Tag: movies

All you need is love

I watched Across the Universe, a musical peppered with over 30 Beatles’ numbers, last night and I loved the movie!

It might just be because I can be a sappy romantic sometimes and this movie certainly appeals to that part of me, but I also thought the movie was very well directed (by Julie Taymore, who also directed Frida) and had some really awesomely picturised song sequences. (My favourite was “Revolution.”)

The movie is set in the 60s and uses the riots, Vietnam, Princeton, New York and Liverpool as its set.

The actors are surprisingly good singers, and my favourites would be T.V. Caprio singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and any of Dana Fuchs’ performances.

Joe Cocker, Bono and Eddie Izzard make cameos in the movie too. Joe Cocker’s rendition of “Come Together” is pretty good but not much of a departure from the Beatles’ version. Bono singing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” over the end credits as well as “I Am the Walrus” in the movie isn’t much to write about. I’m beginning to get tired of Bono’s cookie cutter vocals.

Most of the cast don’t have much acting background but do an pretty decent job with a couple of wooden performances here and there. Evan Rachel Wood (who was the lead in Thirteen) does a great job here and I quite liked her voice too.

So if you’re a Beatles’ fan, like musicals, and can stand a bit of mush, you will love this movie. Oh yes, if you’re a fan of the 60s, that’s a bonus!

If I’m a little bug-eyed…

…blame it on the movie marathon I did yesterday. I watched 3 movies at the cinema one after the other with just a break for lunch.

I started with Syriana at 11am. At first the quick cuts, the insane number of characters and information had me lost. But the story quickly came together (in my head, at least!) and I really liked the movie. By far the best movie I saw yesterday. The funniest bit was where they had these actors playing Pakistani immigrant workers in the gulf speaking such completely bad and stilted Hindustani. One of them had a terrible accent too!

After stuffing my face with pizza for lunch, I watched A History of Violence. I hadn’t heard anything about this movie before save for the fact that Maria Bello was nominated for an Oscar. But when I saw the trailer last week, it seemed quite interesting and I decided I had to catch it. I wasn’t disappointed. I quite liked the story and even Viggo Mortenson’s acting. And hey, even the blockbuster fans will be happy with the slick (albeit few) action sequences.

The last movie I saw was Brokeback Mountain. I wasn’t too keen on it since it seemed to be surrounded by hype and I hadn’t really read anything that made me want to watch the movie. And well, as I thought, I didn’t like it much. (You may flame me now! :p) It wasn’t a terrible movie, but I didn’t think it was anything great either! I liked the way the story was told, in little vingnettes stretching over the years and it was certainly a very picturesque movie. But gawd was it slow! And what’s with everyone raving about what a great love story it is? This is two people cheating on their spouses and having sex with each other. Since when did that rate as an epic love story?

Anyway, this seems to be a great time for movies in Bombay. I’m planning on catching The Producers this weekend and Being Cyrus the next! 🙂

Of sunrises and sunsets

The Old and the New

Last night, against my will, I watched the 1995 movie Before Sunrise. Quite to my surprise, I didn’t mind the movie at all! While I was skeptical at first, and didn’t actually look at the screen while the movie was playing, I continued to listen to the dialogue. Essentially, that’s what this movie is. A dialogue between an American and Frenchwoman who meet on a train heading from Budapest to Paris. They hit it off and decide to spend a day in Vienna from where the American will be flying back to the US the next day, while she will continue on her way to Paris.

My friend raved about the movie and so do some of the reviews on IMDb but I think they go a touch overboard. Many praised the screenplay. I thought it was quite cliched and trite. The story? Mush. The end? Atypical but not surprising. So why did I like the movie then? I don’t really know, the whole is more than the sum of its parts, I guess. Maybe I was in a funny mood last night and this movie appealed to my particular mood. I don’t really know. I do think the movie is worth watching though.

A sequel was made, called Before Sunset. My friend has laid his grubby paws on a copy of that too and I am sure I will be made to watch that one soon. Although I guess I may not have to be coerced this time! 🙂

Fog of War

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Fog of War, the documentary about Robert McNamara, but here‘s an interesting link to see.

For those not in the know, Robert McNamara was the US Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (read Vietnam war) and subsequently held the post of President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981.

Movies!

Believe it or not, I still haven’t got to watch “The Return of the King!” The thing is, I was in India for most of December and when I got back to the US, most people I know have already seen it and now I’m stuck with no company to go with!! 🙁

I did manage to see “Big Fish” and “Cold Mountain” recently and I quite like both of them.

Update: I did see “Return of the King” a few days after posting this, I just never got around to updating! That movie is amazing… I can’t wait to buy a box set of all three DVDs! 🙂

First Snowfall

All day yesterday it snowed accompanied by gusty winds… boy was it chilly outside. So much so that I decided to just stay at home snuggled under a comforter!! Nice!

I finally got around to watching Suraj ka Satvan Ghoda and I quite liked the movie. Mostly for the story and the way it was weaved though I did feel it seemed to stretch a bit too long! In fact at 130 minutes or so, it’s on the shorter side of Indian films. But then again it doesn’t have any song and dance sequences. This film was Rajit Kapur’s debut and I think he does a pretty good job. Watching this also reminded me how hot Neena Gupta is!! 🙂

The big news on GNE, we finally got a few items yesterday! Yay!! All edible stuff. And we also now have stats like karma, mood, energy, tummy and xp. None of which really matter at the moment, but it’s fun to play around with it in anticipation. Stewart has promised more stuff by the end of this week, though with Thanksgiving coming up, I’m not sure if that will happen!

I also chatted with Priya on Yahoo! yesterday after donkey’s years! It was good to be able to speak with her after so long. She says she’s planning to come to the US in December or thereabouts. Not sure when, if ever, I can meet her in the US, but you never know. I keep telling myself, it’s just a matter of getting your own car and then you’ll be mobile around the US, but I don’t know. I just don’t seem to have enough free time to do all the wandering I want and the time I do get off, I laze about at home. New Year’s Resolution for 2004: Stop lazing about! hehehe…