Smorgasbord Fantasia

 To be frank, I had zero expectations from the new Batman movie and I had not been following this on the media circles, even after a week post release. But when a friend suggested that this one’s in the Theatres, I decided to give it a try.  And hot damn! Color me pleasantly surprised, this turned out to be one intense ride, a grim crime-noir about the seedy  underbelly of the perpetually dark Gotham city . The main story is a twisty investigation into the shifting power circles within the shadows of the city, that involves solving riddles and brings Batman to tackle not just righteous “terrorists” attacking the city but also, to have the courage to face the demons from his own murky past.  Of all superheroes, Batman is one of my favorite ones. Because of his fallibility, his ‘heroic’ intentions that always land him in the no-man’s land, where he has to choose between doing good for this city he has grown to love, sworn to protect and sacrifice his personal goals or...

Remember Joker's girlfriend, Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad ? I don't blame you - despite some big names, Suicide Squad went off the radar quicker than a damp spot drying under the sun. But Margot Robbie has revived (executive producer) the most sparkling madcap from that bunch of murderous pyschopaths, namely Harley Fuckin' Quinn in this exuberantly unhinged (sort of) sequel - called Birds of Prey . Along with director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson of Bumblebee fame, Margot Robbie works hard to make Birds of Prey the most zany DC Movie ever made. And frankly, it was so much fun that I felt this was indeed the most enjoyable movie from the DC Labs. Someone's getting something right in there, huh. Irreverent to the core, giddy with inventive and explosive action sequences, the movie is a ride on the wild side of reason, almost true to the comic book glee. Smart script, terrific performances and fun violent action sequences. Do we need more of a reason t...

In first of the DC Black’s stand-alone spin-off series, we examine and plumb the dark stygian depths of one of DC’s iconic villains, the arch-nemesis to the Dark Knight, the Joker . And what an epic flight of imagination is it, lent some serious credence and authenticity by Joaquin Phoenix ’s astounding career-defining performance as the lead/eponymous character. Joker unspools like a raw, bloody experiment with our minds and souls, a yawning exit wound that refuses to heal, unsettling, painful and yet indelibly scorched into our psyches. The movie is a chaotic, slow-burn psyche-eval of one of the most unhinged characters ever written about but Todd Phillip/Scott Silver ’s interpretation of Joker is fresh, is a bold riff on Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal and invokes pity, grudging admiration and loathing in equal measure. Because let’s not forget. This is the rise of a villain , we are taking about. But the deplorable conditions of a callous, cruel society that catalyze...

DC has really been struggling to get their act together but in Shazam ! I truly believe, that they have found their most "bankable" superhero. The irony being that it essentially took a sillier premise of a fourteen year old kid forced to take on the mantle of the world's "pure-hearted" savior to actually save them the blushes. The question posed by the movie seems logical enough. What happens if a fourteen year old kid is granted super hero powers? The answer is in the hilarious scene when Billy and Freddy, teenage boys - one a nerdy DC super-fan, the other in the body of a newly-anointed superhero still figuring out his prowess - go inside a super-market to try out 'adult' gimmicks. This sort of sets the tone for the entire movie. Firmly tongue-in-cheek, irreverent to the core and yet, balanced by a believable 'super-villain' in Mark Strong playing the role of Dr. Thaddeus Siva, who takes on power in its corrupt form [ as gifted by the ...

Ok, so we admit it. We went to watch Aquaman purely because of Jason Drogho Momoa . (And well,  the redhead, you gotta love'em, eh) But how much of beefy brawn surf humour and undulating wavy underwater hair-wigs can you tolerate, when you really just walked in hoping for a super hero origin story right? Well, seems like you can take almost three stinking hours of it. So Aquaman , the latest salvo from the sinking DC ship just about has enough ballast to keep the ship afloat a bit more, I guess. It's filled with mind blowing action set pieces, crazy CGI and ...yawn...ennui-inducing plot lines. Don't get me wrong, It's not a bad movie but I clearly was hard-pressed to find that soul buried deep under all that recklessly inventive CGI effects ( Octopoid drummers, Shark rides, Killer Sea Horses the list is endless!) and the boring politicking of the Atlantean princes that just didn't end. Towards the sozzled climax full of colourful water-gun plasma explosion...

The DC is pinning a lot of hopes on the Aquaman to take off and salvage the tottering universe. And after having watched this, I totally love the feel that comes out of this whole extended trailer and can't wait to watch the movie. Hopefully this one delivers. Jason Momoa is in bristling form!

So I usually never finish a graphic novel at one shot. I am extremely attention deficient, more so with graphic novels than other means. But this book, my god! I had read Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and his earlier works on the Dark Knight Universe. So when I wandered into this book-store and saw the thirty percent discount tag on Dark Knight – The Master Race I had to just sweep this gorgeous black hardcover novel right off the shelf and run straight to the billing. And then I checked right into the closest coffee bar and went right down, devouring the same. And was I hooked! I mean, like being completely riveted to the glorious art-work, puzzled by the non-linear narrative, awed by the final coming together of story lines and plot resolution. It happens rarely. I loved SAGA – and I was impressed by the Unwritten . But this? Frank Miller ’s blockbuster re-entry to the DC Universe after The Dark Knight Returns polarized the world into solid haters of Gotham’s dark hero and...

So Barry Allen ( Flash , the fastest superhero in town) and his nerdy gang of friends & family have made their definitive mark on us. Season One is over and boy! What a rousing tale, safe to say that the speedster has zipped through our hearts, huh. So Flash started out strong building up on the basic foundation we grew to love from Arrow (fellow superhero from the DC Comics world!) and then as the season moved beyond the mid-season finale with the introduction of ‘reverse-flash’, things really started to zing up. Going on to really hit it out of the park by the season finale, thus setting our expectations pretty high for the oncoming season two. You know when I saw the premiere, I wasn't impressed. How would this skinny youngish looking fella carry the weight of the world on those frail shoulders ? And zip around at express speed saving the world from Apocalypse? But hey, Grant Gustin went on to blow past me doubting dorothy. In fact, the whole series showcases no...