Transformers 3 : release date announced

As the second installment of the shape-shifting robots epic prepares to invade theatres this June, the news of the release date of its sequel is making the rounds. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks have confirmed that the third movie of the Transformers series will release on 1 July 2011.

A couple of years back, studios found it more effective to make two movies of the same franchise at the same time, (just like Gore Verbinski directed the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movies simultaneously) Paramount and DreamWorks wish to take things a bit slow. Of course they’ll be concerned about the reception of the second movie. A $200 million is at stake this time and possibly another $100 million on the marketing campaigns. At the moment, the economic scenario doesn’t let the studios opt for risk taking. A lukewarm response may render the whole dish tasteless. If the third movie is completed together with the second, that’ll also make it impossible to introduce changes in the follow-up based on the audience and critics’ comments.

Though the date has been declared, the rest of the decisions have not been taken. No writers or crew have been drafted in yet. Instead, the makers are into vigorous promotional activities for the second movie -Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

The hype surrounding Revenge of the Fallen, is bound to heat up in the coming weeks. Viral marketing and theatrical trailers are spreading the word about the robot v/s robot action extravaganza. TF2 won’t be a flop for sure. There is a wider audience at the moment and a larger number of followers which will ensure the movie a bumper opening. Director Michel Bay’s reputation of the being a blockbuster film maker and the popularity of lead actors Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox will be the selling points. Not to mention the prospect of double the action and triple the excitement with more robots and special effects. Autobots…roll out!

Top 5 Superhero movies

Superhero movies are silly, childish and over the top – a line of thinking that almost every film critic chose to adopt a couple of years back. A handful of movies of this genre changed that prejudice and now the critics and the audience have a new found respect and consideration for comic book adaptations. Among these are a few path-breaking movies which re-defined not only the genre but also film making in the broader sense. What follows is my pick of the lot. The extraordinary top 5.

5. Iron Man
When the news of the confirmed cast and crew for the Iron man movie reached entertainment media, the initial reaction was “WHAT?”. A director who hasn’t had a single blockbuster to his tally, a lead actor with a track record similar to that of the director and a budget of $185 million to be shelled out on these blokes. But Marvel studios’ gamble with this team raked in box-office collections of $580 million and critical acclaim. Robert Downey Jr. blasted off to superstardom overnight and director John Favreau was suddenly in Hollywood’s most sort after directors list. The treatment of the characters and the mood of the film which is one of humour and fun in right doses were praised. Effortlessly entertaining and Downey played the character with élan. The visual effects were nothing short of a spectacle and got nominated for the Academy Awards. Long time after the first Superman movie we will again believe that a man can fly. This time he’s not from another planet.

4. X2-X Men United
No one else could have directed X-men movies as well as Bryan Singer did. Nothing short of a brilliant work can be expected from the director who gave movie lovers “The Usual Suspects”. X2 took up from where X-Men left off and built on the characters and in the mean time saw the introduction of new characters. Singer’s ability in attributing meaning and significance to the characters and the storyline is worth a mention. This was not just a superhero movie. It was an alternate way of putting across the issues faced by who the society consists as outcasts. Delicate topics like minorities, teenage concerns, alternate ways of thinking, religion found a place in the movie. These elements were so well added and concealed that the movie will be entertaining and thought provoking to the various audiences. A fabulous cast consisting of Ian Mckellan, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Famke Janssen and Brian Cox and the action sequences were spot on. Too bad that Singer couldn’t hold the reins in X3.

3. Superman
When Superman release in 1978, everyone knew that it will stand the test of time as one of the most remarkable movies ever made. The punch line “You’ll believe a man can fly” said it all and that was probably the last time that movie goers flocked the theatres under the trance of a movie’s punch line. Though the flying scenes look dated now, they still evoke in the viewer a sense of respect and awe for the team which made it all possible. A movie which was way ahead of its time, Superman made a mark in the hearts of everyone as a hero who stood for truth, justice and freedom. Christopher Reeves brought the ladies to their knees and the special effects drew back the kids and men to the theatres. No matter how many more movies on this character are made, it’ll take more than today’s advanced CGI to beat this movie off its throne. Superman is “Up, up and away!”

2. Spiderman 2
Spiderman stayed in comic books and animated series for a pretty long time. The popularity and admiration of millions of readers was just not good enough for facilitating Spidey’s transition from animation to live action. A stunt man in spiderman costume can be hurled around skyscrapers with safety cables, but how will he carry out more serious and dangerous maneuvers? The simple task of clinging to the wall and climbing buildings seemed a bit tough for the hero too. So Spidey had to wait for some more years for the technology to take shape to help him with his trouble. Finally the tech took shape and director Sam Raimi took up the uphill task of introducing Spidey to the reel world. The first movie was a smash hit. The sequel deserves the number 2 position in this list as it convincingly portrayed the life of a hero who can’t manage his personal, professional and alter-ego lives. He wants everything to be alright but ends up messing up everything. A hero with problems similar to yours and mine. Tough decisions, regrets, deteriorating love life, sinking career and fear of losing his dear ones – viewers could associate with these matters. They found themselves in Peter Parker. Though not entirely. None of can sling on webs and none of us have to fight a man aided by huge mechanical arms.

1. The Dark Knight
Yes, this sounds predictable, clichéd or call it whatever you want. Every single list out there has this movie at the top. No changes here either. Never before have we seen a movie like this and it even gave the Academy Award jury more than a heart attack with its huge potential of making it to the nominations for best picture and best director. Unlike most of the voices out there, who confer all the praises on the late Heath Ledger(boy…what a performance!), I’d say it was the effort of the entire team which made The Dark Knight what it is –a bloody brilliant movie. Director Christopher Nolan deserves the major share of the accolades. It’s this man’s vision which saved and brought glory to a character and franchise which had eaten dust at the hands of the fanatical director Joel Schumacher. TDK was more about the Joker than about Batman. Heath Ledger as Joker flew high on his talent and Christian Bale as the caped crusader took a more restrained role giving Ledger the space for his power-packed act. The supporting cast or should I call it the ensemble cast, was a delight to watch. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal provided supporting acts which would give any lead actor a complex. Technically flawless, with amazing cinematography, jaw-dropping action sequences and a classic of a background score TDK is truly one of the best movies ever made.

Noteworthy mentions Watchmen, Hellboy, Batman Begins, X-men, Unbreakable, Superman 2

Time to lighten up with a glass of wine - Crystal photography tips

Not being an expert photographer has its own advantages. The most important one being the delight in finding a new way of shooting a subject and that too with the simplest of techniques.

I’m taking a moment to share a tip which most amateur photographers can give a try. If you are one of the blessed ones who is on the first step with a DSLR, this one is for you guys too.

A crystal glass is an all time favourite subject for photographers. The reflection, texture and the shape of well-crafted glasses lend them a unique beauty. But beginners find it a strenuous task to capture a fine pic of crystal glasses. The major problem being the lack of appropriate lighting. Since I’m still learning the ropes in photography, I tried out many options. To make things difficult I chose to shoot at night.

Finding the right light source was a tough job. The purpose was to illuminate the glass and its contents, wine in this case. To make the image more eye-catching, the subject alone should be visible and the rest of the image should consist of pure darkness. After testing various light sources, the solution came in the form of a camera phone flash.

The phone camera flash was set behind the glass and switched on. The rest of the task was quite simple. The subject was brought to focus and after locking the focus the frame was recomposed. Then the shot was taken. The result is at the top for all to see.

This shot was taken using an entry level 10.1 mega pixel DSLR. The settings were as follows.
Shutter speed - 1/5
Aperture - F4
ISO – 100

Now that shouldn’t scare the Edisons with the non-professional cameras. The tip works equally well with entry level cameras. Just forget the numbers above and click. So start shooting.

P.S – Remember to switch off the camera’s flash while shooting. It will only function in brightening up the entire frame which is definitely not what we need.

Terminator attains Salvation

Come May 21 and all the fans of Terminator will have reason to shout, “It’s back”. The fourth movie in the series of sci-fi films which captured the imagination of thousands of viewers around the globe, Terminator :Salvation is a sequel which follows the life of unwilling hero John Connor and his battle against the computer network, Skynet..

Till the previous movie - Terminator 3 : Rise of the machines – the story and the action revolved around the T800 killing machine and reduced John Connor’s character to one of a supporting level. With Salvation, the character is being given the much needed development and significance. To add to that, the director has done away with the super slick, over stylized treatment and has opted for realism instead. With the reboots of Batman and James Bond doing extremely well at the box-office and in critics’ columns, realism seems to be the best way to rejuvenate any dying franchise.

The team behind the movie is impressive and full of surprises. In charge of directorial tasks is McG - the very same director behind no-brainer slick-flicks like Charlie’s angels and its sequel. Surprisingly the early previews and trailers suggest that he has gotten over the admiration for over saturated screens and flamboyant sets. With a post-apocalyptic and worn out environment filling up the screen, Terminator : Salvation will not be digested by McG worshippers (if such a clan exists). But realism exponents will be speaking a lot about the movie for sure. The robots and the war tarnished future looks compelling and real. That speaks volumes about the exceptional production design team behind the scenes. If the trailers promise so much, imagine how convincing and spectacular the movie will be.

The USP is of course the actor in the lead role. Christian Bale did a fabulous job in breathing new life into Bruce Wayne/Batman. John Connor is expected to be added to his resume as one of the best character he has ever played in commercial films. Bale’s dedication and attention to detail has been the talk of the town since the days of American Psycho. Expect another gripping performance from him. The rest of the cast looks promising. A couple of new names and not-so-famous names. But weren’t all great actors a beginner once? So let’s give these guys their chances. McG points out character development as the major asset of the film claiming to have given it more relevance than special effects. That’s a huge relief.

Now for the big question. Will we miss Arnold? Of course we will. Who can forget that line - ”I’ll be back” - which went on to become one of the most famous movie dialogues of all time? Now one could have pulled it off better than Arnold. But the realization that this movie is more about John Connor than the T-800 robot will clear that issue.

Fast and Furious : crash and burn

Too uninspiring a title for what will possibly be the final chapter of the street racing series. Couldn’t they have been a bit more creative with the title? “Fast and Furious” is so lame to begin with. “The Fast and the Furious” had the punch of a new series launcher. “2 Fast 2 Furious“ shouted out the fact that it’s the second movie in the franchise. As for “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”, the change of location and race style decided the name. The latest installment, “Fast and Furious” sounds so…dead. How does “4 the fast and the furious” sound? (Just a thought)

After the smash hit first chapter, Paul Walker moved on to the second chapter sans the rest of the actors. So out goes the big star Vin Diesel, resident hotties Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. In comes Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mendes. The selection wasn’t that wrong and the movie made a table profit at the box-office just like its predecessor. But the series wasn’t three times lucky. The third movie was a flop. Thanks to a lifeless cast lead by Lucas Black. The change of scene wasn’t welcomed by the fans though the chase and race sequences were much appreciated.

So what does FF4 has in store for the loyalists of the franchise? For starters, there is the original cast. All of them make a return to their driver seats. We’ll miss Eva Mendes. But Michelle and Jordana will be making up for that loss. The trailers promise a good number of action sequences – CGI and non-CGI. The best of the reasons to watch it is the wide array of machines in action. Brand new Nissan GTRs, Chevrolet Camaros, Ford GT40s and the always popular Japanese cars. Not to mention the heavily modified muscle cars which always manage to get the car guys drooling for more. The usual ingredients of these movies – cars and ladies – have been prepped up to the max. A fitting way to conclude the series.

And don’t bother about the plot. For this franchise, the storyline is just a reason to stick together the car chases and the stunts. Dominic (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) put their rivalry at bay in order to take care of a common nemesis. To bring the baddie down, both of them should hit the fastlane and make and break all rules they and the system have set. That sounds reasonable a story for this genre.

FF4 may turn out to be a surprise hit of 2009. Duly noted that all the stars are not in their best career phases. Vin Diesel had a couple of flops, of late. Paul Walker’s career is a so-so. The industry in itself is treading a weak line. What's in favour of FF4 is the absence of major releases in the month of April and the movie doesn't offer any false promises. It's a senseless car chase flick with a tried and tested cast. So it may work its magic.

Danny Boyle in Bond sequel? Hell NO!

So the Brits are pretty impressed with Danny Boy. In fact they are so impressed that they wouldn't mind the visionary director of the second most talked about movie of 2008, taking charge of what's probably Britain's major contribution to commercial Hollywood - James Bond. But after seeing the debacle of Quantum of Solace at the hands of Marc Forster I really don't think it's a wise option to leave the reins to Danny Boyle.

Slumdog Millionaire was a fine movie. No intentions of taking away the honour for that, though I have my own reservations on it being the Best Picture at the Oscars. But being a British director and an Academy Award winner isn't reason enough to pick Danny boyle as the right choice for being in charge of 007. The producers would now admit that the Marc Forster's direction was one of the reasons for the lacklustre performance of the 22nd movie in the spy franchise. With a trail of critically acclaimed movies including The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball in his arsenal, Forster was supposed to catapault the rebooted franchise to astronaumical heights. A follow-up which would be bigger and better than its predecessor, Casino Royale. On the contrary we witnessed a lifeless movie which had neither the soul nor the grip of the Casino Royale, a mix and match storyline, a passive leading lady and trust me, Olga Kurylenko's heavily accented dialogue delivery isn't as sexy as she thinks it is. The action sequences did't disappoint. But the lack of an engaging screenplay made all that effort go waste. Though the $200 million budgeted movie made close to $575 million at the box-office, that was a disappointing figure when compared to Casino Royale's $590+ million rake. Royale's budget was a digestable $150 million

So how does all this make Danny Boyle not the right candidate for the hot job? His resume isn't impressive enough for the position. The Beach, Sunshine and 28 days later were his major releases till Slumdog came along. The rest comprises of his experience in TV movies and TV series. Though Danny's preference for realism is in compliance with the current trend, that doesn't make him the best guy to revive Bond from the minor heart attack that Quantum of Solace gave the spy. A limited stint in big budget action thriller scenario is a major drawback. We have seen today's noted directors like Christopher Nolan and Gore Verbinski treading similar paths to acheive triumphs like Batman Begins and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Let us be reminded of the fact that those were either complete reboots or a brand new franchise. This lends the director a lot of creative liberty.

Danny Boyle is a remarkably talented director. Some day he must direct a Bond movie as well. But he isn't just what the doctor prescribes right now. The doctor prescibes and the patient needs Martin Campbell, the same person who gave us Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Give him the chair and say "work your magic".

No one to watch the Watchmen?

Two months into the year 2009, and we have the first prospective Hollywood blockbuster in theatres - Watchmen. Ironically, it could well be first flop of the year. Confused? Not as much as I am.

Watchmen was tauted as the next big thing after The Dark Knight and believed to step up the bar for the super hero genre. Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen was once considered unfilmable. Once the news of the movie being made hit shores, the critics were generous with adjectives like "dark", "deep" and "complicated" as they mentioned the name with awe. And that too without even watching the movie. Box office gurus assigned it the status of the money raker of the year. With Zack Snyder at the helm, things couldn't go possibly wrong. His previous movie, 300 was a shock wave blockbuster. Add to that, a promotonal campaign of around $50 million and everyone believed that Watchmen is going to kick up a storm.

But the box office numbers till now are nothing to write home about. A not-so-impressive opening weekend of $55 million and collections dropping significantly with each day, add to the woes of its makers. Considering the fact that a massive $150 million was pumped in to make this juggernaut, it should pick up quickly before losing out to new releases.

The reaons for the dry response couldn't be found by many critics and industry analysts. But there are some common weak links which makes the hyped-up movie a non starter for the average joe movie goer.

Starting off with the comparison to Zack Snyder's previous smash hit, 300. No 6 pack or 8 pack abs here. Admit it, that was one of the selling points of the hard rock-meets-history movie which Snyder put together in 2006 . The statement doesn't imply in any way that 300 wasn't entertaining. It was a bloodbath at its stylish best. The novelty of the visuals was fabulous. Unfortunately that didn't carry forward to the Watchmen. The styling isn't new anymore and hence lacks appeal.

The mere fact of the audience being new to the characters is a strong reason for its slump. Nobody (except for die hard comic book fans) know swho the Watchmen are. Nite Owl? (looks more like a wannabe Batman) Dr. Manhattan? (the only guy who flaunts his abs throughout the movie) The audience is new to these characters and the fanbase being low in number as compared to more popular heroes, Watchmen had to take the beating.

The characters aren't in the usual "good guy-bad guy" modes. They aren't in the current crop of complex heroes too (Hellboy, Batman and Hancock to some extent) . What we are subject to, is a group of unsure characters who are not even properly developed. Snyder was more concerned with the visual style than with giving the characters some space to develop.

The catchline of the graphic novel - "Who watches the watchmen?" - seems to be relevant here, as not so many are watching them right now.

On a personal note, I wished this movie to be one of the top-grossers of 2009. I still wish it makes it out safe. If it breaks even at the box office, that will be totally fine. The makers have tried to put on reel, a movie that was once considered unfilmable. The effort in itself is an acheivement.