satyadev Reviews

Go Goa Gone (2013)

Nice Zombie movie

[11 May 2013]

I've been a zombie movie follower for some time (sometimes unwillingly). This movie obviously breaks ground as far as Bollywood goes - it is a respectable (?) zombie movie.

Any respectable camp zombie movie should have the following, IMHO - an unconvincing social message (e.g. Romero's "Dawn of the dead" was a backhanded critique of consumer capitalism and mall crawls, Danny Boyle's "28 days later" against irresponsible experimentation), references to other movies of the same genre (e.g. Shaun of the dead), and some innovative twist or variation.

Go Goa Gone scores on all three - it has a (tacked-on) message against drug culture, references to other zombie movies including Shaun of the dead (whose solutions are quickly discarded, since it should be obvious to the gentle viewer that desi/pardesi zombies in Goa are different from desi/British zombies in England), and an enjoyably terrible "solution". Also, good music, which Danny Boyle would concur with.

All in all, a respectable attempt!! As a camp horror addict, I am satisfied!! Also, a memorable quote that does not quite reach the heights of "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth" - it goes: "What do we know? What have we learned?"

Solaris (1972)

God, in the SSSR

[26 September 2003]

I do not know why this is not recognized to be the religious masterpiece it is. This is the way I see things in the movie:

There are things in one's conscience one does not want to come face-to-face with. [And it is not "your deepest fears", one of the most overworked Hollywood cliches!]. If you believe in eternity, then there is Judgment Day or the doctrine of Karma, where one day, you have to face the truths that you so badly want to forget.

This idea of repentance is a cornerstone in any religion.

How will you peddle this idea in a society where eternity is banished? Where there is no reality except a scientifically provable one? Well, I think you put it inside a scientific wrapper - like man's odyssey to a distant planet, Solaris.

Solaris is heaven, it is judgment day - it is not a punishment as the scientists on the space station believe, it is a chance for repentance. The ocean provides a second chance - like Gibaryan, you can be so ashamed of the past that you refuse to face it even the second time around, and you go to hell - or like Kris Kevin, you can rectify things the second time around. This, probably, is heaven.

There are comments regarding why this movie is inferior because it does not stick to Stanislaw Lem's Solaris. I think that this, as art, holds an exalted position than shallow science-fiction could never hope to achieve.

This is Science-Fiction, as Dostoevsky would have created it.

Finding Nemo (2003)

Heart-warming journey of Rescue

[10/10 · 31 May 2003]

The undersea adventure that Pixar presents is undoubtedly more fleshed out than Disney's "Little Mermaid". The characters are 'human', not just the bland sidekicks found in Disney movies, and the society of "Fish Predators Anonymous" was hilarious. Willem Dafoe is brilliant as the morose Gill.

I appreciate the factual detail in the movie. It is set in the Great Barrier Reef - *it* is the largest structure in the world built by living creatures, not New York - the East Australian Current does lead to New South Wales, clown fish are abundant near the Reef, and there are toxic jellyfish off the Northern coast of Australia. It was nice to listen to the marine life speaking with aussie accents.

But for the fifth time running, a Pixar movie is about a journey of rescue. The formula seems to be wearing out. There are obvious comparisons to be made with Miyazaki, who manages to come up with highly original themes each time a movie is made, making each of them a success. Why do Disney and Pixar not follow the lead? [And, how is a fart joke, good humour?]

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Unpardonable nonsense

[1/10 · 31 May 2003]

Hugo Weaving looked cool in the first movie - so have a 100 Smiths in the next movie. Bullet-time looked cool in the first movie - so shoot 50% of the next movie in bullet-time. Add nonsensical pop philosophy - there is no choice, but everything has a cause - indeed!!! we need machines, and the machines need us ; some things never change, while some do - sounds like a high-school essayist on dope. Add to it anatomical anomalies such as the muscular brain [And I thought Smith was smart!]. There are sophisticated identification schemes - to ensure that Neo is the one, Seraph fights him - why not ask for a password? - especially when it is shown earlier that communication is encrypted via ssh ;-)

The first movie was a fresh concept, and somewhat tastefully done. It had promised to be the Neuromancer of the movie world, taking sci-fi from the "space, the final frontier" to cyberspace. With this installment, it all seems like a whole lot of wasted talent.