I.Watch.I.Read

Movie Review: “Dark Shadows”

Laya Maheshwari — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:25:39 +0000

Wikipedia describes Dark Shadows as a “Gothic horror comedy-drama film.” If I could only meet Tim Burton once, I’d love to ask him which one (or two) of those words did he really want this film to be. I am trying, but I can’t recall any film in recent memory that is as much of an [...]

5 Reasons You Should See “The Raid.”

Laya Maheshwari — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:45:35 +0000

I’ve seen The Raid (*) twice now. It’s the best action film I’ve seen in years and years. I tried to write a conventional review for The Raid. I really did. But, after staring at a blank screen for more minutes than I’d like to admit, I realized that trying something different for this particular [...]

“Hugo” is the love letter “The Artist” never was.

Laya Maheshwari — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:48:43 +0000

It’s nearly a year since The Artist first screened to audiences. And it’s nearly a year now people have been calling it a love letter to just about everything under the Sun. While I completely understand if someone likes the film, the reasons they give for liking the film often leave me nonplussed. I saw [...]

Movie Review: “Safe”

Laya Maheshwari — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:08:08 +0000

I find it hard to review a film like Safe. If it’s a movie I love, I can’t wait to sit in front of the screen and fashion a paean. If it’s a movie I dislike, then I like to write out my gripes with it and, often enough, they come easily too. If it’s [...]

Movie Review: “The Lucky One”

Laya Maheshwari — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:34:47 +0000

Film is a manipulative art form. The reason a director positions his actors in a frame in a particular way, makes them say some lines with a certain inflection and later has the scene scored to one specific piece of music is so that she can manipulate you to achieve her intended effect. And that’s okay. [...]

Movie Review: “The Avengers”

Laya Maheshwari — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:12:37 +0000

The following article has NO spoilers for the movie in question. You may proceed without any caution whatsoever. As evidenced by this interview (excerpts from which I’m going to quote in the review), Joss Whedon gets it. How do you take a green monster prone to rampage, a billionaire playboy with an overwhelming suit of [...]

Movie Review: “21 Jump Street”

Laya Maheshwari — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:37:00 +0000

Just how funny is 21 Jump Street? I first saw the film two weeks ago. Since then, not only have I seen it another time but I’ve also burst out laughing on numerous occasions just because I remembered some random line or gag from the movie. So, yeah: I’d say it’s very funny. The 1987 [...]

Movie Review: “Mirror Mirror”

Laya Maheshwari — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:26:14 +0000

I have a confession to make. I had completely written off Mirror Mirror, Tarsem Singh’s latest, on the basis of its promotional material. It may have been presumptuous and altogether unfair but with trailers this mediocre, I had little-to-no hopes from this. However, news like this gave me pause and I walked into the film with cautious hope. [...]

Book Review: “The Rook” by Daniel O’Malley

Laya Maheshwari — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:59:21 +0000

Quick. Think of possible superpowers (if they existed, that is). How many minutes and how many powers pass before you hit the ones like telepathy, metal manipulation and so on? Not many, I’m guessing. This is why when (or if) you feel a sense of déjà vu while reading The Rook, Daniel O’Malley’s début novel [...]

Movie Review: “Battleship”

Laya Maheshwari — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:34:30 +0000

In the very first scene in Battleship, a $200m summer popcorn flick based on the Hasbro board game (“based” being used in the loosest terms imaginable), a scientist explains what a habitable planet is to a room full of NASA staff. Let me reiterate that, for added impact: He explains the meaning of the term [...]