Un prophète (A Prophet) Movie review

A prophet (Un prophète) is a French Prison movie based on a single character, Malik El Djebena, an arab in imprisoned at the age of 19, sentenced for 6 years. Illiterate, he tries to keep to himself, but is recruited by a gang of Corsican mobster prisoners who control a lot of the power, including the guards. He is forced to commit a murder of an arab, after which the arab haunts him in visions, a la’ Crime & Punishment.

Ego and other tails, - Darwyn Cooke

Darwyn Cooke is the artist, writer, and sometimes both for this collection of tales in a graphic novel.

The title story, Ego begins interestingly enough, but falls a bit short towards the end. Average.

Selina’s Big Score is actually the best part of this book. Well written and illustrated, the story is a team caper, very Ocean’s 11-ish, great ending too. No Bat in this, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Must-read for Catwoman fans.

The other story that stood out for me was the short one at the end, Déjà vu. It had some really amazing art and atmosphere. I was disappointed when the panels ended so soon.

The rest were okay, nothing above average or worth mentioning.

All in all, I think Darwyn Cooke’s art is cartoonish and noir, but it has a moody personality(shadowy) that is quite mature and stands out. His writing is also very good occasionally, and above average most of the time.

I am Love (movie review)

Tilda Swinton carries this wonderful Italian movie, where she plays a wife to a husband who is one of the heads of a very wealthy family that owns a textile company in Milan. 

Movie Trailer:   

           Much in this movie has to be inferred. As an audience, you aren't spoon-fed information, but are expected to gleam it from the visuals and the dialogues. It’s part of the charm of this movie though, that everything isn't obvious and over-stated. 

BATMAN BLACK & WHITE VOLUME TWO

The sequel to the first volume(obviously), which had won the Eisner award, so we might be forgiven for having high expectations, might we?

It’s a collection of short stories, most of them too short to properly showcase the talents of the writer, though the artist’s skills can be gleamed(all in B&W). This volume has many great (famous) artists and writers, by the way, though not all of the stories are of very high caliber.

So I thought I’ll just list all of them, and my views. Should suffice.

Revolutionary Road

The novel by Richard Yates, first published in 1962, remains relevant even today (in 2012 that is). It's very well-written, and parts of it seem so real, so authentic. Let me just start by saying that part of the theme of the book is about 'non-conformity' and not fitting in with others of your own class. The book is about a (married)couple, in the most basic sense, their beginnings and the path leading up to the end. But they're not a normal couple, oh no, they're thinkers(at least they fancy themselves to be intellectuals), dissatisfied with their drab everyday lives.

             Richard Yates says of the book, "an indictment of American life in the 1950s. Because during the Fifties there was a general lust for conformity all over this country, by no means only in the suburbs — a kind of blind, desperate clinging to safety and security at any price."

The Day of the Triffids

  The beginning of the novel deals with mass blindness and its effect on 1951 London. Breaking down of society, social commentary etc. follows. What I realized while reading was that a lot of literature[apocalyptic], both past and current, is in some way based on this book.[Especially Zombie Stuff like The Walking Dead].

Bjork

 

Bjork's voice is haunting. Her oooh's in this song bring the rest of it together. This song is from a movie she acted in, Dancer in the Dark (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168629/ A very excellent movie, I highly suggest you watch it if you haven't already. 

 Bjork is a Highly talented individual, not to mention incredibly beautiful and artistic. She's one of.. THEM.

She's also been in a few political controversies lately, in her home country of Iceland. Iceland is also where Sigur Ros hail from, who also make some great music. What is it about Iceland then that gives their people ethereal voices and the gift of melody? Cold and loneliness I;m thinking.. Same thing goes for Canadian writers I guess.

My, she's so pretty...

OK, ADD inspired change, I'm going to dedicate this whole post to Bjork!

Prospero Lost (Review)

Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter

This is a fantasy novel. Reader's of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' will be familiar with some of the back-story, but it isn't really important even if you haven't read it, because it explains everything to you anyways. The best parts of this story are the flashbacks which are incredibly detailed, which you see through the mind-eyes of the main protagonist(Miranda). Most of the history of the Prospero family is told through flashbacks, and let me tell you this, innumerable mentions have been made in this book to countless gods, magic, mythological creatures, fairytales and whatnot from various nationalities even.

Catwoman: When in Rome (Review)

Catwoman is Smexy. That is a fact. It is also a fact that Tim Sale and the lush surroundings of the capital of Italy only add to her smexiness. There is no doubt that the art in this book is better than the writing.

Catwoman is in Rome(obviously) with our dear E. Nygma and a blonde Italian hitman for company, to meet with the head of the Italian mafia and to attempt to piece together pieces of her past. The story seems a bit convoluted, Selina is sexy as ever, with AND without the costume on, the covers are gorgeous, most of the book is narrated from her point of view, and boy, that's one of the few things that pulls this book off. Because her thoughts are dirty, dirty thoughts and almost always witty/humorous. Batman makes a few imaginary cameos in the beginning of every issue(its a collection of 6 gorgeous issues) and though it feels like there are plotholes (and there probably are) it doesn't detract MUCH from the action or the story.

So all in all, decent read, good artwork, nothing exceptional, but worth reading once or twice.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Review)

The first time I finished reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, all I wanted to do was find a deep, dry well, sit in it and contemplate upon my life. It had me convinced. Of what?, I wasn't sure(mind you this was about 3 years back, I would have been 17 or so). The second time I read it, I was more focussed on the secondary stories, which I had seemed to have forgotten by that time. There are a lot of stories which are about incidents that occurred in the second world war, specifically between Japan and China, and then Japan and the Soviet Union. These affect Toru Okada, and in turn the reader, making them think about intuition, destiny and how it touches you in certain moments of your life.

I just finished reading it for the 3rd time yesterday, and having more experience now than I did earlier I'm convinced of a few things.

Haruki Murakami isn't as great a writer as I thought he was earlier. He has a VERY original style of writing, and his books are very easy to read, most of his characters are memorable, or at least quirky enough to stick around in your head, and he's trying to be ambitious with his writing. Or maybe not. See the thing is, The Wind-Up bird Chronicle is a very fun book to read, and there's nothing wrong with that, many people read books just for fun, but he tries to make it bigger and more philosophical than it really is because in the end it really doesn't HAVE a concrete message. I've seen people put Haruki on a big pedestal, as one of the great authors of the modern world, but I truly believe he is an author that only young people can enjoy. I consider The Wind-Up bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore to be his best books and they fall short somewhere or the other. His books are attractive to the youth, with its casual sex, references to music, and weird characters, but in the end they lack true substance.

The Wind-Up bird Chronicle is about lazy afternoons in the backyard, drinking beer at the kitchen table, and not liking the family you were born into. Through all the situations Toru(the main protagonist) goes through, he is strangely detached, as if he cannot do much about it(or chooses not to, because it is destiny?). A passive sorrow, if you will. He wants to do something, but he's never really that enthusiastic about it. To top it off, we have needless characters like Cinnamon(perfectly perfect), which just serve to undermine the rest of the novel. But still, the novel by itself is a very good read, and entertaining through most of its parts. The thing about these Japanese writers is that they have this particular way of writing, that gives you a feeling of environment, a kind of aesthetic quality to their writing, and this sticks with you after you've closed the book and put it down.

*sigh*

I wanted to write about the book but I ended up writing so much about the author. I think that's only because he is grossly over-rated, both by the media and by the general public. He IS a good author, maybe even very good, but 'great'?

No, and a definite No at that.

Itadakimasu!