Quantum of Solace

i had heard from all my friends that 'quantum of solace' did not have characteristics of a bond movie, there were a lot of emotional scenes in the film, no gadgets, etc. i agree with all these comments, its not your typical bond movie...but i dont see why thats disagreeable to people. for ages now, 007 has fought grotesque villains holding the world at ransom, charmed and slept with beautiful women, used amazing gadgets. the same formula has been repeated from sean connery to pierce brosnan (apart from a few great films). 'quantum of solace' tries to steer clear from the eternally used formula and its different from the others in this respect. 

quantum of solace uses cynicism in a lot of its scenes...from the present economic meltdown to taunting the greed of u.s for oil. daniel craig plays james bond very impressively giving him a new dimension...a kind of depth that probably all the other actors failed to do. there is no ease in which he kills his opponents, there is rage in all of his actions, a rage stemming from the death of the person he loves the most. in every scene; there is sorrow, regret, anger on his face. he is driven by a vengence that clouds his professionalism. in the end, he finds redemption and freedom saying "the dead don't care about revenge".

quantum of solace is a sequel to ‘casino royale’ and a prequel to the next bond movie...thus, the ending is a little bit of a dissappoinment but that takes nothing away from the movie itself. after a brilliant first half, the second half is a little slow, but i guess to show depth, angst and sorrow; this is required.

for the second time now, after vesper lynd, the bond woman shows substance and a connection with the spy which is more emotional than physical. judy dench as M is as usual impressive, trusting, controlling and protecting bond at the same time. 

as far as the experience goes, quantum of solace is not as good as casino royale, which was a masterpiece. but, it still is a good film, a different film, a film with more substance and less vanity. the one thing I missed in the film was an Aston martin J

rating - 3.5/5

 

fashion

the first thought that came to me when i got out from fashion was mr. bhandarkar always make sure his films have ironical endings...he's done that in all his previous films and i appreciate that about him. it needs a lot of courage as a film maker to come up with such endings in a world which is filled with cliched predictable ones.

i am not saying 'fashion' itself was a surprise or unpredictable...it had too many cliches, a predictable storyline and an ending which didn't surprise you. almost all films have endings where the protagonist triumphs, but the difference here was that there was a lot of sorrow in her triumph, a lot of angst...which probably itself is the triumph of mr. bhandarkar.

'fashion' to me is one of those films that could have been have a masterpiece...its main problem is its length. the second half drags and the camera spends too much time focussing on moments where there isn't any need to.

mr. bhandarkar has always been a director who has been proud of his realistic themes...and this one is no different; what stands out from the rest of his work though is the fact that there is higher production value and he has tried to make it look sophisticated. perhaps, this attempt wasn't his best...he could have done with a finer touchers and les gimmicks.

priyanka chopra delivers one of her finest performances, one which she will probably remembered for. her forte comes out in the scene where she realises having lost herself in a world of drugs, money and alcohol. my only complain against her is that she looked a little too old to play a struggling model who makes it to the top. kangana ranaut does justive to her melodramatic and eccentric role...a part which she has come to perfect having played it so many times, perhaps it's time she stops being repetitive. mughda godse is very well cast in the character of a b-model who never makes it to the top...her inexperience shows in a couple of scenes but i honeslty did'nt expect much from a model who is making her debut.

the story is predictable...the struggle, the rise, the fall and the comeback. it's been seen many times...but the touch of director like bhandarkar adds substance to it and makes it, well, un-boring. the potrayal of so many gay men (which is a reality in the fashion industry) is done very well, with every character having different shades and different mannerisms. sanjay suri stands out in a very mature performance which, i hope, will get him some good roles.

in all fashion is a serious film with high emotional quotient, great performances, a good music score and a long reel.

rating - 3.5/5