yellow recommends

The Yellow Issue1/4/2011

Vol. 1#4

3The Yellow Issue Epigram Recommends

Contributors

1. Movie of the Month - Yasodara Karunaratne

2. Book - Priya Dabak

3. Album - Saahil Dama

4. Vintage Movie - Srimanta Mitra

A Saahil Dama, Ishan Dabri, Krushna Dande production.


‘It's about a girl who gets turned into a swan and she needs love to break the spell, but her prince falls for the wrong girl so she kills herself. ‘

Ever feel like there is too much romance around these days? ‘Nerdy boy loves hot girl, hot girl ignores him, they get together and fall in love’ that kind of thing. And just when I thought that I’d burn down the next theatre that showed the same old mawkish bullshit, came Black Swan, definitely one hell of a watch. Never had a movie shocked me before with a plot so in-conceivable and yet so intelligible at the same time. Directed by the now leg-endary Darren Aronofsky, this movie in is definitely the epitome of psycho-logical thriller movies for years to come. Starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis, the Black Swan is about the psychological transfor-mation of Nina (Natalie Portman) after being given a lead role in a produc-tion of “Swan Lake” by the famed New York City Company, Broadway.

Considering his making of Black Swan to be in close relation with The Wrestler (one of his earlier movies) Darren Aronofsky used his views on a production of Swan Lake and research into understudies to conjure this masterpiece. First discussing the film in the year 2000, he decided that a decade long wait was essential before production as it allowed the actors and actresses to thoroughly familiarize with their roles. This as many of us now know was an apt decision as the film was able it got Natalie Port-man the academy award for Best Actress. Her acting in the film was simply phenomenal, almost inexplicably stunning considering her mediocrity in previous movies. The success of the movie was further exemplified through the casting of Kunis as the ambiguous Lily, Cassel as the rigorous com-pany director and Winona Ryder as a former prima ballerina; all very befit-ting choices. In addition to this, the Black Swan was also nominated for the Academy Award of Best Picture, Darren Aronofsky for Best Director, Andrew Weisblum for Best Film Editing and Matthew Libatique for best cinematog-raphy.

Black Swan has been this highly acclaimed by the crowd and critics alike not just because of its atypical plot and phenomenal acting but because of its accurate depiction of a performer pushing her body over the limit in order to achieve a “perfect performance.” Also, the contrast that has been showed between the White Swan and the Black Swan has been displayed so masterfully that it really makes one question if he has a dark side hidden inside him too. This is in accordance with many people today who strive to

Black Swan-Yasodara Karunaratne

6 The Yellow IssueEpigram Recommends

execute flawless performances in an array of categories such as in sport or in dance; a message raising awareness on the dangers of pressure and the zealous pursuit of success. There is a difference between being motivated and being obsessed. Bad things happen to those who don’t recognize that line. Although hyperbolic to many, the aspect of losing reality over fantasy is also delineated in the movie as a consequence of over powering obses-sions evidently bringing about states of paranoia. Hence, it is due to the recipe of talented directing, eminent acting and thematically cutting edge aspects that the Black Swan is simply one of the best movies of all time.


Three Men in a Boat


J., the narrator, and two of his friends, George and Harris are tired of the difficulties of their lives. They need a break. They are thinking of ways to break the monotony. Not to mention, to rid themselves of a chronic case of hypochondria. After much discussion about everything ranging from sea-sickness to putting a picture on a wall, they decide take a two week boating holiday on the Thames. They’re accompanied of course, by J’s monster of a dog, Montmorency. The three men pack their supplies, prepare themselves and after about the first quarter of the book, pile into a boat and set off on what is bound to be a disastrous journey.

Published in 1889, ‘Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)’ is a humourous account by English writer Jerome Klapka Jerome. The book was originally intended to be a travel guide, based on similar experiences of Jerome and two of his real life friends. As for Montmorency, he wasn’t a real dog, but I almost wish he was. If humour doesn’t seem reason enough for you to read an entire novel, the book does have the intended air of a travelogue. The books contains long, evocative descriptions about the his-tory, nature and the overall life on a boat, which would seem out of place, if it weren’t for the tinge of humour they’ve all got in them. There are also the little comical ‘blurbs’ at the beginning of every chapter, which give sort of a Cliff note’s version of what happens in the following chapter.

Jerome has had no trouble in establishing the characters; the real-life friends might have been a help at that. Harris is always relaxed and doesn’t give a care in the world about pretty much everything in the world. George is seemingly a much mature person, though he is sure to shirk away all his responsibilities, and in most cases load them on others. J. is a practical man, an interesting fellow. He is altogether fun, but is also a slightly sen-timental guy, quite the opposite of Harris at times. The crux is that they all happen to be remarkably lazy and most certainly, terrible boatmen. And then of course, is Montmorency. According to J., Fox terriers are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs are. And Mont-morency fits the image perfectly, throughout the journey – he almost fights with a tom cat, he fights with a kettle (but unfortunately, loses) and in Ox-ford he becomes his old self again, and gets into twenty five more fights.

Three Men in a Boat -Priya Dabak


The book is delightfully whimsical and does have a quintessentially Brit-ish air to it. It is a combination of dry satire, sly humour and slapstick that is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s faces, or more likely, a smirk. Humour is tricky, and for a book that was written in the Victorian era, it is trickier. The book has hilariously captured the era, all the stereotypes included. But what is most commendable is that it is years later now, and the humour still doesn’t seem stale. It’s probably because while the times have changed, the human (and canine) nature, and our ability to make the stupidest of mis-takes and take the silliest of decisions is still pretty much the same. The book is full of situational comedy, which explains its appeal throughout the ages.

To all the P.G Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling and ‘any-other-god-damn-author-you-can-name’ fans out there, this is the book for you. So, sit back, relax and enjoy – but stay away from the cup of coffee, lest you spill it all over yourself, snorting away at the hysterical tale of wit that is this book.

Priya is also the author of http://peskypiksipesternomi.blogspot.com/


http://peskypiksipesternomi.blogspot.com/


Every once in a while comes an album that completely justifies the name of a band. For instance, if a band is called Megadeath (totally hypothetical) and they make an album so bad that it makes everyone want to die, then you've got an album that justifies the name of the band. And Nevermind does just that for Nirvana.

Only the second album to be released by this iconic band, Nevermind shot Nirvana to overnight stardom. The album does wonderfully to prove that the band would make it big on the world stage some day. Right from Cobain screeching his lungs out to the nude floating baby on the album cover, eve-rything is all set for becoming rock legends. Because we all love nude babies and rock stars, don’t we?

When you listen to the epic first song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, you know you’re in for something. The song begins with a guitar riff that would even make a person with a decapitated head want to head bang. Couple that with Kurt Cobain’s shrills and the cymbal being hit every five seconds and it makes a perfect starter for a brilliant album. Only if you can figure out the lyrics, that is.

From then onwards the album goes from strength to strength ranging from the disturbing Territorial Pissings to the considerably softer but, more grunge-like, Something In the Way. They also give a shot at trying to be happy, in On A Plain, even succeeding to an extent, until you listen to the lyrics. But then lyrics were never their forte and this album proves that as long as it is rock and you know your music, you don’t need your lyrics for it to rock peoples’ guts out.

There hardly is a song that can be termed as filler. However, the exceptional ones that you might want to listen to are:

1. Smells like teen spirit – Whatever the hell he’s screaming, he’s scream-ing it well.

2. Come as you are – Not just blind guitar strumming and drumming. This time they actually seem to know what they are playing.

3. Polly – Darker music. No drums. Reduces chances of getting deafened by forty percent.

Nevermind- Saahil Dama


Reasons not to buy the album: You can download it for free.

Pure metal, lyrics that don’t make sense and a grammatically wrong title – Nevermind is absolute Nirvana for every rock lover.



Psycho, arguably Alfred Hitchcock's best known film, spawning two sequels, one prequel and a remake, keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats, and leaves their hearts racing afterwards. The film is often categorized by multi-ple critics as a drama, horror, mystery and thriller film, but if viewers could give its genre a name, they'd go with 'mind blowing to such an extent you can see your brains lying on the floor'.

The film features Janet Leigh as an embezzling secretary hiding in an iso-lated motel, and Anthony Perkins as the motel's owner and manager. It also has a befitting soundtrack by composer Bernard Herrmann, and Alfred Hitchcock at his directorial best. And of course, thrills and chills that are guaranteed to knock the socks off your feet. If you're wearing any, that is.

The film progresses slowly, with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) stealing $40,000 from her employer's office and fleeing to her lover's home in California, in a car. This act of stealing is one of desperation as she was in desperate need of money to marry her lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin). On her way there, she parks along the road to sleep. She gets awakened by a highway patrol officer and her agitated state prompts the officer into following her. A heavy rain-storm ensues which forces her to stop and spend the night in the Bates Mo-tel. We then meet Norman Bates, the shy and reserved manager as well as owner of the motel. What follows is an intricately designed tale of madness, anger, hatred and violence, beautifully decorated with unexpected thrills and beautifully placed chills; and viewers with a psychologically weak heart are advised keep hospital numbers on speed dial before watching this film, as who knows what might happen?

When Hitchcock approached Paramount Pictures with the idea of the film, they said that the book was "too repulsive" and "impossible for films", and they did not like "anything about it at all" and denied him his usual budget. So he had to finance the film through his own production house, Shamley Productions. On release, it was frowned upon by critics, as Hitchcock refused to give them any private screenings in fear of the plot being leaked. It was called "a blot on an honorable career", "plainly a gimmick movie", and "merely one of those television shows padded out to two hours." But the public loved it so much that it ended up being one of the largest grossing black-and-white films and helped make Hitchcock a multimillionaire. It broke box-office records in Ja-

Psycho -Srimanta Mitra


pan, China and the rest of Asia, France, Britain, South America, the United States, and Canada. Basically, nearly the whole world. It was the best mon-eymaking film of Hitchcock's career, earning him a humongous amount of $11,200,000.

It was also nominated for four Academy Awards and won one Golden Globe and an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Supporting Actress and Best Motion picture respectively. The film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aes-thetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was se-lected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

The movie, shot purposely in black and white to avoid the censors, has a ton of symbolism and movie magic that would make Ebert and Dan Brown crap in their seats.

And as of 2011, Psycho is still thrilling and chilling people in its sixth dec-ade of existence.

If you see the movie, you’ll know why.

Srimanta is the author of http://inside-of-outside.blogspot.com/


http://inside-of-outside.blogspot.com/

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