MIAMI METRO is a serial Killer who only kills a certain kind of people …like the one’s who have escaped justice .Dexter believes the world is better off without such ,who are a disgrace to the society & a threat to the one’s who compose one. Debra Morgan(Jennifer Carpenter) is Dexter’s Sister who also happens to be a Detective working for the MIAMI METRO. Dexter’s Dad , Harry Morgan plays an important character as well. Actually the complete cast is just too good.

How Dexter manages his social awkwardness , maintains the balance between his lives, how he plans a kill, how he executes one & how he evolves as a human being is definitely a treat to watch. My one of the favorite things about this show is the narration. What he(Dexter) thinks is played out loud. It’s like you can hear his thoughts. The voiceover as we call it . You as a viewer eventually start viewing things the way he perceives. It amazes you & at the same time thrills you. Sometimes you feel sorry for the guy & the next moment you feel ..nope..chuck it ..the guy can take care of himself real good. The dialogues are dark .. sarcastic …sometimes witty(best termed as dark humor )..most of the times thought provoking….at times heartwarming too.

One more highlight feature about this T.V. Show is , the quality graph increases & just keeps getting with every new season. One season finale you think “No other season can beat this one” & the next season you are totally blown away. No kidding!

In short , Dexter ‘s every single episode is simply 60 minutes of top notch & well directed i.e. “crafted to perfection” material that sets high standards for T.V. viewership. It is bound to leave you with many quotable moments. So would  conclude with one that I recently heard & still remember.

Dexter: [voiceover] –" I've lived in darkness a long time. Over the years, my eyes adjusted until the dark became my world and I could see .Then someone came & turned on the lights. Now I’m blind”

P.S. – Missing Dexter is like missing out on one of the best T.V. Shows in Television history.      Highly Recommended!

P.P.S – Do watch out for the opening credits. The theme is just too good.

As smart as the series is, its opening sequence is its own mini-masterpiece, and, after all 8 seasons, still one of the best on TV. After all these years , I never skipped a single one throughout.

 Total Seasons : 8. And 12 episodes per season.  

Go-to websites:Movies/TV Shows

So when it comes to movies there are people who just can't get enough. Not in a lame way but in a complementary way ofcourse.
You always wish to invest 120-200 minutes of your time in something that is worth it.
I myself tend be a lot choosy when it comes to movies n stuffs. I believe movies do play an important part in your life , it varies from person to person , how they perceive things. Certainly there has to be a reason why maximum percent of the world population tend to choose movies as their prime source of entertainment . "Ahh , weekend.. nothing better to do , let's go to the movies". We all have been there & i guess we still are.
So , in this hustle bustle world where technology is involved in almost every aspect of our life, we do require a mode of recommendation so that we can invest that 150 minutes wisely. We do right.
Following are some go to websites that can help you decide easily,wisely & quickly what movies/tv shows to watch/download & what not to.

http://www.imdb.com/

http://www.nanocrowd.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

http://www.criticker.com/

http://www.jinni.com/