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A movie and book review blog

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Apr 30, 2005

Douglas Adams packs more wackiness in to his novels than any camera can ever dream of reproducing. The newest offering of his work from Disney reiterates this fact. After watching Disney's new movie today, which had been burning, smoking and broiling in the back burner for years, I'd have to say we have some good news and bad news. The good news is, Disney has done it better than the BBC, the bad news is neither is anywhere near the book. But I understand Disney's has been a good effort, as I said earlier it is hard to reproduce DNA's verbal wackiness on film.

Some of the oft-quoted lines from the novel have been included in the movie and I think a lot of definitions and explanations like who Vogons are, what a pan galactic gargle blaster is etc have also been incorporated. What the film lacked(acc.to.me)is the technical finesse you'd expect from a Hollywood film. Although there are some commendable CGI sequences like the view from the Vogon ship as it shoots up from the earth, the movie lack the usual slickness of Hollywood special effects. Maybe they were deliberately cutting down on the CGI because afterall it is a British movie, they might not want it to look like another Matrix Revolution or Rotations. But I thought the opening credits sequence looked like something out of a home movie edited by an amateur.

The fans of THHGTTG will definitely flock to the theaters to check how the story turned out on the big screen, but one thing I am certain is that not many newbies are going to get converted in to DNA fans after watching this movie. It is hard for someone who has not read DNA to comprehend what the fuss is all about. It does not have the almost impossible goal the heroes of the Lord of the Rings(another book series turned in to movie) were striving to reach. What made both readers and non-readers appreciate LOTR is the collective baited breath on which the story rode along the magnanimously impressive landscapes.

THHGTG is not a goal oriented story, although some additional characters(a new villain for instance) and more stress on the personal relationships between the characters seems like an effort from the part of film makers to make it a goal oriented movie. The crazy digressions that pepper THHGTTG-the novel and make it unique, cannot be done effectively in a movie which has to stick to a definite time frame and keep the audience's attention at the same time.

For me, it was good to see my favorite novel on the big screen finally. I was not much impressed by the BBC-TV series, probably because it felt really dated by the time I saw it in the late 90s. My advice would be if you have not read any of DNA, don't waste your money on this movie, you can probably rent it sometime later. And if you have read DNA, you probably would not need my advice.

Apr 28, 2005

An earthy film about a rural postman in an Italian island and his meeting with the poet Neruda who was living in the same island in exile. Nominated for a posthumous Oscar, Massimo Troisi(he died of a heart attack a few days after the production ended) plays the title character with such perfection that it is hard to notice he is acting, he lives and breathes the character of the innocent village postman.

Great script, beautiful landscape and Pablo Neruda teaching our love-bug bitten Postino a few tricks of his trade, what else can you ask for?

Apr 27, 2005

Watched the newest blockbuster from Malayalam movie industry, Udayananu Tharam. It is indeed one of the better films that has come out in Malayalam in the recent past, a respite from the unbearable comedies whose main purpose is to make idiots out of their viewers. It is a tight, technically decent film with Mohanlal in the title role and Sreenivasan in the main supporting role.

The magic of Mohanlal-Sreenivasan duo, both the actors now in their forties, is missing. Even the natural chemistry the two had in their hit films of the eighties like Nadodikattu and Pattanapravesham is absent. Mohanlal is in his best physical form in the last few years. The selling point of the movie, from my perspective, is its songs and an almost natural script, which is a rarity these days in Malayalam cinema. Still it is nowhere near the best Sreenivasan had come out with in the past. Since it is a movie about South Indian filmdom the writer(Sreenivasan) has taken liberties to include not-so-hidden references to real life stars and their antics. For example, Malayalam movie viewers are aware of the much publicized media aided tug of war between a young actress and her greedy family, then there is the part where it says superstars are now in to pickle and readymade food business(you know who is doing that). Rosshan Andrrews, the director himself was a struggling assistant direcotr before he made this movie, which is what the main character played by Mohanlal portrays in the movie.

Meena looks good and comedian Salim Kumar (the only one amongst the new breed of comedians I've liked) has a serious supporting role. For a change, climax does not involve an emotional deluge which seems to be a prerequisite these days for a succesful run at the Kerala box office. Hope this will herald a wind of change in Malayalam movie industry.

Apr 26, 2005

Get Shorty

Get Shorty is one of those total-script films, one which relies heavily on the smart-alecness of the script and the right choice of actors than anything else. Well, they did make a right choice roping in Travolta for the main role, he is the best mob guy who has come out of Hollywood in the recent past.

For a movie like this a lot depends on casting the right actors and they hade done it right - John Travolta, Rene Russo, Gene Hackman, Danny De Vito, Delroy Lindo,Dennis Farina and James Gandolfini are all perfect choices for their parts. It is good movie, that has to be watched carefully (make sure you don't skip dialogs). Mob guys and Hollywood has always been a winning combination, right?

Apr 25, 2005

Liked it better than the original Meet the Parents. All credit to Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand. I also liked DeNiro better in this one. There is not much of a plot, except that this time around we are going to meet Focker(Ben Stiller)'s parents. A jovial entertainer, the success of which solely depends on the entertaining capacity of its actors.

Apr 23, 2005

It is unfortunate to start a review by mentioning the remake when the real one is so much better. But so is the ways of the world where everyone is aware of Hollywood movies than an obscure film from Germany or India.

The remake I am talking about is the Nick Cage starrer, City of Angels and the original is Wings of Desire directed by Wim Wenders. The story is about two angels watching over human beings in Berlin and one of them falls in love with a circus artist.

Scenes are shot in black and white and color, for angels see the world in black and white. The camera captures the angelic view of urban Berlin in swooping down and floating shots, thoughts of people are verbalized and this constitute most of the talking in the film. It is a poet's movie, as the thought passages in the script written by Peter Handke reflects. It might not have been a commercial success(I have no idea whether it was or not), but it is tribute to life - the life which can smell coffee, can taste metallic taste of blood on the lips and can touch an apple.

Apr 22, 2005

I have liked Mel Gibson films for their crowd appeal, their gigantically populated landscapes and the raw emotion they can wrench out of the audience. Although I do not rank Passion anywhere near Braveheart, it is clear why Christianity is such an easily marketable religion. Afterall, all human hearts respond to pain and suffering or so I think.

Jim Caviezel is a good choice to play Christ. He looks good as historical figures, like his Count of Monte Cristo. Gibson has also amply used Italian(or Italian-Americans?) in the cast, most probably due to their physical likeness to early Jews, perhaps?

The film follows the events from Jesus's arrest to his crucifixion and one final shot of his resurrection. In a way it adds to the sin theory purported by Christians that all of humanity in one way or other is responsible for the inhuman punishment meted out to Christ and are thereby irredeemable sinners. Has to give it to Mel Gibson for artfully directing it as it is such a controversial theme and one about which everyone has opinions.

Apr 19, 2005

Malayalam comedy is steadily going downhill and it is Harishree Ashokan who is driving it turbo charged down the slope with the aid of superstar Dileep. I like Dileep, but his roles and the movies he produce have now become breeding grounds of sickening pseudo-comedy. It is true that when one is the producer, the main intention is, unless one is a millionaire philathrophist who doesn't mind losing a few millions, to make a profit. But was there no other way to reap profit than to make such a joke of a movie?
A roadtrip in the idyllic Bhutanese style set against the majestic backdrop of Himalayas. A young government officer of the raring to go kind, trapped in a backcountry village gets his passport to freedom when one of his friends mails him about getting a visa to go to United States, his dreamland. To embark on this journey, he has to reach Thimpu first. The film follows his journey to Thimpu, hitching rides, with interesting fellow travellers. A beautiful film, a cultural window to the present day Bhutan and it breathtaking landscapes and simple people.

Apr 17, 2005

Watched two Lindsay Lohan teen flicks on two consecutive days - Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Mean Girls. Not exactly of any cinematic value expect to keep your teenage girls off the phone for two hours. My intention was to feel the pulse of the American teenager, especially girls - two cultural education films, lol.

Apr 15, 2005

After Hable con ella and Todo Sobre mi Madre, this is my third Almodovar film to date. Gael Garcia shows his wide range, he has done an about-turn from his role in Motorcycle Diaries to this one, as a cross dresser he could give Julia Roberts a run for her money. This is also the first time I've seen a mainstream director(mainstream as I visualize it is not exactly Hollywood) deal with gays and gay relationships in a mature environment and make them the main theme of the movie instead of having them as 'butts for jokes' props. Cinematography is good, wish they had shown more of the director(Enrique in the film)'s house, it looked architecturally interesting. Overall a different film.

Apr 12, 2005

Apr 10, 2005

A coming of age film for the middle aged. Like all coming of age moments this one also involves alcohol - wine. Two friends embark upon a last week of freedom trip through the wine country of California, before one of them is about to get married at the end of the week.

Alexander Payne, the director seem to specialize in lonely men searching for meanings in life, usually before they are about to get in to a relationship or after they are suddenly and unexpectedly freed of one. I am talking about Sideways and his directorial venture before that, About Schmidt. Personally, the film strikes a chord with me because California's wine country is one of my eternally favorite landscapes. While living there we had spent many a weekend driving and wine tasting in the numerous wineyards that dot the valley. It is a well-kept(or well known, whatever you prefer) secret of California, that behind the busy facade of Bay Area or LA, a few miles is all that require to take you in to another country - the rolling valleys of wines, wineyards, grapes and a country lifestyle. You go sideways from the busy main stream and you are in an enchanted place, maybe it'll help you to rediscover your self.

Apr 6, 2005

This movie ran to packed houses all over Kerala when it was released and was one of the main films which catapulted Dileep to superstardom in Malayalam movie industry. Supposedly a comedy, the comedy in this movie shows is representative of low, crass dialogs and rib breakers not ticklers which pass of as comedy in Malayalam these days. There is not one decent script writer these days in Malayalam except for Sreenivasan. Lesser said about Parakkumthalika the better.

Apr 5, 2005

Sidney Poitier is a fine specimen of a man. Whenever I watch him in movies, I feel that he was what the African Americans wanted to be after their emancipation from slavery. But somewhere along the way, many of them lost sight of that vision, and became drug pushers and Addidas & Nike pimps. Now it is left to Chris Rock to rescue them, hope he makes some impact.

I had read a portion of the book by E.R.Braithwaite as a part of an English lesson in high school. It was wonderful to see Poitier play the title role, I cannot think anyone else doing it. A good story about an unruly bunch of British teenagers in their final year at highschool who are brought to 'their senses' and ultimately won over by a newly appointed black teacher.

Apr 1, 2005

One of the cool ghost/horror films I've come across in recent times. The Art of Dying is about six friends who are somehow involved in the disappearance and death of a seventh person - their friend and an eccentric genius of a painter. At the beginning of the movie we do not know what had really happened to the painter guy, the story unfolds as the film progresses. It eventually turns in to a nail biting ghost story sans the cheap tricks. I liked the movie, takes place in some city in Spain and one of the better made films about the subject of cheating death.
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