Invictus

I watch tons of movies and remember practically everything about them. Yes, seriously! And I am told I am a smart movie viewer and asked to be a reviewer. I accept the former and will consider the later part :-)

Anyhow, I watched Invictus and have to give three cheers to the director. He is a excellent storyteller and showman.

The story is woven around the new era of South Africa after Mandela took over as the new President. Actors have done their part well and the message of love and forgiveness has been conveyed effortlessly. "Try to forgive and you will overcome the fear." He says to one of his bodyguards when he is hesitant to accept new team of staff under his subordination. That sort of nails it. Another moving scene is one in which Francois visits the prison where Mendela was held of over three decades. He simply gets overwhelmed by the enormity of the heart of the man who holds no grudges whatsoever and dreams of a nation free of hatred.

I loved the movie. I like 'based on true stories' stuff anyway, but when its done sincerely it makes you feel good inside out. This one gets my recommendation. You can sure watch it.

Peepli Live (& Swing Vote)

This is another movie about good direction, excellent casting and solid story telling. A satire set in Indian village makes you feel the world differently. Forces you to think about need and want. Want to watch it, sure, go ahead. If you don't understand Hindi, avoid it because most jokes are for Hindi speaking people only. When translated (or subtitled)they kind of lost the punch.

I also watched "Swing vote" and funny how similar two movies are! Some sequences are eerily identical.

Everybody is fine

Did I mention this before (in that case just ignore the rest of the sentence and read below)that I try not to read the synopsis of story of the movie before I watch it? Well, that's what I try to do. The reasons why I do that - one, it helps me enjoy it more thoroughly rather than coming to that turn where the rest is lying. Downside - sometimes I waste my time figuring out the point the director is making!

But I like to take that chance anyway. This week I saw "Everybody is fine". What can I say about this movie. You know, if a movie is about sad reality then there are two possibilities. Either it is good or bad. If bad, your time is wasted, but if it's done well it makes you feel connected to the story and hence more sad afterwards. So what's there to gain? Oh well, that's just me then.

This movie is beautiful. Makes you sad for obvious reasons. Parenting is never easy. There are things you wish you could change when there is no scope of change at all. Despite all good intentions, you have to lose control over the lives of your children, someday.

Genius or Zaniness

I watched 'Factory Girl' few months ago and it brought back the debate that I had been having for a long time. What's genius? What is it anyway?

When it lurks at the borderline of madness, it just freaks the logic of true genius. Or may be that's the whole point! That of being on a completely different plane than the regular folks.

When we are provoked we are shocked, surprised, or confused. I think I am struggling with the last emotion at the time.

Is it both? What's absolutely amazing to some could be totally insane for others. They may have opposite views and still be correct. Well, that sort of makes sense. It really is about timing. If the timing is right, the new idea, the spark may turn into a trend, a tradition, a lifestyle, an icon, who knows what else.

That boils down to the knowledge of the right timing. Be it art, technology, retail, anything. (I think its making sense as I type this.) So many new ideas have died a premature death just because it was aired at the wrong time. There is no dearth of talent, smarts, and hard-work and still only a few make it to the top. Why? Because either they know how to recognize the right timing or they are lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

So there is hope. For everybody. Do your best and learn the art of projecting and presenting your ideas at the right time. Who knows you haven't recognized the genius within you until someone else points it for you.

If you haven't seen "Factory Girl", it's about Andy Warhol, the Campbell Soup guy. Question was if he was what he's been portrayed as or not?

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Stranger than Fiction

What was I thinking when I got this DVD to watch! That pretty much sums up the entire movie.

Movie begins with the narration of life of Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) an IRS employee in minute details, such as when he gets up, how he brushes his teeth etc etc. And you wait this to stop as the movie progresses, right? But no, it gets a weird turn. Harold starts to listen to everything. Wait, what?! Exactly! I wasn't sure what's happening, either.

Anyways, there is an author (Emma Thompson) who is writing a story that resembles in every detail to Harold's real life and she also happens to be the mystery narrator. How does she narrate it because she doesn't know him, not clear! But one thing is clear that she kills the main character in all her best-sellers.

With the help of a college professor, Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) Harold finds her and decides to meet her to request a change in the end. That seems hard for her to do as this is her masterpiece. Professor seconds her and suggests Harold to die rather than her changing the end of the story. Is this some kind of joke or what?

I shall rather stop here. You decide if you'd like to watch it! I wish I hadn't.

Mongol

Hmmmm... the question I am asking is this. Can a director save a movie if the screenplay is well, not great? Answer is,you guessed it, no!

That's what happened to Mongol. Looks like a well researched project. And thus there is no real build-up of the story, just told as is. Characters seem very two-dimensional and it almost has an anti-climax.

I have to admit that cinematography is superb. The beautiful landscapes are well captured. But for whatever reason overall a 'avoid it' movie.

Rating: 3/5

Superbad

I am almost embarrassed to report that I watched this movie. Gosh! If you are older than 19, please do not watch this.

Full of icky jokes, total waste of time.

Hysterical Blindness

All I have to say is to avoid this movie. There was not a single thing that I could relate to :-( And the movie has sad end, double don't!

The movie is about women and their loneliness. Deb (Uma Thurman) is single and desperate. Her idea of a marriage and starting a family is too almost too good to be true. Then there is her mom who finally finds someone. But that special someone meets an unfortunate fate. And then finally there is Deb's friend, who is trying to have fun by hanging in bars. Bad idea for a mother of a 10 year old.

Rating: 2/5

PS: It's directed by Mira Nair.

The Namesake

I loved the movie, mostly because there is so much that I can relate to. The end, however, is little sad. And I just don't like sad endings so, there.

The screenplay is amazing, the actors should not have had any trouble playing their characters.

Match Point

I decided to watch this movie 'cuz of Scarlett Johansson thinking this movie must be about some predictable romance. But, was I in for a big surprise! It was nowhere close to what I thought. You have been warned this review has a spoiler!

Chris (Jonathan Mayers) is a Tennis coach who appears to be a underachiever in everything in life until he meets Chloe (Mortimer). They discuss marriage, get engaged and things start falling to his lap, thanks to her rich dad. He offers him a job in his company and promises the opportunities to rise. Chris takes it all. (A bollywood actor wouldn't do it ever :-P) Okay then comes the twist. Welcome Nola (Johansson) who is the fiancée of Tom, Chloe's brother. She is a struggling actress and is trying hard to make a mark of her own. She lets Chris know about her dysfunctional family and also accepts the offer of moral support when she is out for a big audition. The audition bombs but they seem to develop a bond.

Then things change. Chris gets married to Chloe and Tom dumps Nola for someone. And after a while Nola and Chris bump into each other. And then their romance starts. Chloe has a doubt that something is not quite right about her husband but she isn't sure. She is rather depressed why she couldn't get pregnant. In the meantime Nola gets pregnant with Chris's child.

What happens next is rather unexpected. I know, I said spoiler but I am not going to reveal the end :-)

I loved the movie. Excellent screenplay, sensible dialogs and a fitting cast.

Rating: 4.5/5

Gracie, Billy Madison and The Gambler

Gracie, Billy Madison and The Gambler - what do all three have in common?

They are all those movies we watched over the last week. What a variety pack, I say!
Gracie is a football movie, Billy is silly and Gambler is, well, about gambling.

Rating: 3/5, 3/5, and 2.5/5

The Express

Based on the true story of Ernie Davis (Rob Brown), this movie actually hits an unexpected end.

The story is set in the 40s & 50s. The super-talented football player recognizes his talent at a very early age mostly due to the hard decisions he's forced to make. He makes his mark through the local winnings. He gets the attention of coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid) which brings the turning point to his life. Coach helps him to get admission in Syracuse University where he is well received albeit gradually and after a few more wins.

After some very demading games he finally gets chosen for the NFL. This is where the end begins. Spoiler alert - stop reading if you want to watch the movie.

Movie has hints about the racial lines - how deep or dark those were then. And to a moment it seems as if he's going to leave Football and join NAACP but that's not what happens. What happens is, Leukemia. At 23. And that takes Ernie away right before he's set to hit the pinnacle.

As a movie, it was nicely done. Some twists and turns and great momentum. Only thing that I didn't like was the sad ending. But what can you do? Movie imitated the life, however sad that was.

Star rating: 3/5