Got a very pleasant surprise today! I was on a college visit and was not able to check FB/IG for most of the day. In the evening, I saw that @chaibisket has featured me in an article about my sketches. Yesterday, I had tagged them in the "Arjun Reddy" sketch that I had posted on @dailymoviesketch, and was happy that they appreciated it. But I never expected that they'd put up a whole article! You can check it out on their site: http://chaibisket.com/abhiram-instagram-portraits/. Thank you so much @chaibisket team for the feature. Thank you also, to everyone who tagged me to let me know about the article and shared it!I'm posting two photos about the article, one for each of my Instagram accounts. @karthikabhiram gets one and so does @dailymoviesketch, so be sure to check them both.#canon #5dmarkiii #50mm #chaibisket #arjunreddy
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Arjun Reddy (2017)Directed by Sandeep Reddy VangaRomantic dramas / love stories are not my cup of tea at all, I usually don't watch movies in this genre. "Arjun Reddy" would have totally escaped my attention otherwise, but as it's been getting a lot of praise, I watched it a couple of days back. The movie stars Devarakonda Vijay Sai in the title role. Arjun Reddy is a brilliant surgeon who, thanks to a failed relationship with Preeti (Shalini Pandey), has turned to alcohol and drugs as an escape. The movie shows us flashbacks to how their love developed during medical college – he being the topper in the college with anger issues, and she just having joined in the first year. We also see why they break up, and the movie keeps you interested to see how things would finally turn out. The subject matter isn't exactly new, but the movie has got deserved praise for writer-director Sandeep Vanga's more realistic take on the material. Yes, it is still very much a movie so you do have those crowd pleasing / hero moments but there's a more grounded tone to it. Though it's over three hours long, thanks to an engaging script, you wouldn't feel bored. The cinematography (Raju Thota) is great, and you wouldn't think this is a low budget film. The music (Radhan) is effective too. The material is served well by the acting, all of which is great. Special mention to Rahul Ramakrishna who plays Arjun's friend Shiva. Of course the star of the show, is Vijay Devarakonda, who is simply brilliant, portraying all shades of the character superbly. The character and performance is full of attitude and it's great to see how he has put his all into it. The movie has a fair bit of swearing in the dialogue and a more open approach towards portraying sexuality, and unfortunately this means there are quite a few instances of dialogue being muted despite it being certified "A". Apparently the version released overseas doesn't have these cuts. I'd rate the movie an 8/10 overall. This is a sketch of Arjun from the movie, done with 2B pencil on paper and scanned. #286 / 30-Aug-17
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Death Note (2017)Directed by Adam WingardMy exposure to Japanese anime is fairly limited. A few months ago, I watched the 37-episode "Death Note" anime (itself an adaptation of the comic series written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takeshi Obata), and loved it. The show is about high schooler Light Yagami who comes across a notebook that gives him the power to kill anyone by writing their name in it. Light uses it to kill criminals and wants to become the God of a new world, where no crime exists. L is the detective who tries to track down this "Kira" ("killer" – the word people use to refer to the mysterious force behind the criminal murders), and Ryuk is the Shinigami (Death God) who has come to our realm to amusingly observe all this. The anime was fantastic, thrilling and left you exhilarated, it was so well written and very cinematic at times.I had a sinking feeling when I saw the trailer for the Netflix-produced film adaptation. It had a nice look, but it didn't seem anything like "Death Note". The movie hit Netflix a couple of days back and I watched it. The overall outline is similar – high school student Light Turner (Nat Wolff) discovers the note, a romance between him and fellow student Mia (Margaret Qualley) brews, the Kira killings take place, and L (Lakeith Stanfield) vows to stop them, and there is Ryuk, voiced by Willem Dafoe.However, I didn't like this adaptation at all. I understand they were trying to do something different with the material, but I didn't like the changes. Light in the original is highly intelligent, not an emo teen. L would never lose control as he does here. I missed the mind games between the two. Ryuk is hardly in the movie and even his character is different and not detached like in the original.One who has not seen the original may like this, however, as someone who loved the anime, I can't help but compare the two and this falls very very short. The music is pretty nice, and the cinematography (David Tattersall) is very good, but that's about all the good things I have to say about it. I'd rate it 6/10.This sketch of Ryuk was done with Prismacolor pencils on black paper and scanned. #285 / 27-Aug-17
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Daredevil a.k.a. Marvel's Daredevil (2015 – present)Created by Drew GoddardThe past weekend, I finished watching "Daredevil" on Netflix (I actually also watched a few episodes of "Jessica Jones", and plan to watch "The Defenders" as well. Probably, I will skip the 13 episodes each of "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist"). You have to hand it to Marvel, the two seasons of "Daredevil" have been quality TV programming.If Season 1 had a brilliant character in Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk, in Season 2, it has got to be The Punisher / Frank Castle, played by actor Jon Bernthal (@jonnybernthal). He is a once decorated soldier and army man, who lost his family – and now has become a vigilante. His method and ideology of killing the scum in Hell's Kitchen is at odds with Daredevil / Matt Murdock, who doesn't believe in taking a life.There is an awesome scene in Season 2 Epiode 3 with a rooftop conversation between Daredevil and The Punisher on their differing ideologies, that reminded me of the writing and characterisation in "The Killing Joke". Apart from the great writing and acting in both seasons, one other standout aspect is the fight sequences, which are terrific.In Season 2 Episode 9, there's a prison fight sequence where Frank dispatches a whole bunch of inmates with nothing but one shiv. It's bloody, brutal, and superbly put together. You can watch it on YouTube, and this probably got me excited for "Daredevil" long before I actually took @kashyapchandra's recommendation and watched the show. If there's one thing I didn't like as much about Season 2, it's Elodie Yung's Elektra. Whenever she was on screen I kept wishing they'd move on and get back to The Punisher, which I was more interested in watching.I look forward to Marvel's "The Punisher", which Netflix has announced for this year. I drew Frank from the aforementioned prison fight scene. This is done in 0.5mm 2B pencil (blood was with Prismacolor pencil) and scanned. I think this is one of my best sketches so far, I'm quite proud of it. #284 / 23-Aug-17
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Rick and Morty (2013 – present) Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon Pickle Rick! All new episodes of Season 3 of this terrific show started airing last month, and I've been watching the episodes as they come out. It's third episode, "Pickle Rick" involves Rick turning himself into a pickle, and things get pretty insane. The production values and writing in this show have always been great, and the show runners obviously worked really hard on Season 3. Next week will be Episode 6, whose cold open we saw earlier in a promo clip. I drew Rick as a pickle, this was drawn with Artline 0.3 marker and Prismacolor pencils. #283 / 22-Aug-17
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In progress! Can you guess who this is? I will post the scan when it's done.
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The Defenders a.k.a. Marvel's The Defenders (2017)I watched "John Dies at the End" on Netflix yesterday, and after the movie got over, watched the trailer for "The Defenders", whose 8 episodes are getting released on Friday. The trailer features Nirvana's "Come As You Are" and it seems entertaining. So, though I haven't finished "Daredevil" yet (currently on Season 2 Episode 3), I watched a couple of episodes of "Jessica Jones". It was pretty good and Krysten Ritter was good in the role as a former superhero turned Private Investigator. I enjoyed her appearance on "Breaking Bad" as well, so I thought to draw her. There is a lovely B&W poster for "The Defenders", so though my sketches are usually based on frames from the screen, I drew Jessica from the poster. The drawing was done with 2B 0.5mm pencil on paper and scanned. #282 / 15-Aug-17
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Atomic Blonde (2017)Directed by David LeitchIt's impossible to discuss "Atomic Blonde" without talking about "John Wick". That 2014 movie was directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, and had great action scenes by the 87Eleven team. Its sequel came from Stahelski, one half of the original's directing team. 87Eleven returned to do the action scenes. With "Atomic Blonde", David Leitch makes his solo directing debut (and he is also working on "Deadpool 2" which would be released early next year), and the action team is the same. This graphic novel adaptation stars Charlize Theron as MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton. In November 1989, Lorraine narrates the incidents that took place in Berlin a few days earlier – involving the KGB, MI6 and the CIA pursuing The List (a piece of microfilm with information about agents in the field) and tracking down a double agent. I found "Atomic Blonde" to be very entertaining. With the somewhat convoluted story and the way it's presented, concentration is needed to grasp everything. I watched a YouTube video explaining the ending after seeing the movie, which helped me appreciate it better.The action scenes are terrific as expected, you can make out that the stunt team and Charlize Theron worked really hard to pull off the realistic action on screen. The highlight is an almost 10 minute long sequence in a building presented as a long take. The acting was good across, with Charlize Theron making a great heroine, James McAvoy was entertaining as agent David Percival. Being set in the 1980s, the movie has a selection of 80s songs on the soundtrack, which I totally loved. The cinematography was great too, this was one beautiful looking movie. I enjoyed it a lot and would rate it a solid 8/10.Looks like 3 minutes of the film have been cut in India (IMDb runtime is 115 min, censor certificate said 112 min) and there are instances of dialogue that are muted. Unfortunate but not surprising considering our overly sensitive censor board. Will have to wait for an uncut version.I drew Charlize Theron from the movie. The drawing was done with 0.5mm 2B pencil and scanned.#281 / 13-Aug-17
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Daredevil a.k.a. Marvel's Daredevil (2015 – present)Created by Drew GoddardThose who know me well, would know that I watch considerably fewer TV shows than movies. The reason is the length – if someone recommends a show to you, it's difficult to act on it as there'll often be several hours worth of viewing to catch up on. Movies are a lot easier in that respect, typically 1.5 to 3 hours and you're done. So, I prefer watching shows that are shorter.I'd not seen any of the Marvel-Netflix TV shows so far. @kashyapchandra suggested that I start with "Daredevil", so I did a few days back. I'm right now close to completing the first season and I'm liking this show a lot. Charlie Cox carries the show well as blind lawyer Matt Murdock by day and vigilante in a black mask by night (I guess the red Daredevil costume shows up towards the end of the season only), trying to clean up the streets of Hell's Kitchen, New York. Vincent D'Onofrio makes an impression as kingpin Wilson Fisk.Unlike the more lighter Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, this is a darker and grittier show (it is still very much part of the MCU, as there are references to the New York "incident" from "The Avengers"). I like the cinematography, and the bloody and brutal fight sequences, kudos to the stunt / action team that worked on the show! Maybe, I'll watch "Jessica Jones" and then "The Defenders" (not too keen on "Luke Cage" and "Iron Fist"). I drew Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock from the show. The drawing was done in pencil (and red colour pencil for the glasses), and scanned. I actually completed this yesterday but was busy at work so posting it only today.#280 / 11-Jul-17
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The Disaster Artist (2017)Directed by James Franco Recently, the trailer for this movie, "The Disaster Artist" was released, and I found it hilarious. So, I picked it to draw, for @dailymoviesketch.In order to appreciate this trailer though, you would need to have watched, or be aware of, this 2003 movie called "The Room". Here's a bit of context for those who haven't watched that movie. "The Room" (not to be confused with "Room", the award winning 2015 film) is a 2003 drama starring, written, produced, and directed by Tommy Wiseau, and is considered by some to be one of the worst films ever made. Its numerous flaws actually make it quite entertaining to watch, the movie is unintentionally funny, and it has gained cult status because of this. It's quite an experience to watch the movie (I even did a sketch here, based on it, several months back). The bizarre production of the movie was documented in a book called "The Disaster Artist", by "The Room" co-star Greg Sestero.This is an adaptation of the book, directed by James Franco. James Franco plays Tommy Wiseau in the film. In order to appreciate the trailer, you could search for "funniest scenes from The Room" on YouTube. There's one bit where Tommy Wiseau in the original says, "I did not hit her, it's not true, it's bullshit, I did not hit her, I did naaaht! Oh, hai, Mark!", and this is the scene that's the subject of the trailer for "The Disaster Artist". I am looking forward to watching this movie, and I drew James Franco as Tommy Wiseau from the trailer. The sketch was done with a 0.5mm 2B pencil on paper, and scanned.#279 / 5-Aug-17
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