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."