Movies

The Monuments Men (2014)

March 18, 2016 Movies

I just found The Monuments Men appealing on several aspects. It’s just a great WWII movie. As an art school alumni and an art lover, I could accept the sensitivity around nurturing art, not just as an artifact, but as a document of a culture reflective of human traditions and lifestyle of that era. In Frank Stokes words (played by the ever-so-elegant George Clooney!):

You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they’ll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it’s as if they never existed. That’s what Hitler wants and that’s exactly what we are fighting for.

And my mind goes back to what Hitler was thinking when he wanted all the artworks to be housed in his ambitious Führermuseum (which never happened), later ordering his men to destroy it all because they lost the war. Not even sure how many pieces of artwork were destroyed by his men, but that’s a different discussion.

Directed by George Clooney and based on a true story non-fiction book (The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter), while the Allied army is fighting the Nazis, a group of men – basically artists and architects, from the  Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program are in search of precious artworks which have been looted by Hitler’s men when they occupy parts of Europe. Barring this team of fervent art lovers, the generals of the Allied force care less about canvases and colors. They’d rather focus on winning the war in Europe. In a thrilling turn of events, the group leads a heroic effort in finding most of the paintings, important among which is the Ghent Altarpiece. The paintings and other pieces of work are found safe in copper mines which prompts Frank Stokes to note – “It seems the Nazis took better care of art than they did people.”

I would highly recommend The Monuments Men, even if you are not a WWII/war movie fan.

The Imitation Game: Turing’s Analogy of Gaming and AI Theory

December 30, 2015 Movies Technology

The Imitation Game produces an engrossing setting in a chamber with Detective Nock questioning Alan Turing, where he defines the theories of gaming and AI. The detective is clearly bewildered by the mathematical brilliance of his respondent. Alan Turing is widely considered as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence today.

Turing seems to ostensibly denote the inadequacy of humanity about tolerating an individual’s right to freedom (a reference to his homosexuality) while harbouring a surprising curiosity in machine behaviour to quantify its emotions.

(Very well done Benedict Cumberbatch!)

Detective Nock: Can machines think?
Turing: Oh, so you’ve read some of my published works?
Detective Nock: What makes you say that?
Turing: Well, because I’m sitting in a police station, accused of entreating a young man to touch my p**** and you just asked me if machines can think.
Detective Nock: Well, can they?
Turing: Could machines ever think as human beings do? Most people say not.
Detective Nock: You’re not most people.
Turing: Well, the problem is you’re…asking a stupid question.
Detective Nock: I am?
Turing: Of course machines… can’t think as people do.
A machine is different… from a person. Hence, they think differently.
The interesting question is, just because something, uh,
thinks differently from you, does that mean it’s not thinking?
Well, we allow for humans to have such divergences from one another.
You like strawberries, I hate ice-skating,
you… cry at sad films, I… am allergic to pollen.
What is the point of-of different tastes, different… preferences
if not to say that our brains work differently, that we think differently?
And if we can say that about one another, then why can’t we say
the same thing for brains… built of copper and wire, steel?
And that’s…
Detective Nock: this big paper you wrote? What’s it called?
Turing: ”The Imitation Game.”
Detective Nock: Right, that’s…that’s what it’s about?
Turing: Would you like to play?
Detective Nock: Play?
Turing: It’s a game. A test of sorts.
For determining whether something is a…a machine or a human being.
Detective Nock: How do I play?
Turing: Well, there’s a judge and a subject, and…the judge asks questions,
and, depending on the subject’s answers, determines who he is talking with…
what he is talking with, and, um…
All you have to do is ask me a question.
Detective Nock: What did you do during the war?
Turing: I worked in a radio factory.
Detective Nock: What did you really do during the war?
Turing: (laughs softly) Are you paying attention?

Moonraker

Moonraker: How This 70s Movie Demonstrated The Technology of Tomorrow

December 24, 2015 Movies Technology

Though personally not a Star Wars fan beyond its futuristic innovations, I coincidentally chanced upon Moonraker which is also heavily influenced from the science fiction genre. And it’s quite unimaginable that James Bond could also be cast in a space-age flick diverging from what Ian Fleming had imagined for James Bond in his book Moonraker which was published back in 1955.

It was the 70s when Moonraker gave us distinct clues of the automation and mechanics coming to us in the 21st century. Equally pioneering if not more, than the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope which was released to an outstanding box-office collection in 1977 which prompted the producers of James Bond to review. Although for the Stars Wars series since the plot and characters had galactic representation the makers could go over-the-top with the weapons and humanoids. In contrast, being a Bond flick Moonraker’s plot had to be deeply entrenched with the human civilization theme while any technological innovations had to echo with the real world. Some of that space technology has either been popularized or retired or is in the process of being modernized today. Sure Bond gadgets are exaggerated functionally in the series but read on if you are just as curious to know about Moonraker’s tech offerings which are remarkable for the era when it was released. It’s an account of where fiction meets with reality at the horizon called ‘cinema’.

The Concorde and the Space Shuttle
It featured the Concorde (but the landing in Rio De Janeiro was off beat?). The supersonic Concorde flight and the Space Shuttle technology are definitely the biggest scientific innovations and suited the futuristic theme of the movie – it’s ironic that both the services (or should I say ‘technologies’) are now considered obsolete and have been thoughtfully retired. It’s also intriguing that the movie featured a fully functional space shuttle (named Moonraker) much before NASA had even conducted its first orbital test flight of the original space shuttle.

Drax Industries and Space Entrepreneurship
A mid-air space shuttle hijack prompts MI6 to investigate the incident and 007 is chosen for the job. The trail leads to Drax Industries and its billionaire owner Hugo Drax while unearthing his wicked plans. Not only did Drax build his own Moonraker shuttles but also had the groundwork to support their launch from the Amazon rain forests. This will sound familiar to the business model which Elon Musk has successfully created with SpaceX (except for launching rockets from the Amazon jungles which is never happening.) Entrepreneurship in space technology wasn’t even considered in the 70s when NASA and other government agencies around the world headed research and held rocket engineering secrets. Despite Drax Industries being a fictitious entity, it introduced to the world the concept of space entrepreneurship and deep-space colonization as a viable alternative for the future of humanity.

The Space Station
This brainchild of Hugo Drax wasn’t surprising considering that the Soviets had already launched the Salyut program in 1971. What was fascinating though was Hugo Drax’s space station had the most modern design and was technologically more advanced than the modular space stations we are used to seeing today at the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS doesn’t have a ‘zero gravity’ setting enabling the astronauts to walk normally like Drax’s space station. So maybe this was a bit exaggerated! The most ambitious feature I thought was the simultaneous docking of the Moonrakers – 6 at a time, to bring in supplies to the station, which could become a remote possibility in the distant future for the ISS.

In Conclusion
The producers of James Bond pushed to develop Moonraker ahead of For Your Eyes Only after the overwhelming response to the Star Wars and the space-age genre. The comparison with Star Wars is thus obvious. However the technology from Moonraker was deployed sooner than Star Wars, even though I believe that the AI/humanoid theme from Star Wars is priceless and requires more research before it can be realistically deployed. This is not to suggest that Star Wars isn’t an entertaining movie series. But to realize that James Bond also went into outer space to save humanity, and that Moonraker was this sci-fi show uncovering some breakthrough technological innovations in the 70s, is personally gratifying to note.

Facts Over Films

December 14, 2015 Movies

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Bajirao Mastani is due for release and there’s an outcry in the political circles for its ban already. The reason being an inappropriate portrayal of Peshwa Bajirao I.

The Peshwas were the designated Prime Ministers of the Maratha Empire, a post created by Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 17th century. The protagonist Peshwa Bajirao I (played rapturously by Ranveer Singh) was a brave general who served under the fourth Maratha emperor Chhatrapati Shahuji Raje Bhosale and his courtship with Mastani, the daughter of an Indian emperor, has evoked copious interest over a lifespan and figured in many writings. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s attempt at characterizing their mystical love story for the big screen in typical Bollywood style has made historians and politicians seethe over its inaccurate dramatization; rather misrepresentation of the legend, and then the inane lyrics of the song ‘Malhari’. Known for his critically acclaimed big screen musicals like Khamoshi, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, et al, Sanjay Leela Bhansali attempts a creative reflection of a historical account with Bajirao Mastani. It’s certainly erroneous to consider his Bajirao Mastani as a documentary that strives to keep the artistic memory and present a historical view of the original folklore along with a soulful commentary. It’s a commercial entertainer, a movie which derives its texture and colourful backdrop from the rich Maratha history.

That Bajirao would have hopped to the tune of ‘Malhari’ the way Ranveer Singh has, or that the real Kashibai would have paired with Mastani at a festive occasion with her spirited and glamorous dancing is anybody’s guess. That’s where movies score a point over reality in providing delight to its faithful audience. But while history has its place in the hearts and minds of the viewer let’s be watchful that after all Bajirao Mastani‘s content must be revered or reprimanded as a motion picture and not be chastised for political gains. It’s an individual’s interpretation of a historical account which can be challenged just as its other contemporary films have been. And as aspirants of true love stories while we will learn about the immortal truth of Bajirao-Mastani from our history books, let the cinemas feed our endless love for entertainment eternally.

Drishyam

November 10, 2015 Movies

I hadn’t seen a taut thriller movie in a while and Drishyam fit that definition perfectly. Originally made in Malayalam by Jeethu Joseph and released in 2013, Drishyam (Visual) has now been remade in 4 other Indian languages, very recently in Tamil as Papanasam with Kamal Haasan and Gautami. The Hindi version which I thoroughly enjoyed has been directed by Nishikant Kamat whose earlier works I have enjoyed watching include his Marathi ventures the critically acclaimed Dombivli Fast (2005), and action drama Lai Bhari (2014), his Hindi action thriller Force (2011) with John Abraham, and Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), a story about 5 characters in Mumbai and how their lives are affected by the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, which also won multiple Filmfare Awards.

A happy family in a serene Goan village, which includes the father (Vijay Salgaonkar/Ajay Devgn) running a small cable TV business called Mirage Cable Network, his simple, homely wife (Nandini/Shriya Saran) fondly looking after their two daughters, the older Anju, and the younger Annu. Apart from his lovely family Vijay has friends who vouch for his unblemished character, and he loves to watch all kinds of movies — you could see him glued to the TV set in his office all day and night, while his dedicated associate (José/Prathamesh Parab) goes around the small hamlet settling business. Then quite suddenly an incident occurs one stormy night and knocks the family into gloom and doom. It surrounds the bunch of happy campers into an unrealistic scenario with no sign of an escape from the inevitable. What happens next can only be described as an odyssey of plots and sub-plots and mysteries as Vijay goes from pillar to post to conceive a maze of mysteries throwing the police detectives, even the agile Inspector General Meera Deshmukh (another great portrayal by Tabu) in a tizzy, despite having an undoubted notion about the family’s undeniable involvement in the gory incident the police are sadly reduced to a gaping spectators! Under Vijay’s astute stewardship and shrewdness the family teams up to support the cause and overcome, what seems like an insurmountable challenge. But hang-on! It’s just when you think the movie is done and the cast has met its desired outcome, that the spine chilling climactic end is waiting to shock and raise your eyebrows even further. I can’t stop applauding the producers who have ensured the movie’s plot isn’t lost to the audience as it meanders from one sequence to the other ever so tightly, the sequences make you perch at the edge of your chairs, and if there was one movie where good music is used sparingly to provide relief from the ongoing tense drama, it’s Drishyam. It’s a brilliant plot, a brilliantly shot movie, and a must-see for movie lovers.