Mr. Darcy and the Single Man

So I'm a little late catching up on my 2009 nominated Oscar movies and roles but better late than ever. This lazy afternoon (we have the week off from work so it's awesome to be a couch potato in this cold weather) I received my Netflix movie and it was "A Single Man" directed by debutant director Tom Ford. Now I have to be truthful and say that the main reason I watched this movie is for Colin Firth who in my mind will forever be THE Mr. Darcy (no matter how many men have played and will continue to play this character). I was also curious about the movie because it seemed so far from the genres that I usually watch. This was an out and out "art film" - an "art film" is a term we use in India to describe a movie that is not meant for the masses. The pace was super slow but I don't see how it could have been any faster but all said and done I liked the movie - hated the ending...

**Spoilers ahead** Colin Firth plays George, a university professor, who has recently lost his partner of 16 years Jim. The entire movie takes place on 1 single day - Nov 30, 1962. George wakes up with a start after dreaming about his dead partner's body. George lets the viewers know that he is considering suicide because he cannot endure life after losing Jim. He chats with his friend Charlie played by Julianne Moore, fellow English ex-pat and tells her that he will meet her in the evening. He then goes to his class as usual and ends up chatting with one of his students Kenny who seems to be very interested in George and seems to want something beyond a regular student-teacher relationship. During the course of a day he also meets a young male prostitute Carlos who is surprised to be treated so kindly by a stranger. George then heads to Charlie's house where we see that Charlie wants to have something more than a platonic relationship with George. He leaves her place angry. He runs into Kenny again and the 2 go swimming together - we then see that Kenny is sleeping in George's house in a different bedroom and George sees that Kenny is sleeping with the same gun that he wants to use to kill himself. George then sees that suicide is not his way out and decides that life is worth living after all and tears up the suicide notes he had left behind. And then ironically he dies from a fatal heart attack.

Colin Firth was amazing. His acting was subtle and his grief palpable. He transforms himself from the young dashing Mr. Darcy to the older, proper University Professor with ease. Julianne Moore is awesome but then she always is - I just couldn't stomach the accent from her though... but that's just because I know what she really sounds like in other movies. Tom Ford I thought, did an absolutely wonderful job - from fashion designer to director - the transition appears super smooth.

So to sum it up, this movie is not for everyone - watch only if you can be patient and allow it to slowly unravel.

Koffee with Karan

Breaking my blogging silence. I know its been a while since I wrote in this space but something I watched on Sunday jolted me into writing again - and jolted not in a good way...

Many of you know that I have been a huge fan of Koffee with Karan - I like his wit, and sparkle and how he uses his friendships with the celebrities to make them reveal to him (and the audience) more than they intend to. Season 3 began Nov 7, 2010 - 4 long years after season 2 ended. So to say that I was awaiting the premiere eagerly is an understatement. I set my DVR to record the show, told the hubby not to watch it without me (not that he watches it anyway), made some chai and snacks and plonked myself in front of the TV to soak in as much Koffee with Karan as I could...

The guests were Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan - I was of course not thrilled... I have never been a fan of Aishwarya Rai on talk shows. She is very giggly, and comes across as completely fake and studied - if you don't believe me watch any of her old interviews on youtube especially the 2005 60 Minutes appearance (I cringe even today!!). However, on this particular episode while she was tolerable (perhaps because I had low expectations of her to begin with), the person that made her look more genuine, sadly, was her husband Abhishek Bachchan. I have always thought of Abhishek as poised, in control and tolerably intelligent as a conversationalist from watching prior interviews of his. I was less than impressed with him on this show - the initial 10 minutes after his entry on the show were almost too hard for me to watch. His attempts at humor failed miserably and he came across so completely different than he usually does. While I must admit that it definitely got more bearable as the interview went on, I was hugely disappointed. When will actors learn that they don't have to don a role for an interview - an interview is to talk to the "real" person behind the face. I suppose that they have been "actors" for so long that they can't help but act (and to be honest I do think everyone "acts" a little bit to put their best foot forward - be it for friends or business colleagues). I think little B should take a page from Big B's book. Senior does not have to rely on gimmicks and poor jokes to get his point across - he always comes across as uber-elegant and suave in almost all interviews; all the while looking like he does not have to make an effort. That is the charisma of a true star. Some other desi celebrities who give a good interview are Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta, and Aamir Khan. I watched an interview of Kangana Ranaut with Koel Puri ("On the couch with Koel") and even Kangana, despite her less than average grasp of the English language, conversed with Koel Puri so intelligently and with so much dignity, that I was hooked and watched the entire show.

The next week's episode of KWK promises to be better with Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor as the 2 guests. These are interesting talented young men that seemingly have the whole world at their feet - it will be a treat to see them in action on Koffee with Karan as Karan tries extract their deepest darkest secrets as only he knows how ;) - there I go again, expecting the world from a talk show... Here's hoping for a season that is as good if not better than the first 2 seasons!!

Emma redux...

From childhood I have been a Jane Austen fan - I particularly loved Pride & Prejudice and Emma. I re-read them as often as I could - everytime I didn't have a new book in my hands, I automatically gravitated towards Jane Austen for yet another read (I was a compulsive reader in my youth). So when I heard that Emma was being remade as Aisha in apna Bollywood, I was stoked. I loved the Hollywood adaptations with Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma and Alicia Silverstone in Clueless so obviously I had high expectations of the Bollywood adaptation as well... but alas. That was not to be... but we jump ahead of ourselves.

Aisha stars Sonam Kapoor in the title role and Abhay Deol as Mr. Knightley or in our version he's Arjun, Aisha's family friend for many years and now Aisha's sister's brother-in-law as Aisha's older sister is married to his older brother. Aisha and Arjun are more like buddies and have fun hanging out and teasing each other. Aisha is a self-confessed matchmaker and believes that she is a great success at it... Aisha's friends' circle includes her BFF Pinky (played by Ira Dubey, Lillette Dubey's daughter) and Randhir (played by Cyrus Sahukar) and newly inducted Shefali (Amrita Puri). Shefali is Aisha's new project in her matchmaking scheme and she tries to push Randhir and Shefali together but it backfires badly. She then tries to push her towards Dhruv (her maasi's stepson) and that too fails. Arjun is the voice of reason and constantly tells Aisha to stop interfering in people's lives and do something worthwhile with her own. Does Aisha succeed in finding romance for Shefali? Does she find her own happy ending? This, in essence, forms the basis of the movie.

I thought the cast of the movie was pretty good overall with the exception of the lead. I did not like Sonam as Aisha which is probably why I was disappointed because Aisha is the basis of the movie!! She does not have the combination of the well-meaning charm and innocence of Alicia Silverstone in Clueless and she is sorely lacking in acting abilities in this movie... and I do think Sonam can act but for whatever reason she plays Aisha in a one-dimensional way - the same tone of voice for all dialogue delivery. The redeeming factor was that she and Abhay Deol share pretty good chemistry. Abhay Deol was awesome - he plays his role effortlessly and is a complete charmer (love those dimples!!). The surprise package of the film though for me was Amrtia Puri as Shefali - the pretty actress completely pulled off her role as behenji trying to become modern and keep up with the pace of big city life. I hope she gets good roles after this and makes it in the big bad world of Bollywood. Ira Dubey was also decent.

Loved the soundtrack - especially Suno Aisha and Gal mitthi mitthi bol. The style quotient of the movie rocked... everyone looked suitably attired and glamorous especially the girls. It's a decent movie for a one-time watch especially on DVD. It could have been way shorter and crisper but we can't get everything right all the time!!

Eclipse

Eclipse is my second favourite book after Twilight in the Twilight series. I finally watched the movie this afternoon (to avoid the long lines that inevitably accompany a Twilight movie during its first week) with the hubby in tow - he now claims that I owe him big time after he sat through the film. In reality, the third installment was actually better than the first 2 - Summit finally appears to be increasing the budget for these films after experiencing the huge returns. However, the third installment is also the one that deviates the most from the book.

In this movie Bella (Kristen Stewart) faces up to the fact that while she belongs with Edward (Robert Pattinson), she definitely has feelings for Jacob (Taylor Lautner) as well. Victoria (the mate of the vampire that the Cullens killed in the first movie/book) wants revenge and decides to go about building an army of newborn vampires to fight the Cullens and achieve her goal of killing Bella. In the meantime Jacob decides to reveal to Bella just exactly how he feels about her - while Bella is deciding between Edward and Jacob, the army of vampires advances to Forks to kill her. Is Bella safe? Does she finally make a choice? That forms the rest of the movie.

The chemistry between Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart appeared to be much better than that between Robert Pattinson and Kristen (however I wonder if there is any truth to the observation made by Joey to Chandler in Friends... if someone is a couple in real life, the chemistry on screen or on stage is not as great) - don't get me wrong, I am completely on Team Edward but I felt Bella and Jacob were more believable. I want Edward and Bella to be more passionate and I don't think the lead couple did that - I feel their performances were too restrained. Edward does look very handsome in this movie. In other Twilight news, they have broken the next movie into 2 parts - that is the best decision because the book is almost 800 pages long and has a lot of material to cover which would be next to impossible in 1 2-hour movie.

So the verdict: you will enjoy this movie if you are a Twilight fan. If you are not acquainted with this series, I would suggest reading all 4 books by Stephenie Meyer and watching the first 2 movies before sitting down to watch this one. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!

Blast from the Past

This afternoon, I was deciding between a nap and watching a movie and of course movie won. I decided to watch one of the oldies and decided on the amazing casting coup that was Silsila. Silsila is the only movie where reel life sort of imitates real life what with the Jaya-Amit-Rekha triangle being played out on the big screen. But more on that gossip later.

The movie starts out as a story about 2 brothers Shekhar and Amit (played by the handsome Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan) who are very close in age and more friends than brothers. Shekhar is an airforce pilot and is in love with Shobha (Jaya Bhaduri) while Amit is in love with Chandni (a very beautiful Rekha). Shekhar is killed in a plane crash leaving behind a pregnant Shobha... out of a sense of moral duty, Amit gets married to Shobha (these were times when being an unwed mother was the worst taboo ever - it is probably still the case in most of India except for the big cities). This news devastates Chandni who goes on to marry a doctor played by Sanjeev Kumar. Shobha loses the baby - Amit and Shobha who got married for the child now have no reason to really be together - at some level Amit also resents the fact that he had to forget his dreams to be with Shobha. Amit and Chandni then cross paths and despite being married, start having a secret affair. What follows makes up the crux of the movie - will Amit stay with his wife or will he leave her and be reunited with Chandni.

The movie has beautiful songs - some of my faves are the title song "Dekha ek khwab" and "Ye kahan aa gaye hum" and of course the famous "Rang Barse". The movie had me in splits at some scenes where Rekha is jogging looking absolutely glamorous with a scarf to boot and her long hair flowing loose, there was another shot with Amitabh and Rekha jogging together and Amitabh wearing this really tight black pair of shorts - but all in all it was a pleasure to watch the sizzling chemistry between Rekha and Amitabh. We all know that in real life Amitabh stayed with his wife and has never spoken publicly about his rumoured affair with Rekha where as she has been more forthcoming in many interviews and has spoken about her respect for Amitji (she always refers to him as "Him") and the reason I know this is because I was an avid reader of Stardust (India's premier gossip mag in those days) in my teen years. The movie surprisingly flopped at the time of its release - I don't think many people could understand the ending and why the main protagonists did what they did. Yash Chopra achieved a brilliant casting coup with this movie. This was also the last movie that Amitabh and Rekha did together thus ending the iconic reel-life pairing.

Rajneeti

My brother told me that Rajneeti was a mix of the Mahabharata and The Godfather - I decided to see the movie for myself to see how good or bad of a job they had done - and the verdict - not too bad at all. It was a tad too long but kept me engrossed for the most part except that I still cannot quite believe that politics in India is such a dirty business... that may be my naive side talking. I mean I have no illusions that politics is this super clean world but in this movie they take it to the next level - people killing people in cold blood with no remorse at all, barter of personal relationships in the name of politics... basically anything goes - the end justifies the means.

The plot definitely borrows heavily from the Mahabharata with the daughter of a major political figure getting pregnant through a brief affair. In efforts to cover up the scandal, her brother takes the baby and abandons him - the baby grows to be Ajay Devgan whose foster father coincidentally works for his biological mother's family as a driver (Kunti and Karna anyone?) Arjun Rampal and Ranbir play brothers - half brothers of Ajay Devgan (whose character is named Suraj) in the movie who ends up on the opposite side of the political play with their cousin played by Manoj Bajpai. It borrows from The Godfather with the younger son (Ranbir's Samar) who initially is far removed from the family's world of politics and ends up slowly becoming the main player and the brains behind the party despite his older brother being the face of the party. Katrina plays a family friend's daughter Indu, madly in love with Samar. However Samar has a girlfriend in the US and only agrees to marry her to have her father finance their party - her father however wants her to marry the older son because he will be CM. For whatever reason she agrees to the match and marries the older son. It is soon revealed to the family that Samar has a girlfriend and she comes to live with him in India.

As Samar is drawn deeper into the world of lies, cover-ups and deceit that is politics Sarah insists on leaving because she cannot bear to raise her as-yet unborn baby in that environment. Samar decides to leave with her but a bomb sets off (ostensibly set by Suraj and their cousin) and she and the older brother end up dead. Samar is once again required to step up to the task of running the party and the family ends up anointing Indu as the candidate for CM. A lot of blood and gore later, the movie ends with Indu becoming Chief Minister and Samar deciding to go back to the US leaving behind the murky world of politics.

On the whole, the movie was pretty decent but I found it a tad too long and all this without the usual unnecessary songs that usually make up a typical Hindi movie. Some of the scenes in the movie were unintentionally hilarious - there is a scene in the hospital where Samar's uncle ends up having a heart attack and they are trying to use the defibrillator and it is just hilarious - I have watched enough ER and Grey's Anatomy to know at least how the process should look and this movie did it no justice at all. The nurse just barely touched the paddles to him. An added bonus was that I watched the movie with the sub-titles on and the translation was atrocious. I honestly believe that reading the sub-titles is more entertaining than the movie these days.

All the characters do a decent job overall - I liked Katrina Kaif better in this movie than all her movies with Akshay Kumar. Ranbir Kapoor did a good job as usual. It's now expected of him. Arjun Rampal is getting much better as an actor... he is finally leaving behind his modeling days and his non-actor label :) Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgan were good too. There was nobody in the main cast that let their characters down.

I would say this is a DVD watch because you can forward through a few scenes rather than sitting through the whole thing. Some scenes are very violent but what is a hindi movie without some masala...

American Idol - the end of an era

Blogging after a long long time. All in honor of Simon Cowell and as Ryan Seacrest put it, "The End of an Era" on American Idol. Today saw Lee Dewayze crowned as the American Idol over the judge fave Crystal Bowersox. More importantly, today marked the last time Simon Cowell sits on the judging panel of American Idol.

Kris Allen opened the show - am sad to say I still don't know why he won over Adam Lambert - he was good but I must admit that I fast forwarded through most of it. That performance was followed by all the judges poking fun at Mr. Cowell - they brought Paula back for a bit - it was fun to see her again. Siobhan and Aaron sang "How deep is your love" and were joined by the 2 remaining Bee Gees - it was awesome to see the 4 share the stage - I loved the performance for the most part (except for where all 4 them sang the line how deep is your love - there was something wrong in the way they sounded - like someone was off-key). But I loved seeing the Bee Gees singing again. Big Mike took the stage once more singing with Michael McDonald - over the season I must say that I have taken a strong dislike to Big Mike - not sure whether it was one of my colleagues who absolutely hated him or if I developed it on my own but I just cannot stand him all smug on the stage. Dane Cook followed that up with all the insults Simon has delivered over the years... as a nice touch they brought some of the AI rejects back on stage - things got a bit crazy there as people fought for the mike and I can almost imagine the producers' panic as they went to commercial break.

The top 6 girls performed "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera... they were joined by the lady herself for the second song "Stronger" - she also sang a number from her new album. She was good - there were no gimmicks - it was just her and the mike - and boy did she sing her heart out!! I don't always like Christina's songs but there's no denying her talent - there will never be any lip-syncing here. Ricky Gervais dropped in via satellite - he was funny as expected. The top 6 guys then took the stage - am not sure what song they sang... it was a treat to see Casey on stage again singing "she's a maneater" - the boy is cute :) They were joined by Daryl Hall and John Oats (I admit I had to look up their names on the Internet). They brought a dash of the 80s with them. It's awesome to see the newbies sharing the stage with veteran artists. Crystal sang one of my favourite songs Ironic and was joined by the original songstress Alanis Morisette - it was fun to watch them together on stage - you could tell that they were having a blast. Don't see Alanis enough!! Carrie Underwood performed next - am not sure I liked it very much - it was just okay for me (maybe I'm channeling Simon :))Ford gave the 2 finalists their own Ford Fiestas. Casey shared the stage with Brett Michaels next - they looked like they had fun jamming with their guitars. At this point my DVR has caught up with the live telecast - bummer - have to watch all the ads now...

Lee performed a medley with the band Chicago... Lee looked like he belonged. I think he has a long career ahead of him. From selling paints to sharing the stage with Chicago - he has come a long way. Pants on the ground was back... right after a funny Simon snippet. I know what I am going to be humming all day tomorrow - Pants on the ground... he was joined by - surprise surprise - William Hung (yes of "She bangs" fame). Paula reminisced about Simon and their friendship on video. Then she was on stage looking more coherent that she ever has before. It was great to see Kelly Clarkson on stage with Reuben, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks (remember him?), Kris Allen (no David Cook surprisingly) and a number of other Idol contestants. Janet Jackson joined this season's Idol contestants after Simon's speech. Her soft crooning initially reminded me of Michael Jackson... she looked fabulous - I don't think this woman ages. She got a standing ovation from the audience when she was done.

Lee and Crystal shared the stage one final time singing "with a little help from my friends" - I have always loved this song - never knew who the original singer was and today he shared the stage with Crystal and Lee - Joe Cocker - they were awesome. Then there was nothing left to do but crown the new reigning Idol - in another American Idol upset, Lee won over Crystal. This season was by far the worst in Idol history. And now Simon is gone too. I'm not sure I am going to be tuning in next season but all said and done I absolutely loved this finale tonight. I did however lose my office pool :(

That was one long post - phew!!!!!!! Good night!!

Parenthood - the new kid on the block

And I just love it - NBC's new drama Parenthood airs on Tuesday nights at 10/9 C. The show tracks the life of The Braverman family and is set in the Bay area. The show follows the trials and tribulations of the 4 Braverman siblings - Sarah (Lauren Graham), Adam (played by the delectable Peter Krause), Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Julia (Erika Christensen).

Sarah is a single mother of 2 who has moved back with her parents bringing her 2 children (Mae Whitman plays the daughter - I remember her from One Fine Day) in tow. She basically has to restart her life and build a stable home for her teens who are dealing with a lot themselves. What I love about her character is that she is not afraid to fight for her kids - she goes head to head with her brother when he fails to be there for her son. It's a little hard to see her as anything other than Lorelai Gilmore but I am glad to see her on the small screen again.

Adam and his wife (played by Monica Potter) have 2 kids - one of whom has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. As they slowly get over the shock of Max's diagnosis and learn to deal with his needs, their 15-year old daughter Haddie is discovering first love and all the tumultuous feelings that go with it much to the horror of her father. Peter Krause is as handsome as ever - I really really like him :) (no offense hubby). The casting director did a good job casting this family - for example the daughter Haddie actually does look like a mix of Peter Krause and Monica Potter.

Crosby, the happy go lucky sibling, has to grow up quickly when he discovers his long lost 5 year old son Jabar. As Crosby gets over his initial misgivings related to his son, it's fun to see him embrace fatherhood with somewhat comical (at times heartwarming) results.

Julia (probably my least fave of the cast) is the complete opposite of Sarah - there is some sisterly rivalry there. Her husband is a stay at home dad to their daughter - the main thorn in Julia's life is another stay at home mom who she suspects is interested in more than just friendship with her husband - this would not normally be a big problem except for the fact that their daughters are best friends and constantly thrown together.

The Braverman grandparents (played by Craig T Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia) provide loving support to their family while at the same time dealing with their marital troubles...

What I love about this show, aside from the fabulous cast, is the warmth and strong family ties this series portrays. The family is there for each other come what may - they are the best of friends but at the same time sibling rivalry exists in the relationships especially between the 2 sisters. There's something about large close-knit families that is universally appealing (especially perhaps because I am so far away from my immediate family) and I love being an onlooker as the Braverman family ploughs through challenges and enjoys good times together. So if you find yourself with an opening for a TV show on Tuesday nights this is it. Set your DVR or watch it live and enjoy!! It's only a few episodes old, so if you want to catch up you can watch full episodes at www.nbc.com

American Idol is back!! Yay!!!!!!

Tonight, after a long long time, I felt that it was really a competition and that people were making an effort to stand out... which of course was the case for most because only the top 10 Idol contestants get to go on tour and it would completely suck to be the 11th man (or woman). Tonight's theme was the Billboard's No: 1 hits through the years.

Lee Dewayze was good but not great when he opened the night with The Letter. It was then followed by Paige singing Against all odds (a bit ho-hum unfortunately - I felt a little bad for her as she stood there being completely battered by the judges). This was followed by Tim Urban singing Crazy Little Thing called Love - he will stay I think because he has his finger (firmly I might add) on the teen vote unless his teen audience also could not stand that performance. I personally thought Paige was a bit worse than Tim was. Then the competition really began with Aaron Kelly belting out Aerosmith's Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - he did a decent job despite his tonsillitis and laryngitis. Aaron is never ever pitchy or out of tune but tonight he was in a couple of places and I hope his fans vote for him to stay because he is one of the best vocally. Crystal Bowersox wowed the judges again with Janis Joplin's Bobby McGee. I thought she was good but not great... I think it's also some of the "halo effect" taking place - where someone does a couple great things and then everything that follows is just great whether or not it really is - again I am not saying she was bad by any means but just that I wasn't as euphoric as the judges were.

Andrew Garcia was completely thrashed by the judges for his performance a Marvin Gaye song. He may also be in danger of going home tomorrow - he was fabulous when he sang Straight Up during his audition but for some reason has been unable to recapture that star moment. Katie Stevens sang Big Girls Don't Cry - she began very strong but I didn't much like it as the song continued - she probably sings most out of tune of all the contestants... The judges were surprisingly happy with her but I am still not a fan. Oh and I forgot to mention Big Mike singing When a Man Loves a woman and he did a fine job but didn't get much love from the judges because he didn't take any risks. Casey (the boy is cute and can sing - I'm becoming a fan) sang The Power of Love. I liked him - he is one of the few that is consistently good. Simon was mean to him but methinks he was completely wrong!! Didi is another gal I really like - I was considering her in my top 3 for the office pool at one point but she sang You're No Good tonight and didn't earn any fans among the judges. I actually liked it - she reminds me of Brooke from last season. My favourite this season, Siobhan Magnus was GOOD. She sang Superstition and was really good... but again failed to win Simon's heart... but what I like about her is that she reminds me of Adam Lambert in that she is not afraid of taking risks... at the same time, I would like to see her not rely on the high note and sing a mellow song for a change.

Miley Cyrus was surprisingly good as a mentor on the show... initially I was a bit skeptical that Hannah Montana was giving the singers tips but she was actually good and spot on with her comments about a few of the contestants like Lee and Crystal. And I just have to say - what is with Kara - for the last 2 episodes, she is practically sitting in Simon's lap and simpering and purring like a kitten... even Ellen said something to the effect that Kara is married and Simon is engaged so she didn't know what was going on... watch out Kara's husband!!

Shutter Island - Leo's best?

My brother, who was visiting, and I went to watch Shutter Island. I love suspenseful movies, thrillers, mysteries - bring it on. The hubby on the other hand hates this genre of film which is why I was glad to have some company to watch it with.

Shutter Island is not a horror movie as the trailers will have you believe. It's more a psychological thriller. I will try to review this movie without giving the ending away. It starts with 2 Marshals played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, who arrive by sea, to Shutter Island. Shutter Island is a mental institution for the criminally insane - a heavily guarded place, surrounded by rocks and gun-toting guards - virtually impossible to escape. However the Marshalls Ted Daniels (Leo) and Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are at the island to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a patient called Rachel, who we are told, drowned and killed her 3 children. Due to a sudden storm, the 2 marshals are forced to stay overnight at the facility run by Dr. Cawley played by Ben Kingsley. In the interest of retaining the suspense factor of the movie, I will not write more but suffice it to say that things start getting a bit crazy (pun unintended) - will the 2 marshals find Rachel and get out of Shutter Island despite all odds? Where is Rachel and how did she get out of a locked room? To get the answers to these questions, you have to watch the movie!

This is quite possibly the best acting by Leonardo DiCaprio I have ever seen - even in his Titanic days I couldn't see the appeal so suffice it to say that I was not too big a fan of his. However this movie convinced me of his acting chops! He was fabulous. Mark Ruffalo - he's another actor who has never got his due. He is the most understated actor I have seen (something about him reminds me of Abhay Deol... not sure why... maybe it's his mouth - but I digress). He does a great job supporting Leo. Ben Kingsley is not required to display his superior acting skills in this movie. Martin Scorsese does a wonderful job holding up the suspense throughout the movie although I must admit that I found the movie a tad too long (now was it really too long or was it my growling stomach, I don't know). My brother and I also kind of guessed the ending around three quarters into the film. That said, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and it has filled my "suspense movie craving" for now (I needed it more than ever after watching Paranormal Activity which was not scary in the least bit - I'm not sure why people were so impressed with it but that is another review).

I recommend watching it if you have the opportunity.

Karthik Calling Karthik... oops wrong number!!

Just got back from Karthik Calling Karthik - a prime example of a concept that is kinda unique but suffers due to poor execution. The film was also a tad too long - the second half dragged - they could have wrapped up the movie in 1.5 hours.

The movie is about an average guy, Karthik (played quite well by Farhan Akhtar) who takes a lot of shit from his boss, his co-workers, his landlord and basically everyone in his life and is invisible to the lady he adores from afar Shonali Mukherjee (played by Deepika Padukone). He is almost on the verge of committing suicide one day, when a phone call from himself, changes his life. Karthik starts calling Karthik regularly and changes his life for the better. He commands respect at his workplace, manages to successfully woo his lady love and stands up for himself. Life progresses very smoothly until he lets Shonali in on his secret about getting calls from himself. She persuades him to see a psychiatrist (played by Shefali Shah who has now changed the spelling of her name to Shiffali or something) but the calls start getting nasty as Karthik did not want Karthik to tell anyone about these phone calls. He now wants to wreak havoc in Karthik's life. What happens when things start getting ugly? Will Karthik ever get a break in this lifetime?

The premise of the movie is really unique and could have been really well done if the story moved a bit faster and if the direction was a bit more taut. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is immensely enjoyable (am still humming "Uff teri adaa, I like the way you move" in my head). For once, I liked Ms. Padukone in a movie - she acted and showed a hint of an actress emerging from behind the pretty face (in all her other movies, I never fully believed that she was the character - a bit like Hema Malini - in every movie save a couple, she was Hema Malini). Farhan Akhtar was good - seems like he is fortifying his acting career with yet another solid performance after Rock On and Luck By Chance. However good the lead pair are, they still cannot save the movie from the weak second half and uninspired direction.

All in all, my recommendation is to wait for the DVD and save your movie money for something else.

2 nights of dismal performances

American Idol sucks this year - so far we have had performances from the top 12 ladies last night and the top 12 guys tonight, and almost everyone sucked big time. There is no one here that blew me away. The girls show a lot more potential than the guys. If things don't improve SOON we are going to have the worst season of Idol ever.

That said, on the plus side, Ellen is not bad on the show. She is doing better than I thought she would. Kara seems less verbose this season - I liked her but thought she talked too much. Randy is completely redundant as ever. And Simon - we're so going to miss him. He calls a spade a spade - he was completely irritated with the performances tonight as he should be. They better start looking for a good replacement for him - it's not going to be easy.

On a positive note, there were some performances that sucked less than the others (okay - I am being a bit too harsh - there were a few that were good). Among the girls, I like Crystal Bowersox, Didi Benami, Janell Wheeler (though I do admit that she was bad - I think she can do better), Katie Stevens & Katelyn Epperly (I think she will go far if she chooses her songs well - has a good voice). I also liked Siobhan Magnus. Among the guys, I liked Casey James - he actually was good. I think Joe Munoz and Lee Dewyze have potential and Aaron Kelly could be the next Archuleta - David Archuleta has the far better voice but I mean that Aaron could be the one to tap into the teens/tweens fan base - he has one of the better voices this season but needs to believe in himself.

Here's hoping that the next few weeks are much much better. On a side note, Thursday's American Idol will feature performances from Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta from last season.

Lift Kara De

When I came across this new chat show called Lift Kara De hosted by Karan Johar, I must admit that the first thought that crossed my mind was Wow - yet another talk show. I finally found some time to watch a few episodes today and am utterly moved by each and every episode I've watched courtesy youtube.com.

A celebrity is invited to the show to meet his/her biggest fan (believe me - the fans they show are completely loco and will stop at NOTHING to meet their favourite star) and do a good deed in the process. Auditions are held in different parts of the country to narrow down the thousands of fans to 3. The top 3 fans of the celebrity then compete in a contest and whoever wins gets to come and meet their idol. There is a twist however, the amount of money generated by the winning fan is then multiplied by a certain number and the star donates that money to a deserving individual and changes his/her life.

Each episode I have watched this far has me dissolving in a puddle of tears and completely thankful to God for everything I have been blessed with in my life. I watched the shows with Kajol (she gave Rs. 800000 to a strawberry picker from Panchgani who made Rs. 30 a day to support her family and needed medical treatment but couldn't afford it) and John Abraham (who donated Rs. 1000000 to a family from Kerala that lost their house to the tsunami and were completely debt-ridden) this far. The people whose lives are to be changed forever do not have a clue as to why they are brought on the show - they are told that they are to appear in a documentary - and when they do find out what they are getting, their joy and surprise and complete gratitude is palpable.

It's a good watch to help put our lives and "problems" into perspective. So watch it if you have the time - but make sure there's a box of tissues handy because you're going to need it.

Valentine's Day - a fun watch

The hubby, my brother who is visiting (aka as the third wheel) and I went to watch Valentine's day on Valentine's Day. The boys were a bit hesitant (and I do not blame them for the movie had the worst critic reviews ever - one critic gave the movie 0 stars) but I insisted so we went anyway. I wanted to watch the movie because it basically reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood with Kathy Bates, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, the man of the hour Bradley Cooper, the two Taylors (Swift and Lautner), Jessica Alba, the immensely talented Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Emma Roberts, Jamie Fox and Gary Marshall staple Hector Elizondo.

The movie is an ensemble romantic comedy with snippets from the lives of various Los Angelinos and what happens to them on that particular Valentine's Day. Without giving too much away, of the various storylines, I enjoyed the ones with Anne Hathaway & Topher Grace, Julia Roberts, and Emma Roberts. Absolutely did not like the 2 Taylors and their plot-line - but oh well, they cannot all be winners. All in all I had a decent experience. The movie kind of reminded me of Love Actually but the stories in Love Actually were a bit more detailed with the characters more fully etched out because they did have the luxury of time. While there is not that much detail paid to the fleshing out of some of the characters, Gary Marshall did a good job. Of all his movies, Pretty Woman still remains my personal favourite but this is not bad by any means. It's a tad too long but with this cast of characters I guess everyone needed some screen time.

Anne Hathaway is coming into her own as an actress. Every time I watch a movie of hers, I am more enthralled with her acting skills (I wasn't always a fan but I loved her in The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married and Passengers). Jessica Alba is quite the opposite - every time I watch her in a movie, I am left completely unimpressed (the male of our species will violently disagree as has been my experience whenever we have discussed JA). I liked the twist Bradley Cooper's story had. Ashton Kutcher did a decent job, as did Jennifer Garner and Emma Roberts. Julia Roberts did not have much to do. Everyone else in the movie did a pretty good job.

So my recommendation is to watch the movie if you want a light breezy uncomplicated movie (it's by no means a theater must watch - you can wait for the DVD too).

The Hurt Locker - A Must watch

I first heard about this tiny movie called The Hurt Locker at the Golden Globes when James Cameron, while picking up his award for best director, doffed his cap at Kathryn Bigelow indicating that he thought she would win the coveted award (for those interested in trivia, Kathryn Bigelow was once briefly married to James Cameron in the late 80s - early 90s). Met up with a friend for lunch the following week and he raved about The Hurt Locker and lent us the DVD. I didn't know what to expect because I am not a huge fan of war movies and wasn't quite sure if I would like it that much. But boy was I surprised.

For the majority of us who've never had to fight in wars and stare death in the face, this movie is a hard-hitting look into the life of soldiers in Iraq. Amidst the chaos of war, how do these guys continue to function without snapping? How does a soldier retain his grip on sanity and switch back into normalcy as a husband and father when he goes home? The cast led by Jeremy Renner (SFC William James), does a phenomenal job of portraying the hardships of being out at war - it's a hard thing to do without going overboard. If this were a Bollywood movie, I can only cringe when I imagine how over the top it would have been. But luckily for us, it isn't. Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty portray Sgt. Sanborn and soldier Owen Eldridge remarkably well - the movie opens with the loss of their Sgt when he tries to diffuse a bomb. This leads to the addition of William James to their team. It turns out that he is a bit of a loose cannon prone to doing things his way. How do they tackle the enemy on enemy lands - how do they get up and go out there without knowing if they will come back at the end of the day - that forms the gist of the movie.

This movie made my heart go out to these anonymous soldiers who fight a war - many of them barely old enough to drink and yet old enough to go to battle. For those of you looking for a glossy feel-good movie, this is definitely not it but I highly recommend it, if nothing else, then just to empathize with the thousands of soldiers who have given up their lives and for the soldiers who are still out there fighting everyday. Another thing that struck me about the movie was the desolate look of Iraq - civilians who die in accidental or malicious cross-fire - when will they limp back to normalcy?

Golden (Globes) Night in Hollywood - Part Two

I am glad that they are airing the show live for us Californians finally! I never figured out why they would start the show at 8 pm for us and make us stay up late - so NBC, thank you for this one.

Some of the highlights of the show:

Ricky Gervais's funny monologue - taking potshots at his good friend Steve Carell, at Hollywood (looking at all the great work done by... plastic surgeons), NBC (let's get on with it before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno), Angelina Jolie etc. He did a decent job in all his bits through the presentation.

Nicole Kidman presented the first award for Best Supporting Actress that went to Monique from Precious (am yet to watch the flick but I heard it's amazing yet depressing). While on the subject, am not sure why Nicole Kidman chose not to wear a bra/pasties or something - wearing that gorgeous outfit, one would imagine that there would be attention to detail on the stylist's part at least. Toni Collette looking gorgeous in a shimmering outfit accepted Best Actress in TV Comedy. John Lithgow accepted an award too. Do not like Felicity Huffman's outfit. Jane Krakowski 9looking fabulous) and Neil Patrick Harris presented the Best Actor in Drama award to Michael C Hall who recently revealed that he is battling cancer. Best Actress in TV Drama went to my favourite Julianna Margulies for one of my favourite new shows The Good Wife. Loved her outfit too - the asymmetric neckline rocked.

Cher and Christina Aguilera looking suitably funky presented the award for best song which went to the song from Crazy Heart - I was bummed that I See You from Avatar did not win - Leona Lewis did a good job and I just loved the song itself. Best Original Score went to Up. They keep showing Kate Winslet in the audience and she looks very pretty. Amy Adams looked charming, and with Josh Brolin, presented the award to Grey Gardens for Best Mini-Series or TV Movie. Drew Barrymore was there with Justin Long so it looks like their on-off relationship is on again. Colin Farrell presented the Best Actress Comedy award to Meryl Streep and Sam Worthington, looking dapper as usual, along with Zoe Saldana, presented awards to Drew Barrymore, Kevin Bacon. Jennifer Aniston was a presenter and looked fab. She was more confident this time around as a presenter, as compared to the last time she did that - methinks it's because a certain Mr. and Mrs. Smith were not present at the awards show. Alec Baldwin won in his category (again) but he always does a fabulous job no matter what his role.

Sofia Loren got a standing ovation from everyone and her royal fabulousness presented the award for best Foreign Language film to White Ribbon. Zachary Levi (who I saw in this movie called All about Ray and loved by the way; I also like him in Chuck) and Amy Poehler (love love love Parks & Recreation) presented the Best Dramatic Series to Mad Men. Taylor Lautner (ever poised and confident) introduced 500 Days of Summer (another movie on my To Watch list). Choloe Sevigny (did not understand her dress choice by the way - it made her look like a frilly pillow case or something) nabbed Best Supporting Actress in a TV series, Halle Berry looking super fit and fab presented the Best Actor in a Supporting role in movie award. It was good to see Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio reminisce as they honoured Martin Scorsese (as I was looking him up I discovered that he shares my birthday - fancy that!!). He got a standing ovation, deservedly so. He graciously shared his award with all his collaborators on all his movies.

I was very happy to see James Cameron win Best Director Motion Picture for Avatar - he completely deserved it. He acknowledged the director of The Hurt Locker (this movie is slowly gaining ground - another one on my To Watch in the near future list). Glee took home honours for Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical. It was a treat to see the cast of Hangover present their movie and it also won top honours for Best Motion Picture - Comedy. If you haven't watched it already, please please watch it - it's FUN. The Governator introduced Avatar - pronounced Aavadaar - he also took potshots at NBC. Sandra Bullock won for The Blind Side. Robert Downey won for Sherlock Holmes - his acceptance speech proved that he's as crazy as ever :). Avatar won Best Picture. And that's how the first awards of the year concluded.

Golden (Globes) Night in Hollywood - Part One

Sunday evening 4 pm:
Grocery shopping for the week - check
Spot of cooking for the week - check
Golden Globes Red Carpet - here I come. I am writing this blog as I watch the red carpet and the show. This first post is dedicated to the red carpet. Part Deux will be more about the show itself - Ricky Gervais as the host - am certain it will be fun. Enjoy!

E Channel had Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest working the red carpet and interviewing celebrities as they came in. They are veterans now at chatting up the stars and did a good job as expected. Billy Bush on the other hand was blundering his way through the red carpet on NBC - I swear that the guy sometimes does not know what to say. Natalie Morales did a decent job and tried to hold fort.

Some of the standouts on the red carpet for me: the lovely Emily Blunt looking like a vision in pink, Courtney Cox for once looking good - she usually takes risks on the red carpet and has never managed to pull it off except for tonight in my opinion, Kate Hudson and Kristen Bell looking pretty in white, Lisa Edelstein from House was gorgeous in silver. Sandra Bullock was in a fetching colour. The cast of Glee looked very well put together - I hope they do well. Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson took potshots at NBC regarding the late night fiasco going on currently. Jennifer Garner looked pretty but alarmingly thin to me. Regarding the guys I really have nothing to say unless someone comes in wearing a garbage bag - the guys do well if they have a suit or a tux on.

Now for the "What were they thinking" - Tina Fey - love the gal but hated her outfit. She needs to sit down the stylist for a serious chat. Mariah Carey - never know what he is thinking but she had her globes out for the night (could not let that opportunity to take a shot pass). I think she would have looked better if she covered them up. I was not a fan of Sofia Vergara's outfit - I think the bow thing was not working for me. Heather Graham's outfit would have looked better if she had gone with an outfit with a symmetrical length but that girl will look good in anything. Absolutely did NOT like Patrcia Arquette's outfit but luckily the gal had a smashing accessory in the form of her handsome husband, Thomas Jane, on her arm. I had no idea what Quentin Tarantino had on.

So those were some of my likes and dislikes - let me know what you thought. Click here to check out some of the red carpet arrivals.

Some pics for you:

Beautiful People

For the longest period, at least since I can remember, Indian television did not have too many chat shows - and by chat shows I mean, a one-on-one with a celebrity where everything is unscripted and "real". I remember we had Phool Khile hain Gulshan Gulshan with Tabassum as the hostess and I was maybe 10-12 years old then but I was a fan of the show. In more recent times, we had Simi Garewal's Rendezvous which was another big hit and for a while the only show out there. Of late however, we have been subjected to chat shows on every channel and it suddenly seems like everyone is a chat show host. Of the myriad shows out there, I particularly loved watching Vir Sanghvi's Star Talk and Karan Johar's Koffee with Karan (2 hosts with completely different styles by the way, but both completely entertaining). It's been a while since I saw a chat show of similar calibre - I did enjoy Sajid Khan's Sajid Superstars and Farah Khan's Tere Mere Beech mein and continue to watch On the Couch with Koel when time permits but I recently discovered CNBC's Beautiful People with Anuradha Sengupta and it has fulfilled the need for my weekly dose of celebrity pop culture- at least for the present.

Anuradha Sengupta does a great job as the host and interviewer. This far, I have watched the episodes (links added for your convenience) where she interviewed Rajkumar Hirani, Shobhaa De, Amitabh and Kareena Kapoor and I must say that I like her style (and her subjects too - it was an absolute delight to see Sanjana Kapoor on tv after a long long time). She does not mince words - be it in relation to addressing the interviewee's latest controversy as she did with Raju Hirani or in confronting them with their propensity to only go after "soft" targets as she did with Shobhaa De (on a side note, Shobhaa De by the way looks completely weird - I have a feeling she got herself one Botox injection too many and her forehead appears to be rendered immobile - for her sake I hope she does not go the Dolly Parton/Priscilla Presley way), Anuradha Sengupta does her job thoroughly. She asks the questions most viewers would want to ask, she does not shy away from pushing her subjects to reveal more than they would originally want to reveal and does a good job with her research. I for one, am excited to have discovered this show and will continue to explore and watch all the episodes out there.

For the folks out there who are like me and enjoy a good tete-a-tete with interesting conversation, this will be a fun watch. Watch it on CNBC in India or online at www.youtube.com.

Avatar - A Review

On a blustery cold evening, the hubby and I decided to watch Avatar with my cousin and her fiance in Rhode Island. I was not very enthused about the idea because I had heard mixed reviews though some aspects of the movie were really hyped up and it has generally been my experience that the more the hype the more the disappointment plus the weather was such that you would want to sit indoors - so I just went along with the plan because the others were keen on it. Boy was I happy I did! Move over Robert Pattinson, hello Sam Worthington.

But first, the plot of the movie - simple story with some romance and action blended in. The flick is set in the planet Pandora, inhabited by the Na'vi. They have this rare mineral/metal aptly called 'Unobtanium'. A big Corporation run by humans is after this Unobtanium and will stop at nothing to get it. As a ploy to infiltrate the Na'vi, they have designed these 9-feet tall beings with human DNA blended in to look and act like the Na'vi. These beings called Avatars are controlled by the human mind and take on the 'driver's' personality. The movie starts with Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine who is offered his dead twin brother's spot to go to the planet Pandora and operate one of the Avatar's that can only be driven by him since he shares his twin brother's DNA. Thus begins the adventure. Jake Sully finds himself on the planet and befriends Neytiri, the daughter of the tribal chief after she saves his life in the forest. The Na'vi decide to teach Jake their way of life. As he is educated in the Na'vi way of life, he begins to start to empathize and identify with them rather than with the humans that want to destroy and take over the planet.

The story is simple and uncomplicated - the special effects out of this world (pun unintended) and mind-blowing. I would highly recommend that this movie be watched in 3D - if its an IMAX 3D combination, even better. Pandora has been painstakingly designed and developed by James Cameron and crew with great attention to detail - what with the plantation, the animals, the Na'vi characteristics (apparently they even developed a language for this movie), the mountains etc. James Cameron has revolutionized film-making for the ages and I read that he literally had to build tools and equipment to enable him to shoot this movie to match his vision. Here is a link to a youtube video that talks a bit more about the making of Avatar.

Regarding the cast and crew, the casting is spot on. Every one of the actors has been cast perfectly in their role. Sigourney Weaver does an able job as Dr. Augustine, the Research head of the project. She initially clashes with Jake but eventually becomes his biggest supporter. Zoe Saldana is an actress to watch out for. I have liked her since her Center Stage days. She does a great job as Neytiri. The chemistry she and Sam Worthington share is palpable. Again, initially she is not a fan of Jake Sully but eventually she falls in love with him. She has portrayed her character's disbelief at the betrayal when she finds out that Jake Sully is actually an infiltrator, with sensitivity and emotion. Now to comment on Sam Worthington - he is an actor who has been pulled from relative obscurity (he starred in a few Australian movies) and catapulted to world fame. He has the right attitude and defiance needed to pull off Jake Sully. You can feel his confusion as he starts to identify more with the Na'vi way of life and comes to stand as one with them. I loved the movie and the inherent message to stop the plunder of Mother Nature. The effects as I mentioned before are quite awesome. They have captured the mannerisms of the actors into the Avatar bodies to the T. All in all, my recommendation is 2 thumbs up - but watch in 3D.

All Izz Well

Yes - I watched 3 idiots this weekend but before I begin, a very very happy new year to you all. My wish for all of us for 2010 is optimism and joy for the new decade that is upon us.

Now onto the movie - 3 idiots is a Hindi movie that used to come about very rarely but I am happy to say that it is not as unusual an occurrence any more. The movie is based loosely on the book 5 point Someone by Chetan Bhagat (I've added it to my request list at the library - am waiting eagerly to read the book).

The movie starts with 2 friends looking for their third pal, with whom they have lost touch since their graduation from Engineering college. Via flashbacks, the story of their friendship and days in Engineering College ICE (supposedly modeled after IIT) is told. Their long-lost friend Ranchordas Shyamaldas Chanchad (played remarkably by Aamir Khan) has an alag point of view which is evident from the moment he walks into the hostel and befriends his 2 roommates. He is not afraid to take on the system and question age-old teaching traditions which earns him the ire of their principal played by Boman Irani. The movie moves forward effortlessly with their comic capers and antics of their fellow students (especially Chatur played by Omi Vaidya - the darling of their principal affectionately dubbed Virus). After their journey to reach Rancho, they are shocked to find out that Rancho is not who he said he was. They then decide to continue their journey to discover the truth about their friend. Along the way they manage to stop Rancho's girlfriend Priya's (played by Kareena Kapoor) wedding in the nick of time. She also joins the quest for Rancho. Will they find Rancho? Will Priya and Rancho have their happy ending? To find out, you will have to watch 3 Idiots.

The movie kept my engaged throughout and the pace did not slack anywhere. However, I take issue with the whole storyline related to Priya's sister delivering her baby with the aid of Rancho and his friends. That to me was a little far-fetched. Our movies have a problem with staying away from melodrama. That said however, the movie is thoroughly enjoyable - I loved the ending. Everyone has done full justice to their roles. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi who play the 2 buddies have done a good job. Boman Irani is really good playing a caricature of a college principal, staying completely true to his atrocious character. Kareena Kapoor does a good job in her brief role as Priya. Her song and dance routine with Aamir Khan is an enjoyable throwback to Hindi cinema of the 60s and 70s. Aamir Khan is simply awesome. Other than some of his earlier movies where he was a newcomer trying to establish a foothold, he is yet to make a wrong choice in recent times. He is fabulous from start to finish. As a director Rajkumar Hirani has done an excellent job. He is another director who is yet to fumble - his track record as director so far has been unblemished what with this movie following the Munnabhai movies. Vidhu Vinod Chopra must be laughing his way to the bank.

A must watch for Bollywood enthusiasts.