The Ice Age cast unites once more to churn out this animated flick. The movie follows the story after the winter passes and the ice is melting once again to reveal land. It is really interesting to note the challenges that the animal kingdom faces with nature's cycles, but they certainly cope with it much better than humans do.
Now that the threesome are thick friends, there is certainly a drop in the hints of sarcam and teasing, but comedy comes in the form of a female mammoth, voiced by Queen Latifah, who thinks she is a possum. And of course Manny is expected to fall in love with her cause he thinks he is the last of the mammoths and they are a dying species.
Even though the situation created was funny, the humour wasn't and it felt a little dry compared to the previous movie, Ice Age. The thing that really got on my nerves was Scrat. I thought that was the dumbest character in the movie although it is the initiator for much of the trouble. Yet showing that character almost every other scene was too much to bear. An OK movie to watch one time, but it wasn't as good as the first one.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Swordfish
John Travolta, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman star in this hacking cum terror based movie.
Movie begins with the present in which Gabriel is holding people hostage and he is cacking away about movie and direction. For a second, I was wondering where his spiel was taking me. Finally after he finished, he calls Stan over and they return to "work".
Movie spins to flashback where Stan is an ex-convict-hacker living in a rotten and run down trailer house with a menial job. Enters Ginger to convince Stan to meet Gabriel. She seems to be knowing everything about him and finally convinces him to meet Gabriel.
A suspect, another hacker (who is known to Stan), is held at the airport and is killed by Gabriel's men.
When Stan meets Gabriel, he is put to a precarious test and passes. With the lure of money to get his daughter back, Stan proceeds to develop some impediment to a massive system to get into a bank account for a fortune.
Interesting twist of events during the climax. Although the ending was pretty neat to watch, most of movie, I felt sort of lost and never understood what on earth Gabriel's character was upto. I guess that was the point of the movie to make in the viewpoint of Stan. But I couldn't understand why a man would get involved with it. An OK movie, tolerable for Jackman's fans.
Movie begins with the present in which Gabriel is holding people hostage and he is cacking away about movie and direction. For a second, I was wondering where his spiel was taking me. Finally after he finished, he calls Stan over and they return to "work".
Movie spins to flashback where Stan is an ex-convict-hacker living in a rotten and run down trailer house with a menial job. Enters Ginger to convince Stan to meet Gabriel. She seems to be knowing everything about him and finally convinces him to meet Gabriel.
A suspect, another hacker (who is known to Stan), is held at the airport and is killed by Gabriel's men.
When Stan meets Gabriel, he is put to a precarious test and passes. With the lure of money to get his daughter back, Stan proceeds to develop some impediment to a massive system to get into a bank account for a fortune.
Interesting twist of events during the climax. Although the ending was pretty neat to watch, most of movie, I felt sort of lost and never understood what on earth Gabriel's character was upto. I guess that was the point of the movie to make in the viewpoint of Stan. But I couldn't understand why a man would get involved with it. An OK movie, tolerable for Jackman's fans.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Live and Let Die
Written by Ian Fleming, it was my first book from the 007's written series. This was supposedly Bond's second assignment, first being Casino Royale (which I would be picking up today).
Compared to the movie, Bond seemed much more human and normal in the book. So for the people, who like the coolness and composed rationality of Bond might be in for a surprise cause the author expresses Bond's inner fears and thoughts.
Most of the story is based on an island in Jamaica. Mr.Big, a powerful trader smuggler and leader of the underworld is the villain that Bond is targetting. He transports historic gold with natural protection - viscious aquatic carnivores. Some of the encounters of Bond with these creatures was really nose scringing.
Bond is incomplete without a love interest, as shown by the movies, but in the book, he doesn't seem so much of a *ahem* flirt. It's natural circumstances of being with someone for a long time and sharing the relationship. In this book, it's Solitaire - a lady who reads minds and is telepathic. She believes in voodoo magic, like much of the population and Mr.Big is the man exploiting it, claiming he is the zombie of a dead man. Although Bond doesn't believe in it, in some of the paragraphs in the last chapter, it seems like he is actually affected by what the bad guy does.
On the whole, Ian Fleming gave an interesting perspective. Supposedly, he was part of a secret service and served his country during the World War.
Compared to the movie, Bond seemed much more human and normal in the book. So for the people, who like the coolness and composed rationality of Bond might be in for a surprise cause the author expresses Bond's inner fears and thoughts.
Most of the story is based on an island in Jamaica. Mr.Big, a powerful trader smuggler and leader of the underworld is the villain that Bond is targetting. He transports historic gold with natural protection - viscious aquatic carnivores. Some of the encounters of Bond with these creatures was really nose scringing.
Bond is incomplete without a love interest, as shown by the movies, but in the book, he doesn't seem so much of a *ahem* flirt. It's natural circumstances of being with someone for a long time and sharing the relationship. In this book, it's Solitaire - a lady who reads minds and is telepathic. She believes in voodoo magic, like much of the population and Mr.Big is the man exploiting it, claiming he is the zombie of a dead man. Although Bond doesn't believe in it, in some of the paragraphs in the last chapter, it seems like he is actually affected by what the bad guy does.
On the whole, Ian Fleming gave an interesting perspective. Supposedly, he was part of a secret service and served his country during the World War.
Live and Let Die
Starring Roger Moore as 007, this Ian Fleming's screen adaptation was shot in New York and Jamaica.
Being in 2007, this was probably one of the cheesiest movie I saw - a typical Bollywood masala sort of recipe. The guy being omniscient and omnipresent and the ladies in the movie to accompany at night and scream when they see snakes and blood. I couldn't decide which to laugh at - the women's constant jumpiness or Bond's tolerance of screams. In short, I couldn't share their fear. Some of the dialogues were just so annoying. During the last scenes, the villain, Mr.Big gets blown up by Bond and the lady, Solitaire, is standing right next to where he was blown, yet asks the question, "Where is Kananga?" (Kananga is the other name for Mr.Big). And I began to wonder if she was just a doll without sense and eyes. But then, these movies were to taste and liking of the previous generation...
I read the book before watching the movie so again, as other on-screen adaptations, there was much story that was missed. It seemed sort of incoherent to me. There were other introductions that weren't providing any comic relief, but more of annoyance, such as the Lousiana state patrol chief and people as such.
Mr.Big didn't seem really big and he didn't command the screen presence and imposing fear as the character in the book did. Some of his hitmen and followers were pretty scary though, especially the guy who kept laughing. He even comes at the end of the movie sitting on the train and he really freaked the living daylights out of me.
After the releases of the recent Bond movies with the extensive mechanization, the little gadgets of compressed air bullets and magnet cum rope cutter cum watch gadget of Bond were the sparse technological support that were shown in this movie.
Even though it wasn't very memorable, it is worth the watch to enjoy more of Moore.
Being in 2007, this was probably one of the cheesiest movie I saw - a typical Bollywood masala sort of recipe. The guy being omniscient and omnipresent and the ladies in the movie to accompany at night and scream when they see snakes and blood. I couldn't decide which to laugh at - the women's constant jumpiness or Bond's tolerance of screams. In short, I couldn't share their fear. Some of the dialogues were just so annoying. During the last scenes, the villain, Mr.Big gets blown up by Bond and the lady, Solitaire, is standing right next to where he was blown, yet asks the question, "Where is Kananga?" (Kananga is the other name for Mr.Big). And I began to wonder if she was just a doll without sense and eyes. But then, these movies were to taste and liking of the previous generation...
I read the book before watching the movie so again, as other on-screen adaptations, there was much story that was missed. It seemed sort of incoherent to me. There were other introductions that weren't providing any comic relief, but more of annoyance, such as the Lousiana state patrol chief and people as such.
Mr.Big didn't seem really big and he didn't command the screen presence and imposing fear as the character in the book did. Some of his hitmen and followers were pretty scary though, especially the guy who kept laughing. He even comes at the end of the movie sitting on the train and he really freaked the living daylights out of me.
After the releases of the recent Bond movies with the extensive mechanization, the little gadgets of compressed air bullets and magnet cum rope cutter cum watch gadget of Bond were the sparse technological support that were shown in this movie.
Even though it wasn't very memorable, it is worth the watch to enjoy more of Moore.
The Phantom of the Opera
Starring Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson, this classic adaptation was a total musical.
Although most of the story was followed, the intensity and passion of the phantom wasn't felt as much and neither did I feeel the innocence portrayed by Christine Daae. In the novel, the phantom wears a complete mask to hide his disfigured face and in the movie, only about 1/4 of his face is disfigured. I guess the director used the rest of the face shown for displayed the emotion.
It seemed as though the actions of the phantom were more subtle and quieter than the one portrayed in the movie. It seemed like the phantom seemed more human - people wouldn't have believed that the phantom in the movie was actually a phantom.
Most of the dialogues were sung and that was sometimes really annoying. I would have rather had them speak it out. It takes longer to finish a singing line!
There were some parts of the movie where they had added some fantasy and taken some characters away- such as Madame Giry seemed to me like a slightly slow character, but in the movie, she seemed to be all knowing and sneaky. Two characters from the book were merged into one.
On the whole, it was a good show with exquisite sets and costumes. I loved the opera decorations - very grand and beautiful. A good movie and a must-see for music lovers.
Although most of the story was followed, the intensity and passion of the phantom wasn't felt as much and neither did I feeel the innocence portrayed by Christine Daae. In the novel, the phantom wears a complete mask to hide his disfigured face and in the movie, only about 1/4 of his face is disfigured. I guess the director used the rest of the face shown for displayed the emotion.
It seemed as though the actions of the phantom were more subtle and quieter than the one portrayed in the movie. It seemed like the phantom seemed more human - people wouldn't have believed that the phantom in the movie was actually a phantom.
Most of the dialogues were sung and that was sometimes really annoying. I would have rather had them speak it out. It takes longer to finish a singing line!
There were some parts of the movie where they had added some fantasy and taken some characters away- such as Madame Giry seemed to me like a slightly slow character, but in the movie, she seemed to be all knowing and sneaky. Two characters from the book were merged into one.
On the whole, it was a good show with exquisite sets and costumes. I loved the opera decorations - very grand and beautiful. A good movie and a must-see for music lovers.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Friends
I am no classic humourist to judge this show, but to make it up for all the years that I haven't lived in the Western world watching this show, I am seeing the seasons of Friends right now. Season 1, I have completed and season 2 is currently been watched.
It's friendship - its sweetness and crudeness - all in one show. There are strong hints of romance and the single life that many young adults are thrown into. The tumults of dating and relationships, homosexual issues, job hunts and aspirations, breakups, loneliness, cooking and puking, idiosyncracies and scientific truths are all explored.
The main characters are Rachael Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox Arquette), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). A short summary of each of the characters:
Rachael Green is the daughter of a rich family. She was a popular girl in high school. She runs away from her marriage and in a search to be independent and individual, starts working as a waitress at Central Perk. She dates many men, but is constantly in and out of love. For most of the show, she plays the love interest of Ross Geller and also has a child with him. She also has a relationship with Joey Tribbiani along the way.
Monica Geller and Ross Geller are siblings. Monica is an aspiring cook and her dream is to have a great restaurant. She was an obese teenager in high school. She is usually very anal about cleanliness and 'her stuff'. She always has to put up with her ever critical mother and is always a subject of scrutiny.
Ross Geller is a paleontologist. He is the typical sensitive nice guy, who isn't much experienced in the field of dating. He was married for 4 years to a woman, whom he had to divorce because she ended being a lesbian. He still has feelings for her and hates Susan, with whom his ex-wife is living. He had a major crush on Rachael in high since the 9th grade and recently he feels he is in love with her. Although the guys know about his feelings, the ladies are oblivious to Ross' feelings until Chandler blurts it inadvertently.
Phoebe Buffay has had a tough childhood with her mother committing suicide and her father dying and her stepfather being jailed. She has come a long way into adulthood. She works as a masseuse and also sings at Central Perk. She is generally known to have awkward and uncomfortable lyrics. She also has odd reactions and believes in predictions and odd things. She is known to consider her friends to be the most important thing in her life. She has an identical twin by the name of Ursula.
Chandler Bing is the most sarcastic and funny man of the lot. He has a mother who writes adult romance novels and a father who is a drag queen. He is most scared of commitment and is known to break up with women for shallow reasons. He is the roommate of Joey Tribbiani, whom he mocks a lot, but in a friendly way. He plays the love interest of Monica in the later seasons.
Joey Tribbiani is probably the most touchy guy. He frequently dates women and likes to be with them in bed. He is explicit about his display of affections to both men and women. He is a little slow on the uptake for most of the mockery that his friends make of him. He is almost always short of cash and is an aspiring actor who is looking for a break. He has a crush on Rachael in the later episodes.
So there being the summary of all, the episodes are really funny about many day to day occurrences of 'Friends'. Almost of the all of the episodes occur in either Central Perk, Monica's, Chandler's or Ross' apartment. It's almost sweet to watch most of the it and some of the jokes could adult - oriented and inappropriate, but what's the deal between friends!
It's friendship - its sweetness and crudeness - all in one show. There are strong hints of romance and the single life that many young adults are thrown into. The tumults of dating and relationships, homosexual issues, job hunts and aspirations, breakups, loneliness, cooking and puking, idiosyncracies and scientific truths are all explored.
The main characters are Rachael Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courtney Cox Arquette), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). A short summary of each of the characters:
Rachael Green is the daughter of a rich family. She was a popular girl in high school. She runs away from her marriage and in a search to be independent and individual, starts working as a waitress at Central Perk. She dates many men, but is constantly in and out of love. For most of the show, she plays the love interest of Ross Geller and also has a child with him. She also has a relationship with Joey Tribbiani along the way.
Monica Geller and Ross Geller are siblings. Monica is an aspiring cook and her dream is to have a great restaurant. She was an obese teenager in high school. She is usually very anal about cleanliness and 'her stuff'. She always has to put up with her ever critical mother and is always a subject of scrutiny.
Ross Geller is a paleontologist. He is the typical sensitive nice guy, who isn't much experienced in the field of dating. He was married for 4 years to a woman, whom he had to divorce because she ended being a lesbian. He still has feelings for her and hates Susan, with whom his ex-wife is living. He had a major crush on Rachael in high since the 9th grade and recently he feels he is in love with her. Although the guys know about his feelings, the ladies are oblivious to Ross' feelings until Chandler blurts it inadvertently.
Phoebe Buffay has had a tough childhood with her mother committing suicide and her father dying and her stepfather being jailed. She has come a long way into adulthood. She works as a masseuse and also sings at Central Perk. She is generally known to have awkward and uncomfortable lyrics. She also has odd reactions and believes in predictions and odd things. She is known to consider her friends to be the most important thing in her life. She has an identical twin by the name of Ursula.
Chandler Bing is the most sarcastic and funny man of the lot. He has a mother who writes adult romance novels and a father who is a drag queen. He is most scared of commitment and is known to break up with women for shallow reasons. He is the roommate of Joey Tribbiani, whom he mocks a lot, but in a friendly way. He plays the love interest of Monica in the later seasons.
Joey Tribbiani is probably the most touchy guy. He frequently dates women and likes to be with them in bed. He is explicit about his display of affections to both men and women. He is a little slow on the uptake for most of the mockery that his friends make of him. He is almost always short of cash and is an aspiring actor who is looking for a break. He has a crush on Rachael in the later episodes.
So there being the summary of all, the episodes are really funny about many day to day occurrences of 'Friends'. Almost of the all of the episodes occur in either Central Perk, Monica's, Chandler's or Ross' apartment. It's almost sweet to watch most of the it and some of the jokes could adult - oriented and inappropriate, but what's the deal between friends!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
chandramukhi
Superstar Rajnikanth, Prabhu, Jyothika and Nayantara star in this psychological and paranormal thriller. Supporting cast by Vijaykumar, Nazar, Vineeth, Malavika and many others. Vadivelu takes care of the comedy department.
The movie begins with Rajni kicking butt of some 30 bad guys and then a trip down the memory lane for a family, where a woman couldn't marry her cousin, cause he loved someone else. So now, Prabhu marrying Jyothika adds like a blow.
To introduce the characters, Rajni is a psychiatrist, who was an orphan brought up by Probhu's father and he is very grateful for the life. Prabhu is Sivaji's and K.R.Vijaya's son. Sivaji is no more. Prabhu loves and marries Jyothika.
Prabhu and Jyothika return to their ancestral village and buy an ancient villa that was previously a palace. Rumours are that it is haunted. Scenes with Rajni and Vadivelu around this part were hilarious. So everyone moves into the house. Jyothika's playfulness makes her open up the haunted room - rumoured that Chandramukhi lived in it.
Weird things begin to happen in the house and the blame seems to be falling on Nayantara - who is the daughter of the house gardener.
Finally a Kerala namboodari (Malayalam priest) is called to get rid of the ghost. In an instance, Jyothika and Vineeth (fiancee of Malavika) are found behaving inappropriately to each other. Prabhu and Rajni argue about the situation. That is when the history about the house and the reason for the strange happenings a revealed.
I would not want to spoil the thrill of the plot for those who haven't seen it. But it was a really good show. Vidyasagar's music was fresh and preppy. The movie is a tamil remake of Malayalam Manichitrataazhu. A must-see movie!
The movie begins with Rajni kicking butt of some 30 bad guys and then a trip down the memory lane for a family, where a woman couldn't marry her cousin, cause he loved someone else. So now, Prabhu marrying Jyothika adds like a blow.
To introduce the characters, Rajni is a psychiatrist, who was an orphan brought up by Probhu's father and he is very grateful for the life. Prabhu is Sivaji's and K.R.Vijaya's son. Sivaji is no more. Prabhu loves and marries Jyothika.
Prabhu and Jyothika return to their ancestral village and buy an ancient villa that was previously a palace. Rumours are that it is haunted. Scenes with Rajni and Vadivelu around this part were hilarious. So everyone moves into the house. Jyothika's playfulness makes her open up the haunted room - rumoured that Chandramukhi lived in it.
Weird things begin to happen in the house and the blame seems to be falling on Nayantara - who is the daughter of the house gardener.
Finally a Kerala namboodari (Malayalam priest) is called to get rid of the ghost. In an instance, Jyothika and Vineeth (fiancee of Malavika) are found behaving inappropriately to each other. Prabhu and Rajni argue about the situation. That is when the history about the house and the reason for the strange happenings a revealed.
I would not want to spoil the thrill of the plot for those who haven't seen it. But it was a really good show. Vidyasagar's music was fresh and preppy. The movie is a tamil remake of Malayalam Manichitrataazhu. A must-see movie!
avvai shanmugi
Starring Padmashree Kamal Hassan and Meena in the lead with Gemini Ganesan, Manivannan, Nagesh, Delhi Ganesh, Heera Rajagopalan, this K.S. Ravikumar movie is a well - done tamil adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire.
Kamal is a meagrely paid choreographer. He loves Meena and she asks him to talk to her father. The talk doesn't go well and they elope and marry. The married life doesn't go well as Meena's father is a rich businessman and the new lifestyle isn't likeable for her. The only thing that kept them going was their little daughter. One day, listening to her father, Meena files for her divorce and the couple separate, even though Meena still loves him.
When Kamal sees an ad for a nanny for his child, he gets the makeup artist, Nagesh to tranform him to an orthodox Brahmin nanny. Even though, he doesn't make it through the interview, an accident gets him the job. After this begins the whole series of misunderstandings, humour, fights and jealousies, enough to keep us glued to the movie until the end.
A hilarious movie and a masterpiece by K.S. Ravikumar and Kamal combination.
Kamal is a meagrely paid choreographer. He loves Meena and she asks him to talk to her father. The talk doesn't go well and they elope and marry. The married life doesn't go well as Meena's father is a rich businessman and the new lifestyle isn't likeable for her. The only thing that kept them going was their little daughter. One day, listening to her father, Meena files for her divorce and the couple separate, even though Meena still loves him.
When Kamal sees an ad for a nanny for his child, he gets the makeup artist, Nagesh to tranform him to an orthodox Brahmin nanny. Even though, he doesn't make it through the interview, an accident gets him the job. After this begins the whole series of misunderstandings, humour, fights and jealousies, enough to keep us glued to the movie until the end.
A hilarious movie and a masterpiece by K.S. Ravikumar and Kamal combination.
khakhee
With a megastars cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai, Tushar Kapoor, Khakhee is a story of a group of honest cops and a terror suspect stuck in the game of politics.
A doctor is truthful to his work and he refuses to submit a fake death certificate for a political murder. He is threatened and meets a reporter who is interested in exposing the evil politicians. In a bid to be an honest citizen, he collaborates with him. The bad guy kills the reporter and most of the doctor's family. The doctor gets arrested for treason and his story is blown out of proportion by media.
A group of honest cops, headed by Bachchan get the responsibility of taking the doctor to the court. The bad guys don't want that to happen and keep hindering their movements and pushing them into the jaws of death.
The turn of events and the end was a good treat to hang on to throughout the movie. Songs weren't that captivating. The visual treat was the dil dooba song with the cute dance set.
A great performance by Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan. Devgan has much untapped deep potential to be harnessed. I have never been a great fan of Bachchan or Rai and thus, I would make a pass on them.
A doctor is truthful to his work and he refuses to submit a fake death certificate for a political murder. He is threatened and meets a reporter who is interested in exposing the evil politicians. In a bid to be an honest citizen, he collaborates with him. The bad guy kills the reporter and most of the doctor's family. The doctor gets arrested for treason and his story is blown out of proportion by media.
A group of honest cops, headed by Bachchan get the responsibility of taking the doctor to the court. The bad guys don't want that to happen and keep hindering their movements and pushing them into the jaws of death.
The turn of events and the end was a good treat to hang on to throughout the movie. Songs weren't that captivating. The visual treat was the dil dooba song with the cute dance set.
A great performance by Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan. Devgan has much untapped deep potential to be harnessed. I have never been a great fan of Bachchan or Rai and thus, I would make a pass on them.
Beauty and the Beast
The timeless sweet romantic tale of Beauty and the Beast came alive in this Buena Vista production.
The animation, pictures and the portrayal of the characters was very sweet and memorable. Even the the grizzly beast seemed to have a hidden beauty in its face. The scene to look out for the dance between Belle and the Beast. The angles and shots of the ball room is breathtaking and dreamy.
A young prince cursed to life of darkness and animalistic life because of his pride. His curse would break if he manages to love and get loved in return by someone. Fate throws Belle along his way. She is the one and he tries very hard to get her approval. He falls in love and so does she, but there are hurdles in the way. Will the beast be free? Will they come together? These questions form the end of this beautiful story.
A must-see classic.
The animation, pictures and the portrayal of the characters was very sweet and memorable. Even the the grizzly beast seemed to have a hidden beauty in its face. The scene to look out for the dance between Belle and the Beast. The angles and shots of the ball room is breathtaking and dreamy.
A young prince cursed to life of darkness and animalistic life because of his pride. His curse would break if he manages to love and get loved in return by someone. Fate throws Belle along his way. She is the one and he tries very hard to get her approval. He falls in love and so does she, but there are hurdles in the way. Will the beast be free? Will they come together? These questions form the end of this beautiful story.
A must-see classic.
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Aladdin, Jasmine and the other characters of this legend spring to life in this animated classic.
Aladdin and Jasmine finally decide to tie the knot. But Aladdin wants to know his family. His marriage preparations get attacked by the King of thieves for a powerful sceptre. When the thieves leave, Aladdin gets to know that the King of thieves holds the answer to his parentage. He follows on the pursuit and he is shocked to know the King of thieves is his father. His father decides to come for Aladdin wedding to get the sceptre. Disappointed, he lets his father escape and leave. Events shaping after this incident, make Aladdin change his plans. How the father and son re-unite and the story ends in their marriage is the end of the story.
I don't know if it was my mood when I was watching this movie or what - but the movie itself wasn't that memorable or anything, although some of the disguises of the genie were hilarious - some of them were Forrest Gump and Mrs. Doubtfire. I have always the loved the title song - Arabian Nights - and listening to it brought many nostalgic memories of my younger days when I used to watch the cartoon as a child.
Worth a shot, else not that great.
Aladdin and Jasmine finally decide to tie the knot. But Aladdin wants to know his family. His marriage preparations get attacked by the King of thieves for a powerful sceptre. When the thieves leave, Aladdin gets to know that the King of thieves holds the answer to his parentage. He follows on the pursuit and he is shocked to know the King of thieves is his father. His father decides to come for Aladdin wedding to get the sceptre. Disappointed, he lets his father escape and leave. Events shaping after this incident, make Aladdin change his plans. How the father and son re-unite and the story ends in their marriage is the end of the story.
I don't know if it was my mood when I was watching this movie or what - but the movie itself wasn't that memorable or anything, although some of the disguises of the genie were hilarious - some of them were Forrest Gump and Mrs. Doubtfire. I have always the loved the title song - Arabian Nights - and listening to it brought many nostalgic memories of my younger days when I used to watch the cartoon as a child.
Worth a shot, else not that great.
Ice Age
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary come together as Manny, Sid and Diego, respectively in this hilarious animation of animal life in the ice age.
Manny is a mammoth, who lives a life as a loner, but has a kind heart. Sid is a an overgrown lazy sloth, who is loyal and very very talkative (even in his sleep) and Diego, a tiger, is the bad guy (initially) who comes along to steal the man-child, but ends up being friends with Manny and Sid.
The movie begins with the mass migration of the animals in the icy land. Then Manny saves Sid from being killed by rhinos. Sid sticks to him for protection and he is incessantly annoying and cacophonous for Manny to take and Manny leaves no stones unturned to get him off his tail and shoot him with sarcasm.
An attack by the tigers on a human camp, causes a baby to be left in the care of Manny. To protect the baby from the tiger, Diego, Manny accepts to help Sid return the baby. How the story ends is sweet.
Throughout the story, the sarcasm, humour and teasing of Manny, Diego and Sid of each other is hilarious and it is commendable of the writers to have come up with such bites. One of my favourite quotes in the movie is when Sid tells to Diego, "Phew! I thought you were gonna eat me" and with a flick of his head Diego replies, "I don't eat junk food".
A must-see movie for humour lovers.
Manny is a mammoth, who lives a life as a loner, but has a kind heart. Sid is a an overgrown lazy sloth, who is loyal and very very talkative (even in his sleep) and Diego, a tiger, is the bad guy (initially) who comes along to steal the man-child, but ends up being friends with Manny and Sid.
The movie begins with the mass migration of the animals in the icy land. Then Manny saves Sid from being killed by rhinos. Sid sticks to him for protection and he is incessantly annoying and cacophonous for Manny to take and Manny leaves no stones unturned to get him off his tail and shoot him with sarcasm.
An attack by the tigers on a human camp, causes a baby to be left in the care of Manny. To protect the baby from the tiger, Diego, Manny accepts to help Sid return the baby. How the story ends is sweet.
Throughout the story, the sarcasm, humour and teasing of Manny, Diego and Sid of each other is hilarious and it is commendable of the writers to have come up with such bites. One of my favourite quotes in the movie is when Sid tells to Diego, "Phew! I thought you were gonna eat me" and with a flick of his head Diego replies, "I don't eat junk food".
A must-see movie for humour lovers.
anbukku naan adimai
Starring superstar Rajnikanth and Rati, this movie is a typical 70s, 80s hero centred and oriented masala movie for 2 hours.
Movie opens with a father teaching his 2 sons to shoot. This was probably one of the stupidest fathers I have ever encountered in a movie. He is teaching his sons to shoot by placing an apple on the other son. So son 1 practises when son 2 is having the fruit balanced on his head. Who teaches shooting with apples on the head? Even the professionals don't do that! What was even more hilarious was that, when the younger son gets injured because the elder son mis-shot, the dad is enraged and says he would never teach the elder one to shoot (God!).
Now the younger son takes charge and helps his elder brother learn shooting. Because of interruptions by the quality of the tape, the scene skips to the part when someone hiding in the nearby bushes gets shot. This was the pinnacle of masala. The younger son - Rajni's boy character - starts talking like he is some huge don with killings and stuff like that and the physical size of the boy wasn't even 5 feet tall and the shot guy was a huge bag of rice. So the younger son - Gopi - sends the elder son away saying he will take care of everything and starts to pull the corpse when a hand grabs him by the shoulder.
Now the scene pans to the hideout of 2 criminals who are discussing what to do with this brilliant boy who shoots so well. They use the reason of the dead body as a blackmail to hold onto this young boy who does criminal stuff for them. As years go by, the boy grows up to be (Rajnikanth and) a professional thief (but with the good heart - a typical sentiment in superstar's movies).
Luck throws him in the house of some kidnappers during a robbery. He saves the child from the bad guys and takes him home. The child is the son of an inspector. Gopi gets away from the house.
After a few days, he escapes into a train. He meets an inspector in one of compartments (the same one as before), ends up fighting and killing him. As he reaches the end of the trip, the visitors at the station mistake him for the inspector who is newly transferred to their location. Now Gopi lives as an inspector and does much good to the village, defying the vile chieftain (all villages used to have a chieftain to take care of them, even though government establishments were present).
Not receiving any correspondence from her husband, the inspector's wife comes over to the village. Gopi receives a surprise as this is the family of the same child that he had rescued from the kidnappers. He feels remorseful for killing the inspector but hangs on.
His old gang friends now drop by the village to claim the share of the loot but the now-good Gopi refuses to budge. When the inspector's wife sees a scar on his shoulder, she suspects that Gopi might be the long lost brother of her husband and it ends up being true (here is where you have to remember the starting story!!).
The gang friends create a public defamation for the inspector's wife and Gopi is forced to tell the truth about her dead husband. After some serious fighting between Gopi and local chieftain and the bad guys, the inspectors arrive to arrest (they are routinely and periodically late!). Gopi surrenders, but the inspector hugs him as a brother and then, arrests him. After a light sentence, Gopi is released and they live happily ever after.
Usually I try not to mention the climax of the movie so that I don't spoil the story, but for this movie, I didn't even have to try. It was definitely one of the bland, tasteless movie. Rubbing salt on the wound, was the fact that the songs were horrible and were not at all of any class. I just fastforwarded every song to preserve my sanity. Rati didn't have much of a role. It was weird to see veteran comedian Nagesh in the beginning of the movie, but there was no sighting of him after. Perhaps a tolerable movie for die hard fans of Rajnikanth (although there are better), but really worthless for the rest of the population.
Movie opens with a father teaching his 2 sons to shoot. This was probably one of the stupidest fathers I have ever encountered in a movie. He is teaching his sons to shoot by placing an apple on the other son. So son 1 practises when son 2 is having the fruit balanced on his head. Who teaches shooting with apples on the head? Even the professionals don't do that! What was even more hilarious was that, when the younger son gets injured because the elder son mis-shot, the dad is enraged and says he would never teach the elder one to shoot (God!).
Now the younger son takes charge and helps his elder brother learn shooting. Because of interruptions by the quality of the tape, the scene skips to the part when someone hiding in the nearby bushes gets shot. This was the pinnacle of masala. The younger son - Rajni's boy character - starts talking like he is some huge don with killings and stuff like that and the physical size of the boy wasn't even 5 feet tall and the shot guy was a huge bag of rice. So the younger son - Gopi - sends the elder son away saying he will take care of everything and starts to pull the corpse when a hand grabs him by the shoulder.
Now the scene pans to the hideout of 2 criminals who are discussing what to do with this brilliant boy who shoots so well. They use the reason of the dead body as a blackmail to hold onto this young boy who does criminal stuff for them. As years go by, the boy grows up to be (Rajnikanth and) a professional thief (but with the good heart - a typical sentiment in superstar's movies).
Luck throws him in the house of some kidnappers during a robbery. He saves the child from the bad guys and takes him home. The child is the son of an inspector. Gopi gets away from the house.
After a few days, he escapes into a train. He meets an inspector in one of compartments (the same one as before), ends up fighting and killing him. As he reaches the end of the trip, the visitors at the station mistake him for the inspector who is newly transferred to their location. Now Gopi lives as an inspector and does much good to the village, defying the vile chieftain (all villages used to have a chieftain to take care of them, even though government establishments were present).
Not receiving any correspondence from her husband, the inspector's wife comes over to the village. Gopi receives a surprise as this is the family of the same child that he had rescued from the kidnappers. He feels remorseful for killing the inspector but hangs on.
His old gang friends now drop by the village to claim the share of the loot but the now-good Gopi refuses to budge. When the inspector's wife sees a scar on his shoulder, she suspects that Gopi might be the long lost brother of her husband and it ends up being true (here is where you have to remember the starting story!!).
The gang friends create a public defamation for the inspector's wife and Gopi is forced to tell the truth about her dead husband. After some serious fighting between Gopi and local chieftain and the bad guys, the inspectors arrive to arrest (they are routinely and periodically late!). Gopi surrenders, but the inspector hugs him as a brother and then, arrests him. After a light sentence, Gopi is released and they live happily ever after.
Usually I try not to mention the climax of the movie so that I don't spoil the story, but for this movie, I didn't even have to try. It was definitely one of the bland, tasteless movie. Rubbing salt on the wound, was the fact that the songs were horrible and were not at all of any class. I just fastforwarded every song to preserve my sanity. Rati didn't have much of a role. It was weird to see veteran comedian Nagesh in the beginning of the movie, but there was no sighting of him after. Perhaps a tolerable movie for die hard fans of Rajnikanth (although there are better), but really worthless for the rest of the population.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Human Factor
Written by Dr. Kim Vicente, a human factors specialist, the book outlines the myriad of instances where some common sense thinking would make life more easier. Many might think, after reading that, how much more easier do you want life to be after so much technological advances and remote accesses?
As much as I would like to say that technology has helped us make some things easier, to actually learn to operate them in the first place is so much more complicated than I'd rather do the caveman way, as a first time user.
The humour in this book comes from the fact that the author outlines the steps to complete a certain task - which, as a reader and as a daily user of that object, seem to make no logical sense. One of the classic examples that I read, and have heard in my classes, is the process of checking the engine oil. I don't know if there are actually cars that are manufactured that way, but I do remember my father doing those steps some years ago. As a child, I felt happy clicking and flipping the switches he asked me to, but the amount of information that he had to store to complete one task was amazing and horrendous. So now, the car has made my life easy with the quick driving, but maintenance is a different pain.
This is just one of the few examples that he gives to show the gap between creations and their intuitiveness. Some of the examples are absolutely hilarious and the ease with which he relates personal events to the readers is all the more enjoyable.
As much as I would like to say that technology has helped us make some things easier, to actually learn to operate them in the first place is so much more complicated than I'd rather do the caveman way, as a first time user.
The humour in this book comes from the fact that the author outlines the steps to complete a certain task - which, as a reader and as a daily user of that object, seem to make no logical sense. One of the classic examples that I read, and have heard in my classes, is the process of checking the engine oil. I don't know if there are actually cars that are manufactured that way, but I do remember my father doing those steps some years ago. As a child, I felt happy clicking and flipping the switches he asked me to, but the amount of information that he had to store to complete one task was amazing and horrendous. So now, the car has made my life easy with the quick driving, but maintenance is a different pain.
This is just one of the few examples that he gives to show the gap between creations and their intuitiveness. Some of the examples are absolutely hilarious and the ease with which he relates personal events to the readers is all the more enjoyable.
Calcutta Mail
Starring Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Manisha Koirala, this fast paced movie is a good change from the usual movies.
Avinash arrives in Calcutta looking for Paswan. He ends up paying rent for the room that Bulbul lives in, by mistake. He is a mysterious guy to everyone in the colony (in India, a group of apartments with a common courtyard is a colony).
Bulbul weaves a drama to know Avinash's story. Bulbul's true name is Reema and she is the daughter of a rich family, but wants to write a novel by living in the same conditions as that of her novel.
Meanwhile, the villain, Yadav catches up with Avinash and wounds him. While he is recuperating, the movie shows flashbacks. Avinash is a young man moving to the city with a job waiting for him. In the train, he meets Sanjana, who has thugs following her with deathly force. He helps her escape.
Sanjana's story is another flashback. She is the daughter of a big minister, Singh. He wants heirs to his wealth and wants Sanjana to marry a thug - who did political murders for Singh. Sanajana is repelled by the situation and is forced to run away.
During the escapade, they fall in love and marry. They live a happy life until one of the ministers spots Sanjana on his election campaign and informs Singh. Singh is enraged. Sanjana senses her father's fury and is bent on moving to a different place.
The next morning as they prepare to leave and Avinash returns from the bank, he finds horror and lots of dead bodies in front of his eyes. Sanjana is shot dead. Ishu, their son, is missing. He is arrested for the crime of killing people.
By an interesting twist of events, he is set free and follows Yadav to Calcutta. He manages to find his son, but loses him again. Finally, he gets together with Singh and plots against Yadav. He manages to defeat Yadav, but then discovers another traitor.
Here is the climax worth watching. At the end, all bad guys reap the results of their sins. It was an interesting and engrossing climax.
Kapoor has handled his part well. Kapoor has been a great actor since his beginnings, but hasn't got much luck with becoming a megastar. He has handled many rare topics and stories, but hasn't yet touched the pinnacle of stardom. Mukherjee has done well as a bubbly girl. The speaking of Bengali in the midst of Hindi is cute and adorable (it made me want to learn the language). Koirala has handled her part well. Sometimes, she seems to overact, but the movie is still worth watching for an overall enjoyment.
Avinash arrives in Calcutta looking for Paswan. He ends up paying rent for the room that Bulbul lives in, by mistake. He is a mysterious guy to everyone in the colony (in India, a group of apartments with a common courtyard is a colony).
Bulbul weaves a drama to know Avinash's story. Bulbul's true name is Reema and she is the daughter of a rich family, but wants to write a novel by living in the same conditions as that of her novel.
Meanwhile, the villain, Yadav catches up with Avinash and wounds him. While he is recuperating, the movie shows flashbacks. Avinash is a young man moving to the city with a job waiting for him. In the train, he meets Sanjana, who has thugs following her with deathly force. He helps her escape.
Sanjana's story is another flashback. She is the daughter of a big minister, Singh. He wants heirs to his wealth and wants Sanjana to marry a thug - who did political murders for Singh. Sanajana is repelled by the situation and is forced to run away.
During the escapade, they fall in love and marry. They live a happy life until one of the ministers spots Sanjana on his election campaign and informs Singh. Singh is enraged. Sanjana senses her father's fury and is bent on moving to a different place.
The next morning as they prepare to leave and Avinash returns from the bank, he finds horror and lots of dead bodies in front of his eyes. Sanjana is shot dead. Ishu, their son, is missing. He is arrested for the crime of killing people.
By an interesting twist of events, he is set free and follows Yadav to Calcutta. He manages to find his son, but loses him again. Finally, he gets together with Singh and plots against Yadav. He manages to defeat Yadav, but then discovers another traitor.
Here is the climax worth watching. At the end, all bad guys reap the results of their sins. It was an interesting and engrossing climax.
Kapoor has handled his part well. Kapoor has been a great actor since his beginnings, but hasn't got much luck with becoming a megastar. He has handled many rare topics and stories, but hasn't yet touched the pinnacle of stardom. Mukherjee has done well as a bubbly girl. The speaking of Bengali in the midst of Hindi is cute and adorable (it made me want to learn the language). Koirala has handled her part well. Sometimes, she seems to overact, but the movie is still worth watching for an overall enjoyment.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Krishna
This is a Hindi mythological series produced by Ramanand Sagar. It was probably one of the first and the best version of the story of Krishna - a Hindu God.
The producer has attempted well to recreate the olden days with appropriate costumes and pure Hindi. After living out of my country for such a long time and hearing the mixed language in recent movies and personal interactions, it feels like a treat for the ear to hearing the language in its pure form. There are frequent dialogues in Sanskrit. So far I have managed to view only 5 tapes (each containing about 3 episodes). So a grand total of 15 episodes.
Thus far, the story has explored the reason behind the Bhagvad Puran - the righteous king Parikshit was caused to commit a menial act due to the effect of Kaliyug. Parikshit's descent could be traced from the Pandavas. To assist him to attain moksha, a divine sage tells him the story of Bhagvad Puran. Beginning from the 1st of Vishnu's avathars, the story leads into the incarnation of Krishna.
The story is elaborate and eventful. The sets and costumes are well done. My only personal drawback is the songs and the singing. They are a little tedious and I'd rather that someone narrates those bits rather than sing.
The part that I have stopped at right now is just before the birth of the 7th son of Devaki, who is destined to be the mother of Krishna. To be continued...
The producer has attempted well to recreate the olden days with appropriate costumes and pure Hindi. After living out of my country for such a long time and hearing the mixed language in recent movies and personal interactions, it feels like a treat for the ear to hearing the language in its pure form. There are frequent dialogues in Sanskrit. So far I have managed to view only 5 tapes (each containing about 3 episodes). So a grand total of 15 episodes.
Thus far, the story has explored the reason behind the Bhagvad Puran - the righteous king Parikshit was caused to commit a menial act due to the effect of Kaliyug. Parikshit's descent could be traced from the Pandavas. To assist him to attain moksha, a divine sage tells him the story of Bhagvad Puran. Beginning from the 1st of Vishnu's avathars, the story leads into the incarnation of Krishna.
The story is elaborate and eventful. The sets and costumes are well done. My only personal drawback is the songs and the singing. They are a little tedious and I'd rather that someone narrates those bits rather than sing.
The part that I have stopped at right now is just before the birth of the 7th son of Devaki, who is destined to be the mother of Krishna. To be continued...
An assembly such as this
Part 1 of the trilogy by Pamela Aidan, this book details Darcy's thoughts from his stepping into Hertfordshire to the point of leaving it and dissuading Bingley from Jane's thoughts. It was interesting to see Darcy was human after all, but at times I almost had the notion that Darcy was a little tweaky too crazy about Elizabeth instead of a mild crush (as it seemed from P&P).
Some of the new characters seem to be an interesting contrast to Darcy, especially Darcy's valet - Fletcher - who is excessively fashion conscious to make his master look the best among the rest, but Darcy's need for simplicity and 'invisibility' makes him a bad servant. That bit of the story was quite funny.
When I read P&P, it almost gave me the impression that rich people in those didn't have much work to do, but in this case, the author did a good job of giving an idea of what sort of working conditions rich people had.
An interesting read. Now I have to wait until May 2007 for the final part of the trilogy and that seems a long wait.
Some of the new characters seem to be an interesting contrast to Darcy, especially Darcy's valet - Fletcher - who is excessively fashion conscious to make his master look the best among the rest, but Darcy's need for simplicity and 'invisibility' makes him a bad servant. That bit of the story was quite funny.
When I read P&P, it almost gave me the impression that rich people in those didn't have much work to do, but in this case, the author did a good job of giving an idea of what sort of working conditions rich people had.
An interesting read. Now I have to wait until May 2007 for the final part of the trilogy and that seems a long wait.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The Princess Diaries
Anne Hathaway is the main character in this makeover movie.
An 'invisible' girl, Mia, frequently made fun of, finds out that she is the princess of the country of Genovia. She finds a 'lost' royal grandmother. She finds out that her mother had been hiding the truth from her for a long time. She goes through a makeover since she has to be presented to the press. Her world turns upside down at school, when everyone finds out that she is a princess. The hottest boy in school asks her out to a beach party. Mia forgets her friend's invitation to her TV programme, postpones her friend's brother's invitation to his music rehearsal to go to the beach party. The beach party turns out to be a nightmare. She decides against being the princess thinking she is not fit for it.
Her grandmother provides her late father's gift to her 16th birthday, which contains an inspiring letter. The letter changes her mind and she decides to be the princess. After some minor obstacles, she makes a speech at the party.
The makeover was interesting to follow and it had the typical jealousies and high school popular girls and nerds. A good movie to watch for some soft humour.
An 'invisible' girl, Mia, frequently made fun of, finds out that she is the princess of the country of Genovia. She finds a 'lost' royal grandmother. She finds out that her mother had been hiding the truth from her for a long time. She goes through a makeover since she has to be presented to the press. Her world turns upside down at school, when everyone finds out that she is a princess. The hottest boy in school asks her out to a beach party. Mia forgets her friend's invitation to her TV programme, postpones her friend's brother's invitation to his music rehearsal to go to the beach party. The beach party turns out to be a nightmare. She decides against being the princess thinking she is not fit for it.
Her grandmother provides her late father's gift to her 16th birthday, which contains an inspiring letter. The letter changes her mind and she decides to be the princess. After some minor obstacles, she makes a speech at the party.
The makeover was interesting to follow and it had the typical jealousies and high school popular girls and nerds. A good movie to watch for some soft humour.
Pretty Woman
Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, this was probably the most popular makeover movie. Roberts fame grew much more after this movie too, said some reviews.
A 'Hollywood' hooker, Vivian, finds her way into a rich man's, Edward's life, whose romantic bit is in shatters. She captivates him and pays her to stay with him for the whole week. Viv goes through a makeover into a beautiful urban woman, which makes her look stunning. At the end of the week, Edward is unable to promise Viv a relationship, for she has fallen in love with him. Just at the last minute, a change of Edward's heart and all ends well.
A typical chick flick but performances by both Roberts and Gere is commendable and makes the movie worthwhile to watch.
A 'Hollywood' hooker, Vivian, finds her way into a rich man's, Edward's life, whose romantic bit is in shatters. She captivates him and pays her to stay with him for the whole week. Viv goes through a makeover into a beautiful urban woman, which makes her look stunning. At the end of the week, Edward is unable to promise Viv a relationship, for she has fallen in love with him. Just at the last minute, a change of Edward's heart and all ends well.
A typical chick flick but performances by both Roberts and Gere is commendable and makes the movie worthwhile to watch.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Duty and Desire
While walking into a bookstore, I found Pamela Aidan's books that were a type of fan fiction to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice novel. It was supposedly, P&P written in the viewpoint of Fitzwilliam Darcy. I couldn't have rested after that without finding and reading these books. So began my search in the local libraries and I found them. There were 3 parts - the first part having 100s of holds; the second one half the number of holds and the 3rd one, not yet ordered. So I put the hold on all 3 and hoped they would fall my way in the right order soon enough.
The first one to come in was part 2 named Duty and Desire. This books supposedly recounted the events that happened with Darcy between the time of his leaving Netherfield (in a hurry with Bingley) and going to Rosings. If the fans of P&P would recall, there was absolutely no mention of Darcy's physical presence around the heroine of the book during this time. Therefore, everything in this book was just a random set of events that the author had come up with to fill in the gap between the 2 incidents. It had no allusions to the actual novel. That was a disappointment to me as I was genuinely expecting some Darcy thoughts. At times, there were mentions of Lizzie when Darcy was seemingly lovesick and those bits were sweet and romantic to read. But the rest wasn't very Austenian, but nevertheless, the author did a good job of providing an interesting twist to Darcy's life away from Elizabeth Bennet.
The gist of the story is that Darcy meets Lady Sylvania who seems like a good replacement to him instead of Elizabeth Bennet, but as days go by, she becomes more and more intriguing and mysterious. The mystery moves upto the point that Darcy starts suspecting her motives and feels that she is the one resposnsible for the evil air in the neighbourhood, confronts her in the end and Darcy realizes he has been missing Elizabeth Bennet more than ever.
So, on the whole, the book was an interesting twist to behold from P&P, but if you pick this book up with the expectation of Darcy insights, like I said before, would be a disappointment. But detach yourself from P&P before picking this book up.
The first one to come in was part 2 named Duty and Desire. This books supposedly recounted the events that happened with Darcy between the time of his leaving Netherfield (in a hurry with Bingley) and going to Rosings. If the fans of P&P would recall, there was absolutely no mention of Darcy's physical presence around the heroine of the book during this time. Therefore, everything in this book was just a random set of events that the author had come up with to fill in the gap between the 2 incidents. It had no allusions to the actual novel. That was a disappointment to me as I was genuinely expecting some Darcy thoughts. At times, there were mentions of Lizzie when Darcy was seemingly lovesick and those bits were sweet and romantic to read. But the rest wasn't very Austenian, but nevertheless, the author did a good job of providing an interesting twist to Darcy's life away from Elizabeth Bennet.
The gist of the story is that Darcy meets Lady Sylvania who seems like a good replacement to him instead of Elizabeth Bennet, but as days go by, she becomes more and more intriguing and mysterious. The mystery moves upto the point that Darcy starts suspecting her motives and feels that she is the one resposnsible for the evil air in the neighbourhood, confronts her in the end and Darcy realizes he has been missing Elizabeth Bennet more than ever.
So, on the whole, the book was an interesting twist to behold from P&P, but if you pick this book up with the expectation of Darcy insights, like I said before, would be a disappointment. But detach yourself from P&P before picking this book up.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
About a Boy
Starring Hugh Grant and a newcomer child artist, the story about a man living on an island, opening his mind to embrace others into his life.
Will lives a free life without any obligations or work. The only possible contact he has is his friends and his dates. After dating a single woman, he finds the prospect of dating them attractive since they don't fall into another serious relationship easily. During this phase of life, he comes across Marcus, a single parent child whose mother is very depressed. The first time Will comes to his house, his mother had just committed suicide.
Thinking that he needs a backup to look after his mother, Marcus tries to get Will and his mother hooked. He annoys, bugs and hangs out with Will after school, until one day, his mum is shocked to find out that Will has been entertaining Marcus. Things soothe a little.
Will and Marcus, both get crushes at the same time. Will's mention of a boy creates a impression that he is a single parent to his crush, Rachael. Will doesn't want to break this idea and asks Marcus to help him until one day he decides to reveal the truth to Rachael. It ends badly.
Marcus, on the other hand, volunteers to sing at school a strange song in a rock concert. Will rushes to help him. And then all's well.
Interesting and funny story. Good acting by Grant and the newcomer child.
Will lives a free life without any obligations or work. The only possible contact he has is his friends and his dates. After dating a single woman, he finds the prospect of dating them attractive since they don't fall into another serious relationship easily. During this phase of life, he comes across Marcus, a single parent child whose mother is very depressed. The first time Will comes to his house, his mother had just committed suicide.
Thinking that he needs a backup to look after his mother, Marcus tries to get Will and his mother hooked. He annoys, bugs and hangs out with Will after school, until one day, his mum is shocked to find out that Will has been entertaining Marcus. Things soothe a little.
Will and Marcus, both get crushes at the same time. Will's mention of a boy creates a impression that he is a single parent to his crush, Rachael. Will doesn't want to break this idea and asks Marcus to help him until one day he decides to reveal the truth to Rachael. It ends badly.
Marcus, on the other hand, volunteers to sing at school a strange song in a rock concert. Will rushes to help him. And then all's well.
Interesting and funny story. Good acting by Grant and the newcomer child.
The Phantom of the Opera
Written by Gaston Leroux, the Phantom of the Opera is a story that jumps from supernatural to mystery to psychotic to romance to sentimental genre. A brilliant weaving of the tale of a forlorn individual in this 'normal' world.
A strange power within an opera house is scary and haunting. Everyone is starting to believe the existence of the ghost. An upcoming angel - like singer then disappears.
This affects, not only the opera house, but also her childhood friend and current admirer - Count Raoul. He vows to get to the bottom of the issue and as he unravels, he finds the opera ghost to be made of flesh with a crazy past and a desperate attitude. With the assistance of a man who knows the past of the 'ghost', he finds his way to his love and almost dies in the effort.
A stunning ending awaits the reader, that is sad and almost makes you empathize with the crazy murderous ghost.
A strange power within an opera house is scary and haunting. Everyone is starting to believe the existence of the ghost. An upcoming angel - like singer then disappears.
This affects, not only the opera house, but also her childhood friend and current admirer - Count Raoul. He vows to get to the bottom of the issue and as he unravels, he finds the opera ghost to be made of flesh with a crazy past and a desperate attitude. With the assistance of a man who knows the past of the 'ghost', he finds his way to his love and almost dies in the effort.
A stunning ending awaits the reader, that is sad and almost makes you empathize with the crazy murderous ghost.
Friday, January 12, 2007
X-men 2
With the initial cast reappearing and a few new faces, X-men 2 was a good sequel.
While visiting Magneto, Dr.X and Scott are captured by a mutant manipulator. Using his mental prowess, the manipulator wants to destroy all other mutants on the planet.
Magneto escapes from his plastic prison. The way he did was very neat. He joins forces with the 'nice' mutants to try save Dr.X.
Along the saving venture, some romantic scenes between Logan and Dr. Jean Gray - once with the real and once with Mystique. The scene with Mystique is really goose bump worthy. To think you kissed your love, a friend and someone like your little sister is nasty.
In the end, after some interesting action and twists, the 'nice' mutants numbers decreases by one and the world is saved too.
At some point in time, the action movies have to bring in the 'saving the world' thing. But a good movie for some good action.
While visiting Magneto, Dr.X and Scott are captured by a mutant manipulator. Using his mental prowess, the manipulator wants to destroy all other mutants on the planet.
Magneto escapes from his plastic prison. The way he did was very neat. He joins forces with the 'nice' mutants to try save Dr.X.
Along the saving venture, some romantic scenes between Logan and Dr. Jean Gray - once with the real and once with Mystique. The scene with Mystique is really goose bump worthy. To think you kissed your love, a friend and someone like your little sister is nasty.
In the end, after some interesting action and twists, the 'nice' mutants numbers decreases by one and the world is saved too.
At some point in time, the action movies have to bring in the 'saving the world' thing. But a good movie for some good action.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Hungama
As the name suggests, the movie is a web of misunderstandings, reckus and noise. But amidst such a noisy storyline, actors Paresh Rawal, Akshaye Khanna, Aftab Shivdasani and newcomer Rimi Sen have enacted well.
Nandu and Anjali are young runaways from home due to pressurising situations. Nandu, a rich heir wanting to make it big in music and Anjali, a poor man's daughter forced to marry her loanshark's son. It's hatred at first sight. They are forced to live together posing as a married couple to rent a cheap house.
Jeetu, the son of a rich stingy man wants to set up his own business, but his father doesn't help him in any way. He takes his dad's word and steals the money he needs from right under his nose and starts an electronic goods business, but is kicked out of his house.
Jeetu's friend - a poor man wants to marry a rich woman and lies that he is Radheshyam Tiwari's (a big industrialist and businessman) son. He manages to get engaged to an ex-thug businessman's, Teja Bhai's daughter, while living in Tiwari's bungalow. (He bribes Tiwari's servant, Pandu, for him to pose that he is indeed Tiwari's son)
Oblivious to the city happenings, the industrialist lives with his wife, Anjali (AT) in the village, while his children (a son and a daughter) are studying in London. His legal advisor (Jeetu's parents) suggest that he moves to the city to better adapt to his children's style, when they return. The Tiwari's move to the city, spoiling Pandu's plans for extra cash. Jeetu's friend goes into hiding hoping that the Tiwari's would return soon to the village, but they don't.
Anjali (who lives with Nandu) finds out that the Tiwaris are from her village and to get a job, visits them at their house. Bad timing - the Tiwaris just had a tiff. AT opens the door and shoos Anjali off, but Anjali waits. Radheshyam's CD player had been giving him problems and he calls up Jeetu (the owner of the store) to fix it. Jeetu visits him when Anjali's around and mistakes her to be his daughter.
Few days later, Anjali visits Jeetu's store to get the vacancy for employment st his store. She doesn't want to lose the job and keeps mum about his misconception. Jeetu takes his friend's advice about striking big and wants get married to Anjali. He drops her off at Tiwari's home every evening, where Anjali hides in the bushes until Jeetu's car leaves. AT sees this and thinks that her husband is having an affair. With Jeetu leaving his house every evening, Radheshyam thinks that his wife is having an affair. So begin the fights and quarrels between the couple. Jeetu also frequently calls Tiwari's home for Anjali, that Radheshyam mistakes to be for his wife (since he doesn't know any other Anjali at his house).
Meanwhile, Nandu is falling in love with Anjali and wants to marry her. He tries to make her jealous by expressing his love to someone else in a letter. This letter lands next his landlord's wife's, Dulari's (who hates her marital life) feet. She finds out that Anjali and Nandu are living a false life and plans to elope with Nandu.
Anjali's childhood sweetheart, Raja comes to the city in the hopes of marrying her. To spoil that plan, Nandu creates a false don who loves Anjali and would kill if anyone came in the way. The rural man is scared out of his life and hides in the same hotel that Dulari had asked Nandu to stay and act like a madman. This is the same hotel that Jeetu's friend is in hiding too.
Teja Bhai gets news that his daughter's fiancee is living in a hotel and beats up Raja, instead. Getting blows repeatedly, drives Raja really mad.
With all those twists around the Tiwaris, Teja Bhai visits Tiwari to announce the engagement of his daughter and Tiwari's son and the parents are shocked. Immediately, their son is flown down from London to clear up the matter, but the issue gets diverted to another lie that Tiwari has another son. AT proves further that her husband had a son out of wedlock.
Then enters Jeetu to get Anjali for himself because he thinks that Radheshyam is holding her hostage because of their love. Now the situation clears up with AT's affair but Radheshyam is accused of having another daughter. But Anjali walks in and clears up this problem. Just then, Teja Bhai also walks in claiming that his daughter has been kidnapped by Radheshyam and gathers everyone at the house to his godown.
To this godown, somehow Nandu, his landlord, Raja, an inspector, Pandu and almost all of the characters end up coming to. After a messy fight, the cops arrest the wrongdoers and everything ends well.
Paresh Rawal's acting was the highlight of the movie and most commendable. Because it was my second time watching the movie, I almost felt like there was no life until Rawal's entry. He graces the screen well and carries the character with good weight. I first started liking him in the movie Raja. He has come quite far in his skills and screen presence. Shivdasani pulls it off well as a lover boy, but he needs more class. Khanna does well as a mistaken shop owner, but he seems to suit better to softer characters like in DCH. This character seemed a little loud, or should I say, foul mouthed for him. Rimi Sen was not very appealing, either in looks or in screen presence. She was just another lame character. Not a lot of potential in her. It seemed like Nandu liked Anjali because the script demanded so. There wasn't much chemistry between her and the rest of the crew. In fact, for some reason, she constantly seemed angry and irritated.
Songs were not outstanding. But overall, a good movie to watch for 3 hours of hungama.
Nandu and Anjali are young runaways from home due to pressurising situations. Nandu, a rich heir wanting to make it big in music and Anjali, a poor man's daughter forced to marry her loanshark's son. It's hatred at first sight. They are forced to live together posing as a married couple to rent a cheap house.
Jeetu, the son of a rich stingy man wants to set up his own business, but his father doesn't help him in any way. He takes his dad's word and steals the money he needs from right under his nose and starts an electronic goods business, but is kicked out of his house.
Jeetu's friend - a poor man wants to marry a rich woman and lies that he is Radheshyam Tiwari's (a big industrialist and businessman) son. He manages to get engaged to an ex-thug businessman's, Teja Bhai's daughter, while living in Tiwari's bungalow. (He bribes Tiwari's servant, Pandu, for him to pose that he is indeed Tiwari's son)
Oblivious to the city happenings, the industrialist lives with his wife, Anjali (AT) in the village, while his children (a son and a daughter) are studying in London. His legal advisor (Jeetu's parents) suggest that he moves to the city to better adapt to his children's style, when they return. The Tiwari's move to the city, spoiling Pandu's plans for extra cash. Jeetu's friend goes into hiding hoping that the Tiwari's would return soon to the village, but they don't.
Anjali (who lives with Nandu) finds out that the Tiwaris are from her village and to get a job, visits them at their house. Bad timing - the Tiwaris just had a tiff. AT opens the door and shoos Anjali off, but Anjali waits. Radheshyam's CD player had been giving him problems and he calls up Jeetu (the owner of the store) to fix it. Jeetu visits him when Anjali's around and mistakes her to be his daughter.
Few days later, Anjali visits Jeetu's store to get the vacancy for employment st his store. She doesn't want to lose the job and keeps mum about his misconception. Jeetu takes his friend's advice about striking big and wants get married to Anjali. He drops her off at Tiwari's home every evening, where Anjali hides in the bushes until Jeetu's car leaves. AT sees this and thinks that her husband is having an affair. With Jeetu leaving his house every evening, Radheshyam thinks that his wife is having an affair. So begin the fights and quarrels between the couple. Jeetu also frequently calls Tiwari's home for Anjali, that Radheshyam mistakes to be for his wife (since he doesn't know any other Anjali at his house).
Meanwhile, Nandu is falling in love with Anjali and wants to marry her. He tries to make her jealous by expressing his love to someone else in a letter. This letter lands next his landlord's wife's, Dulari's (who hates her marital life) feet. She finds out that Anjali and Nandu are living a false life and plans to elope with Nandu.
Anjali's childhood sweetheart, Raja comes to the city in the hopes of marrying her. To spoil that plan, Nandu creates a false don who loves Anjali and would kill if anyone came in the way. The rural man is scared out of his life and hides in the same hotel that Dulari had asked Nandu to stay and act like a madman. This is the same hotel that Jeetu's friend is in hiding too.
Teja Bhai gets news that his daughter's fiancee is living in a hotel and beats up Raja, instead. Getting blows repeatedly, drives Raja really mad.
With all those twists around the Tiwaris, Teja Bhai visits Tiwari to announce the engagement of his daughter and Tiwari's son and the parents are shocked. Immediately, their son is flown down from London to clear up the matter, but the issue gets diverted to another lie that Tiwari has another son. AT proves further that her husband had a son out of wedlock.
Then enters Jeetu to get Anjali for himself because he thinks that Radheshyam is holding her hostage because of their love. Now the situation clears up with AT's affair but Radheshyam is accused of having another daughter. But Anjali walks in and clears up this problem. Just then, Teja Bhai also walks in claiming that his daughter has been kidnapped by Radheshyam and gathers everyone at the house to his godown.
To this godown, somehow Nandu, his landlord, Raja, an inspector, Pandu and almost all of the characters end up coming to. After a messy fight, the cops arrest the wrongdoers and everything ends well.
Paresh Rawal's acting was the highlight of the movie and most commendable. Because it was my second time watching the movie, I almost felt like there was no life until Rawal's entry. He graces the screen well and carries the character with good weight. I first started liking him in the movie Raja. He has come quite far in his skills and screen presence. Shivdasani pulls it off well as a lover boy, but he needs more class. Khanna does well as a mistaken shop owner, but he seems to suit better to softer characters like in DCH. This character seemed a little loud, or should I say, foul mouthed for him. Rimi Sen was not very appealing, either in looks or in screen presence. She was just another lame character. Not a lot of potential in her. It seemed like Nandu liked Anjali because the script demanded so. There wasn't much chemistry between her and the rest of the crew. In fact, for some reason, she constantly seemed angry and irritated.
Songs were not outstanding. But overall, a good movie to watch for 3 hours of hungama.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Mulan
This story is set in historic China. A time when there was warring between the different clans.
Mulan is a village girl, set to please and bring honour to her parents. But is failing miserably. When another clan attacks the kingdom, the king orders a man from every family to serve. Seeing that her father was not strong enough to take up the orders, Mulan dresses up as a man and joins the army. Physical fitness can't be achieved overnight, especially for a woman to match up to a man, but things work out well.
Her friends - dragon and the lucky cricket create a message for these newly trained soldiers to join them for the war. Along the way, Mulan's quick thinking buries the invading army in the snow. But along with it, it is also discovered that she is a woman. The commander is disappointed and deserts Mulan.
As the troop is being celebrated in the city, Mulan discovers the invaders are not dead and tries to warn them but they don't listen. The emperor gets kidnapped. Now the troop follows Mulan's plan and the emperor is rescued. All ends well.
Character to look out for is the mini dragon - hilarious! and also the parts where the troop men display their manliness, with Mulan around. A good show..
Mulan is a village girl, set to please and bring honour to her parents. But is failing miserably. When another clan attacks the kingdom, the king orders a man from every family to serve. Seeing that her father was not strong enough to take up the orders, Mulan dresses up as a man and joins the army. Physical fitness can't be achieved overnight, especially for a woman to match up to a man, but things work out well.
Her friends - dragon and the lucky cricket create a message for these newly trained soldiers to join them for the war. Along the way, Mulan's quick thinking buries the invading army in the snow. But along with it, it is also discovered that she is a woman. The commander is disappointed and deserts Mulan.
As the troop is being celebrated in the city, Mulan discovers the invaders are not dead and tries to warn them but they don't listen. The emperor gets kidnapped. Now the troop follows Mulan's plan and the emperor is rescued. All ends well.
Character to look out for is the mini dragon - hilarious! and also the parts where the troop men display their manliness, with Mulan around. A good show..
X-Men
Adapted out of Marvel comics, this movie shows the fight of mutants against humanity. The good mutants fight with the bad mutants to protect humanity.
I love Hugh Jackman and hence I had to catch this flick and all the parts where he was on screen was good :D.
The special effects of the mutants was well done and story flowed well. There were still emotional and flirting elements in this action flick.
The storyline about the mutants being treated as an equal was an interesting debate. It brings about thoughts of how humans have always treated people different from themselves differently. And those who were different silently accepted it until someone arose. Supposedly, in olden times, the handicapped were treated 'specially' and the historical fight against slavery, racism are all indicators of how humanity, in general, can't embrace uniqueness. But I also think that we have evolved a long way from there.
I love Hugh Jackman and hence I had to catch this flick and all the parts where he was on screen was good :D.
The special effects of the mutants was well done and story flowed well. There were still emotional and flirting elements in this action flick.
The storyline about the mutants being treated as an equal was an interesting debate. It brings about thoughts of how humans have always treated people different from themselves differently. And those who were different silently accepted it until someone arose. Supposedly, in olden times, the handicapped were treated 'specially' and the historical fight against slavery, racism are all indicators of how humanity, in general, can't embrace uniqueness. But I also think that we have evolved a long way from there.
Catch me if you can
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, the movie is the story of a teenage fruadster evading the law dogged by a detective.
DiCaprio plays the part of the teenager who grew up seeing his parents in love. When they break up, he is most disheartened. He thinks the lack of money flowing in their house is the cause. He runs away from home to master the art of cheque fraud, by posing as a pilot, doctor, lawyer.
Hanks plays the detective who is on trail for this fraudster and is finally able to catch him. Being underaged, DiCaprio's character is not punished as an adult should be. Needing an analyzer for cheque fraud, Hanks suggests that the teen fraudster be brought in for the job - an idea that is successful and they end to be friends forever.
It was interesting to see how DiCaprio's character pulled off each of the professions he was posing in. A good engrossing movie, although sometimes it seemed to be a drag.
DiCaprio plays the part of the teenager who grew up seeing his parents in love. When they break up, he is most disheartened. He thinks the lack of money flowing in their house is the cause. He runs away from home to master the art of cheque fraud, by posing as a pilot, doctor, lawyer.
Hanks plays the detective who is on trail for this fraudster and is finally able to catch him. Being underaged, DiCaprio's character is not punished as an adult should be. Needing an analyzer for cheque fraud, Hanks suggests that the teen fraudster be brought in for the job - an idea that is successful and they end to be friends forever.
It was interesting to see how DiCaprio's character pulled off each of the professions he was posing in. A good engrossing movie, although sometimes it seemed to be a drag.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin
As much as the oddity the title communicates, that much it is intricately related to the storyline of the book. The title threw me off at first and I thought it might be some silly rendition of disconnected stories, but after finishing the book, I agree with the author, P.G. Wodehouse of this being the perfect title.
Montrose Bodkin, a man with a silver spoon falls in love with a hockey athlete, who thinks her word and her dad are the world, and is engaged. The dad is, let's just say, not the guy we would want a romantic hero to have as a father - in - law. He allows the engagement to continue but marriage only on the condition that Monty would earn his own bread for a year.
With a little bit of a trick, Monty obtains the position. In this position, he captivates the heart of his secretary but he is still in love (or, so he thinks) with the hockey athlete, Gertrude. At the end of the year, his potential father - in - law tells him that the job would not be acceptable as he got the job through tricking.
Disheartened, he sees his secretary there, who says she is there because she is trying to get the heart of the man she loves. Monty requests her to help in finding him a job. It is done at her current employer. This 'new' employer is again his old employer, but since there was no trick to getting this job, he thinks this would be valid enough for his FIL.
During the duration of this new job, he finds a friend in his boss, finds a stubborn and annoying character in the Gertrude and an angel in his ex-secretary. Along the evolution of the story, there is also a intertwining of theft plan by 3, who are known to Monty's employer. Monty's employers possess a pretty pearl necklace that the theives are eyeing.
How all these events unfold and fall in place to the satisfaction of all characters forms the climax of this comic telling. An enjoyable read.
Montrose Bodkin, a man with a silver spoon falls in love with a hockey athlete, who thinks her word and her dad are the world, and is engaged. The dad is, let's just say, not the guy we would want a romantic hero to have as a father - in - law. He allows the engagement to continue but marriage only on the condition that Monty would earn his own bread for a year.
With a little bit of a trick, Monty obtains the position. In this position, he captivates the heart of his secretary but he is still in love (or, so he thinks) with the hockey athlete, Gertrude. At the end of the year, his potential father - in - law tells him that the job would not be acceptable as he got the job through tricking.
Disheartened, he sees his secretary there, who says she is there because she is trying to get the heart of the man she loves. Monty requests her to help in finding him a job. It is done at her current employer. This 'new' employer is again his old employer, but since there was no trick to getting this job, he thinks this would be valid enough for his FIL.
During the duration of this new job, he finds a friend in his boss, finds a stubborn and annoying character in the Gertrude and an angel in his ex-secretary. Along the evolution of the story, there is also a intertwining of theft plan by 3, who are known to Monty's employer. Monty's employers possess a pretty pearl necklace that the theives are eyeing.
How all these events unfold and fall in place to the satisfaction of all characters forms the climax of this comic telling. An enjoyable read.
The White Feather
I didn't know what to classify this book under - it is definitely close to classic but I don't think it is considered so, yet I could not put it under fiction. I guess it is just a 'Book'.
Going to the point, The White Feather is by P.G. Wodehouse about the life of school-going boy. This boy, Sheen, is shy, intelligent and athletic. A twist of events, with some waggering tongues puts him in a bad light at his school. But with planning, perseverance and practice, he ends up representing his school in an interschool boxing competition and contributes to, probably, the only medal that his school bags that sports season. So instead of being punished by his school, he is able to stand up to them and look at them in the eye.
The storyline, if you look at it, is excessively simple, yet the talent of the storyteller is captivating and enriching. Intricately woven with his thoughts and nostalgia of life in a boarding school, Wodehouse kept me with the flow of the book.
After reading Austen's writings, Wodehouse has been next in my order of favourites.
Going to the point, The White Feather is by P.G. Wodehouse about the life of school-going boy. This boy, Sheen, is shy, intelligent and athletic. A twist of events, with some waggering tongues puts him in a bad light at his school. But with planning, perseverance and practice, he ends up representing his school in an interschool boxing competition and contributes to, probably, the only medal that his school bags that sports season. So instead of being punished by his school, he is able to stand up to them and look at them in the eye.
The storyline, if you look at it, is excessively simple, yet the talent of the storyteller is captivating and enriching. Intricately woven with his thoughts and nostalgia of life in a boarding school, Wodehouse kept me with the flow of the book.
After reading Austen's writings, Wodehouse has been next in my order of favourites.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lakshya
Starring a dynamic couple Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta with supporting characters Boman Irani, Sushant Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri and guest appearance with Amrish Puri, Lakshya or ambition is a story of a boy growing into a man in a patriotic backdrop.
Karan Shergill is a happy-go-lucky boy, without any worries or troubles until his girlfriend's father asks him about his future plans. His girlfriend and other friends seem to have their plans and he seems to be lost. This is where the classically choreographed song Main aisa kyon hoon starts. The song was choreographed by Indian Michael Jackson Prabhu Deva. The song has an attitude and rhythm to it that is contagious.
During his random outings with his friends, one of them says he is joining the army and Karan without having plans of his own, follows the suit. He gets admission and attends the Indian Military Academy. Within a few days, unable to bear the excessive seriousness and discipline, he runs away.
His parents had always compared Karan to his elder brother, who was a successful businessman in the U.S., especially his dad who never physically supported Karan in any of his endeavours since his school days. Romi's encouragement and Karan detest of his parents' constant comparison had kept him going to IMA.
When he runs away, he finds out his dad's true feelings about him - disappointment and his girlfriend, Romi, refuses to see him anymore because he is not true to his decision or word. Heartbroken, Karan returns to the institute, a changed man. He works hard and graduates as an officer. He is then posted to a location near LOC - Line of Control - the divider between India and Pakistan.
Romi, meanwhile, gets a position with a leading TV company, becomes a reporter, gets engaged to a businessman she met on one of her shows and then breaks off the engagement because of differences. She comes to the same station as Karan for TV reporting. The meetings between Romi and Karan were nicely shown.
With the LOC, it is found that Pakistani military posing as common men have taken over land beyond their LOC - land of India. To get this back, a series of missions are drawn, of which the final one is successful at the cost of many Indian soldiers' lives.
The film ends with reconciliation of Karan with his father and Romi.
The film is warm and patriotic. Roshan has done a good job in the portrayal of the carefree man and then the brooding soldier. Zinta carries her role with ease as a purposeful reporter. Some of the dialogues are very enriching, especially the dialogue between Om Puri and Hrithik Roshan about war and land.
The songs are fresh and to the point. For choreography, main aisa kyon hoon was the best, while kandhon se kandhae milte hain was very patriotic to listen to. An awesome movie to watch although I have to warn there are some scenes of crying sentiments in it.
Karan Shergill is a happy-go-lucky boy, without any worries or troubles until his girlfriend's father asks him about his future plans. His girlfriend and other friends seem to have their plans and he seems to be lost. This is where the classically choreographed song Main aisa kyon hoon starts. The song was choreographed by Indian Michael Jackson Prabhu Deva. The song has an attitude and rhythm to it that is contagious.
During his random outings with his friends, one of them says he is joining the army and Karan without having plans of his own, follows the suit. He gets admission and attends the Indian Military Academy. Within a few days, unable to bear the excessive seriousness and discipline, he runs away.
His parents had always compared Karan to his elder brother, who was a successful businessman in the U.S., especially his dad who never physically supported Karan in any of his endeavours since his school days. Romi's encouragement and Karan detest of his parents' constant comparison had kept him going to IMA.
When he runs away, he finds out his dad's true feelings about him - disappointment and his girlfriend, Romi, refuses to see him anymore because he is not true to his decision or word. Heartbroken, Karan returns to the institute, a changed man. He works hard and graduates as an officer. He is then posted to a location near LOC - Line of Control - the divider between India and Pakistan.
Romi, meanwhile, gets a position with a leading TV company, becomes a reporter, gets engaged to a businessman she met on one of her shows and then breaks off the engagement because of differences. She comes to the same station as Karan for TV reporting. The meetings between Romi and Karan were nicely shown.
With the LOC, it is found that Pakistani military posing as common men have taken over land beyond their LOC - land of India. To get this back, a series of missions are drawn, of which the final one is successful at the cost of many Indian soldiers' lives.
The film ends with reconciliation of Karan with his father and Romi.
The film is warm and patriotic. Roshan has done a good job in the portrayal of the carefree man and then the brooding soldier. Zinta carries her role with ease as a purposeful reporter. Some of the dialogues are very enriching, especially the dialogue between Om Puri and Hrithik Roshan about war and land.
The songs are fresh and to the point. For choreography, main aisa kyon hoon was the best, while kandhon se kandhae milte hain was very patriotic to listen to. An awesome movie to watch although I have to warn there are some scenes of crying sentiments in it.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Anandajyothi
Starring makkal thilakam M.G.R., Devika, Master Kamalhassan, Sahasranamam, Veerappa, M.R.Radha, Anandajyothi is produced by AVM, music by mellisai mannargal Vishwanathan - Ramamurthy.
The movie begins with the introduction of a poetry loving lady and her teacher loving little brother. Then the movie moves to show love between the poet Manikam (a.k.a Anand) and the lady, Jyothi. She is in the dark and when she comes to light, she is angry at him, but love doesn't fail. Anand, meanwhile, resigns from his job, which was drill master (physical education teacher) at Jyothi's father's school.
A villain from Jyothi's childhood enters. A flashback ensues to show how Jyothi's father had resorted to wrong ways to get the wealth he has now and how Anand is the rightful owner of the wealth. The villain starts to run the house by threatening the father.
The villain is also the head of an illegal smuggling group. As one of the detective finds out their hideout, he runs for his life, ends up in Anand's house, dying there and spilling some secrets he had found about the smugglers. The killer of the detective was none other than our villain and he places the blame on Anand such that the police start hunting for him.
With the minimal secrets, Anand escapes from law to stop the illegal activities, but is hurt instead. Now, he lives as a convict at large. With some kindness from Jyothi and a student's family, that he helped before, he is able to find the smugglers hideout, but is captured along with Jyothi. He escapes again, and with a web of tricks, fight and swimming, the villain is captured. And the movie ends by showing the married life of Anand and Jyothi.
As usual, it was a fast - paced M.G.R. movie with all elements of romance, patriotism, samaritanism, comedy and action. A character to look out for is Jyothi's younger brother, who is Kamalhassan in his younger days. I could almost see the initial base for the actor today.
I have always liked M.G.R. in his black and white movies, in which he looks quite dashing. He comes in a few disguises, which again seem to suit him well.
The songs in movie are very melodious and poetic to listen. oru thaai makkal has the patriotism, poiyilae piranthu is flirty, ninaika therintha is for a broken love, kaala magal is for the broken hope, pala pala is for the philosophers and finally, pani illatha is for the wooers.
Thankfully, there wasn't too much sentiment with crying scenes and mother sentiments. A good movie for a relaxing afternoon.
The movie begins with the introduction of a poetry loving lady and her teacher loving little brother. Then the movie moves to show love between the poet Manikam (a.k.a Anand) and the lady, Jyothi. She is in the dark and when she comes to light, she is angry at him, but love doesn't fail. Anand, meanwhile, resigns from his job, which was drill master (physical education teacher) at Jyothi's father's school.
A villain from Jyothi's childhood enters. A flashback ensues to show how Jyothi's father had resorted to wrong ways to get the wealth he has now and how Anand is the rightful owner of the wealth. The villain starts to run the house by threatening the father.
The villain is also the head of an illegal smuggling group. As one of the detective finds out their hideout, he runs for his life, ends up in Anand's house, dying there and spilling some secrets he had found about the smugglers. The killer of the detective was none other than our villain and he places the blame on Anand such that the police start hunting for him.
With the minimal secrets, Anand escapes from law to stop the illegal activities, but is hurt instead. Now, he lives as a convict at large. With some kindness from Jyothi and a student's family, that he helped before, he is able to find the smugglers hideout, but is captured along with Jyothi. He escapes again, and with a web of tricks, fight and swimming, the villain is captured. And the movie ends by showing the married life of Anand and Jyothi.
As usual, it was a fast - paced M.G.R. movie with all elements of romance, patriotism, samaritanism, comedy and action. A character to look out for is Jyothi's younger brother, who is Kamalhassan in his younger days. I could almost see the initial base for the actor today.
I have always liked M.G.R. in his black and white movies, in which he looks quite dashing. He comes in a few disguises, which again seem to suit him well.
The songs in movie are very melodious and poetic to listen. oru thaai makkal has the patriotism, poiyilae piranthu is flirty, ninaika therintha is for a broken love, kaala magal is for the broken hope, pala pala is for the philosophers and finally, pani illatha is for the wooers.
Thankfully, there wasn't too much sentiment with crying scenes and mother sentiments. A good movie for a relaxing afternoon.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Bride & Prejudice
Directed by British film-maker Gurinder Chadha (also Bend it like Beckham) and starring Martin Henderson and Aishwarya Rai, this is a Hollywood - Bollywood adaptation of the Austen classic, although I felt much of the romantic elements were sort of lost.
So the 'Bennets' - Bakshis are set in Amritsar, Punjab, India as a family that owns farms, an old house and lots of bills (payments to creditors). Mrs. Bakshi is the woman hunting for husbands for her daughters. An opportunity comes in the form of Lalita's (Lizzie's) friend's marriage, where the best man is Balraj (Bingley).
At the wedding, Balraj is struck by Jaya (Jane) and while he courts, his friend Darcy is quite taken by Lalita. An uncomfortable pair drawstring pants prevent him from accepting the offer of dancing with Lalita. He attempts further to converse with her and is thrown off by her opinionated and quick replies to his comments.
Jaya and Lalita are invited to a Goa trip with Balraj, his sister and Darcy. There enter Johnny Wickham and romance in Lalita's life. Some information on past life of Darcy are shared with Lalita who is disgusted by him.
On Jaya's and Lalita's return home, Mr.Kholi (Collins) impending arrival means Mrs. Bakshi setting up a home for Lalita. Wickham arrives at her home, blooming further romance. Mr.Kholi is absolutely unimpressive and nothing, but a jester in Lalita's eyes. A refusal of his hand sends him storming out of the house and proposing to Lalita's friend Chandra (Charlotte) instead.
Chandra's marriage brings Lalita to U.S. En route, she meets Darcy on the plane. His thoughtfulness and different demeanour gives her a different idea and she feels herself liking him.
During the marriage ceremony, introduction of Anne (Anne de Bourgh) in the picture by Darcy's mother (Lady Catherine de Bourgh) and finding out that Darcy discouraged Balraj from marrying Jaya makes her angry and she walks away from Darcy.
In an effort to make her understand, Darcy goes to meet her and apologises for interfering with Balraj's life and also tells her the truth about Wickham making his sister pregnant. He also receives the news that the youngest of Bakshi sisters - Lakhi (Lydia) has eloped with him. Knowing Wickham's hideabouts, Darcy hunts him down with Lalita and Lakhi is rescued. As they return home, they get the news that Jaya and Balraj are engaged. The movie ends with both Jaya and Balraj's and Lalita and Darcy's marriage.
There was a sense of incompletion for me, since I have read the book so many times and have watched other screen adaptations. Some places, I found myself questioning as to why the character was acting in a certain way since there are no protrayal of any incitation. It just felt like they were acting so because of Jane Austen's character more than the story itself. But I think it is more because I went in with an expectation of Jane Austen's novel than just a regular story. Like other people I talked to said, it was a clever adaptation, but for those looking for the romance in it, it is absent. Definitely not a movie to be classified as an adaptation, but a bearable detour.
So the 'Bennets' - Bakshis are set in Amritsar, Punjab, India as a family that owns farms, an old house and lots of bills (payments to creditors). Mrs. Bakshi is the woman hunting for husbands for her daughters. An opportunity comes in the form of Lalita's (Lizzie's) friend's marriage, where the best man is Balraj (Bingley).
At the wedding, Balraj is struck by Jaya (Jane) and while he courts, his friend Darcy is quite taken by Lalita. An uncomfortable pair drawstring pants prevent him from accepting the offer of dancing with Lalita. He attempts further to converse with her and is thrown off by her opinionated and quick replies to his comments.
Jaya and Lalita are invited to a Goa trip with Balraj, his sister and Darcy. There enter Johnny Wickham and romance in Lalita's life. Some information on past life of Darcy are shared with Lalita who is disgusted by him.
On Jaya's and Lalita's return home, Mr.Kholi (Collins) impending arrival means Mrs. Bakshi setting up a home for Lalita. Wickham arrives at her home, blooming further romance. Mr.Kholi is absolutely unimpressive and nothing, but a jester in Lalita's eyes. A refusal of his hand sends him storming out of the house and proposing to Lalita's friend Chandra (Charlotte) instead.
Chandra's marriage brings Lalita to U.S. En route, she meets Darcy on the plane. His thoughtfulness and different demeanour gives her a different idea and she feels herself liking him.
During the marriage ceremony, introduction of Anne (Anne de Bourgh) in the picture by Darcy's mother (Lady Catherine de Bourgh) and finding out that Darcy discouraged Balraj from marrying Jaya makes her angry and she walks away from Darcy.
In an effort to make her understand, Darcy goes to meet her and apologises for interfering with Balraj's life and also tells her the truth about Wickham making his sister pregnant. He also receives the news that the youngest of Bakshi sisters - Lakhi (Lydia) has eloped with him. Knowing Wickham's hideabouts, Darcy hunts him down with Lalita and Lakhi is rescued. As they return home, they get the news that Jaya and Balraj are engaged. The movie ends with both Jaya and Balraj's and Lalita and Darcy's marriage.
There was a sense of incompletion for me, since I have read the book so many times and have watched other screen adaptations. Some places, I found myself questioning as to why the character was acting in a certain way since there are no protrayal of any incitation. It just felt like they were acting so because of Jane Austen's character more than the story itself. But I think it is more because I went in with an expectation of Jane Austen's novel than just a regular story. Like other people I talked to said, it was a clever adaptation, but for those looking for the romance in it, it is absent. Definitely not a movie to be classified as an adaptation, but a bearable detour.
Anbae Vaa
Starring makkal thilakam M.G.R. and B. Saroja Devi, this technicolour romantic comedy has outstanding musical compositions - a confirmed treat in all M.G.R.'s movies.
The movie starts with a tired multimillionaire business character called J.B. who has no time to relax, thereby setting the reason and stage for the rest of the story to proceed. So he takes time off in one of his hill station bungalows, which is, for the first time, rented to some tourist owing to the lack of a frequenting boss (J.B.). Angered at first by this disloyalty shown by his servants, J.B. uses this opportunity to lead a 'normal' life, lying about his identity and means.
The tourist of house is a small family with a feisty girl, Geetha, as the heir of a large fortune. Proud and opinionated, it hatred that fills her as soon as she sees the 'normal' J.B., now calling himself as Balu. Seeing her, J.B. stirs trouble with her every time their paths cross. Along with the trouble, he constantly puts up a 'drama' of a blooming romance between them. Bugged by his insensitivity, Geetha agrees to marry her cousin (an ancient custom) and conveys so her parents.
Right after this communication, Balu tells his love to her. Both of them are now saddened by the new twist of events and agree to go as the flow and propriety of promises take them. The cousin is an old friend of J.B.'s, who discovers their love and agrees to sacrifice his (since he has been harbouring a dream of marrying Geetha since their childhood) for theirs.
Finally comes the time to reveal the truth about J.B. When Geetha comes to know of it, she assumes this is another J.B. drama of fake romance and runs away. Minutes later, J.B. follows her and after some confusion, they come together to live happily ever after.
One must appreciate the colour, liveliness and celebration of decor in M.G.R.'s movies. He makes use of talent and brings out the best in people, although some people end up overacting in his movies compared to Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. But with the typical masala and sentiments in M.G.R.'s movies, it seems worthwhile for some laugh and entertainment in his movies. Even though he must have been almost 40 or 50 in the movie, he looked much much younger than his colleagues who enacted as the heroine's father. Makeup - you might think, but in this case, the heavy makeup makes the young look older. I always used to wonder if the people actually had the Asian paints smell as they approached each other. The layer would seem so thick and heavy. It seems odd for my generation after seeing the improvement in cosmetics today.
Although it seemed like a little drag for a 3 hour movie, it is a good watch for first time.
The movie starts with a tired multimillionaire business character called J.B. who has no time to relax, thereby setting the reason and stage for the rest of the story to proceed. So he takes time off in one of his hill station bungalows, which is, for the first time, rented to some tourist owing to the lack of a frequenting boss (J.B.). Angered at first by this disloyalty shown by his servants, J.B. uses this opportunity to lead a 'normal' life, lying about his identity and means.
The tourist of house is a small family with a feisty girl, Geetha, as the heir of a large fortune. Proud and opinionated, it hatred that fills her as soon as she sees the 'normal' J.B., now calling himself as Balu. Seeing her, J.B. stirs trouble with her every time their paths cross. Along with the trouble, he constantly puts up a 'drama' of a blooming romance between them. Bugged by his insensitivity, Geetha agrees to marry her cousin (an ancient custom) and conveys so her parents.
Right after this communication, Balu tells his love to her. Both of them are now saddened by the new twist of events and agree to go as the flow and propriety of promises take them. The cousin is an old friend of J.B.'s, who discovers their love and agrees to sacrifice his (since he has been harbouring a dream of marrying Geetha since their childhood) for theirs.
Finally comes the time to reveal the truth about J.B. When Geetha comes to know of it, she assumes this is another J.B. drama of fake romance and runs away. Minutes later, J.B. follows her and after some confusion, they come together to live happily ever after.
One must appreciate the colour, liveliness and celebration of decor in M.G.R.'s movies. He makes use of talent and brings out the best in people, although some people end up overacting in his movies compared to Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan. But with the typical masala and sentiments in M.G.R.'s movies, it seems worthwhile for some laugh and entertainment in his movies. Even though he must have been almost 40 or 50 in the movie, he looked much much younger than his colleagues who enacted as the heroine's father. Makeup - you might think, but in this case, the heavy makeup makes the young look older. I always used to wonder if the people actually had the Asian paints smell as they approached each other. The layer would seem so thick and heavy. It seems odd for my generation after seeing the improvement in cosmetics today.
Although it seemed like a little drag for a 3 hour movie, it is a good watch for first time.
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