The Fourth Kind

There are Alien movies and Alien movies. The Fourth Kind is the latter.

This is a movie which needs to be watched without referring to the IMDB summary and if does so, it does pack a pleasant surprise. Obviously it is not up there with the alien classics by James Cameron or Spielberg or even Ridley Scott because if it were, one would have already watched this movie or atleast heard of it. But nonetheless, it is a riveting thriller, adequately paced and leaves in its wake a brooding mind in the viewer.

The movie is interspersed every now and then with supposedly real audio and video clippings of the happenings which lend an eerie chill to the plot but also disturb the pace more than once. The narrative itself is pretty good and doesn't fail to intrigue the viewer right from the beginning, building up the element of suspense quite well. While one is indeed left with a feeling that an abler director could have taken the movie to a higher level, it does not hinder the mood of the film in any way. In fact, the director did a good job in not trying to take a firm stand for or against the belief that is the persona of the movie. He just presents the happenings in an objective way and that's about it. This movie is definitely not to convince the viewer to believe.

As a thriller, The Fourth Kind has ample moments that do their best to shock the viewer, and it does so not by showing insane amounts of blood and violence but via simple but powerful visuals of individuals' experiences of the fourth kind. If only a glimpse of the aliens was shown, the kid inside everyone would have been satisfied! There are no shoddy CG effects and the acting is good. For what the movie was supposed to be, it does a fine job and nothing more.

Man Of Steel

Irrespective of the box-office outcome or the critics' approval ratings, this movie warrants certain amount of attention apart from the viewing time. Well, it caught my attention the day Zack Snyder was signed on as the director. And it caught my acute interest the day Mr.Nolan got himself associated with it. Two of the most talented directors today, IMHO.

First impressions do count... well, most of the times. When I first heard the sound track of the motion picture, it was a rather disappointing déjà vu no thanks to Mr.Zimmerman. It sounded like the unlicensed lovechild of Mr.Nolan's trilogy. The news about the add-on of 3D did no good either. In fact it surprised me that Mr.Nolan agreed to add the extra dimension given that he is a vehement opposer.

The movie starts off (and ends) in a very Nolan-ish style. With no nonsense prepended to the movie, it jumps right into the thick of the (thin)plot. Enough time is spent in establishing a rational foundation to the legend during which the thin plot is completely unravelled leaving not a lot to look forward to, story-wise that is. But I think Mr.Snyder deserves a bit of leeway for he surely does make up for most of the shortcomings in the form of the fantastic razzmatazz that follows. The combat scenes are freaking extraordinaire albeit redundant.

A popular concern that might arise is that this Man Of Steel is too serious to be enjoyed by kids. And also that the lengthy fights are childishly conceived (but, I repeat - superbly choreographed and VFX'ed). I never really took Superman to be a superhero exclusive to the kids. And because his heroics in the latest offing do convincingly appeal to the kid in me, it is sufficient to say that the function did follow the form rather well. And if you are one of those who still expect the most powerful man (he is more of earth than of krypton now, isn't he?) ever to wear his red underwear over his pants, well, all I can say is catch up to the times.

All said and done, Man Of Steel may not do to Superman what the Dark Knight trilogy did to his frenemy. But it is too early. With ample hints of an impending sequel thrown in the movie for the fans, I will look forward to it with the same unwavering vigor. And I will look forward to how Mr.Snyder solves the "magically appearing blue-n-red suit" problem on the masked Clark Kent and what Mr.Luthor is going to do to unsettle him. I assume Mr.Luthor won't get cross with the Man Of Steel just because a couple of his trucks (and maybe a few buildings, and a few satellites, and a few factories) were destroyed by Superman fending off Zod and his army!

So as a fan having seen the most eagerly awaited movie of the year, I honestly do rejoice. The 3D was good and thankfully not over the top, the acting was good, the plot was simple, the fights were good. So what if none of them were "Super"... at least it is not an "ass", it stands for hope and I will hope for a better sequel.