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.

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:

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.

2009 - the year that was.

My last post for 2009 because tonight the hubby and I get on a plane and head to the other coast to meet up with family for the holidays... Before that, here are some of the highlights (and some low-lights) of 2009 (boy was it tough to pick just a few moments from the myriad of events making up 2009).

In no particular order:
1. Susan Boyle - Without a doubt, she was the biggest surprise of 2009 - the skepticism of the audience and judges on Britain's got Talent, before she opened her mouth to sing, was very palpable as was the shock and awe once she started singing. Here is a link to her video if you want to revisit that first performance.

2. Slumdog Millionaire's million dollar run at the 2009 Oscar's - this little movie that could, came out of nowhere in 2008 and bagged a total of 8 Oscars out of 10 nominations in March 2009. For me, I was just happy that the movie introduced the genius that is AR Rehman to the world.

3. It was a sad year too for the world saw the demise of Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, Brittany Murphy, David Carradine, and many others. But the show must go on.

4. I bet Kanye West completely regrets that cringe-worthy moment at the 2009 VMAs when he ran on stage, completely out of control, and grabbed the mike from teen Taylor Swift to add his 2 cents about Beyonce. This move caused many seasoned stars to show their support to Taylor Swift via their blogs and Twitter. This incident almost helped catapult Taylor Swift to stardom (she was already on her way there - this incident gave her a major push so in some twisted way she has Kanye West to thank).

5. And no 2009 list will be complete without the mention of Octomom and the debacle that is Jon and Kate plus 8 - first, let's start with Octomom. This woman is truly insane. And the sad part is that she is responsible for the welfare of 14 innocent kids. Here are some snippets of her interview on NBC. All I can say at this point is God help those kids. Now on to Jon and Kate - I actually was a fan of this show before all the craziness began. I thought Kate was a bit high-handed but on the other hand she was responsible for 8 kids and her household. I get stressed when I invite a few folks over for dinner so can just imagine the effort to have dinner on the table everyday for 10 people. That said though, the couple did not handle the divorce gracefully. Both of them came off as complete idiots who are after fame and money. I just hope the 8 kids get through all this public scrutiny okay.

So that folks was my highlights list for 2009. Leave me a comment and let me know if you had any other noteworthy moments to list.

Happy Holidays and wish you a lovely and wonderful 2010.

Forget Paris

My third attempt to watch this little gem of a movie - for some reason, although I have always wanted to, I never did get the opportunity to watch this movie - until last night. By some stroke of luck, this movie was playing on HBO and I seized my chance and recorded it (did I mention how much I cherish my DVR?).

The movie stars Billy Crystal as the hotshot basketball referee Micky Gordon and the awesomely talented Debra Winger as Ellen Andrews, an airline employee working in Paris - they meet in Paris where he is trying to inter his dead father and the airline loses the body. Paris works its magic and they fall in love. Their love story is narrated by one of their friends to his fiancee in a restaurant as they are waiting for the rest of the friends to join them (does this sound familiar? If yes, it's because in recent times Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na copied this aspect of the story - exchanging the restaurant for the airport). It's not all smooth sailing because it turns out that Ellen is married (but separated and confused) - once they get over that hurdle and she quits her job and moves back to the US to be with Mickey, she ends up resenting him for his job which entails a lot of traveling and so on. In short, it is a story of a marriage told in flashbacks - a marriage where two people love each other a lot but also struggle to hold on to their own individual identities, sometimes at the cost of their mutual happiness. Do they end up together or do the realities of life drive them apart?

Some of my favourite lines/moments from this movie are:

Andy: Marriages don't work when one partner is happy and the other is miserable. Marriage is about both people being equally miserable.

Mickey: You just had one of those 'I glued a bird to my head' days.

Mickey: [Mickey on finding out that Ellen is married] You don't do this to a person, you know? You don't walk around being fabulous when you know you're not available.

Mickey: [after finding out about Ellen's husband, still in shock] Is he French?
Ellen: Yes.
Mickey: Is he handsome?
Ellen: Yes.
Mickey: Is he rich?
Ellen: Yes.
Mickey: Does he have a sister?

Lucy: See they had a fundamental problem with their marriage - one is a man and the other a woman.

On his way to the IVF clinic, Micky hits a spot of traffic and gets ready for a bit of daring driving: Strapping the passenger-side seatbelt around the bag with his *stuff* in it screaming Hang On Boys was a laugh-worthy moment.

I liked this movie a lot - at the beginning, it is peppered with witty one-liners and good humour and the second half, while a bit serious, is still realistic with simply wonderful acting (which is at the same time suitably subtle and understated). You root for this couple to succeed because you can't help but identify with them - with their love for each other, their quarrels, their frustrations with themselves and each other. It's a great watch for the married folks for sure but it's also a fun watch for the single ones. Watch the movie for the screenplay and the acting and I am certain you will like it.

All time faves

I recently met a couple of friends who were out of the movie loop and were wondering if I had any recommendations as far as movies go - as I was listing some recent movies they could watch, I decided to come up with a top 10 movie list.

My Top 10 Hollywood movies in no particular order:
1. Speed (1 not the sequel) - don't ask me why - I watched this flick 10 times - loved the chemistry between Keanu and Sandra Bullock
2. Say Anything - A very precocious movie about opposites attracting
3. When Harry met Sally - love the idea of destiny bringing you to the same person again and again.
4. Terms of Endearment - keep those tissues handy - you will need them.
5. Steel Magnolias - see note about tissues above.
6. Crash - what a unique concept - loved this movie.
7. The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz
8. Diary of a mad black woman/Why did I get married - both movies by Tyler Perry - I liked the quirkiness of both movies.
9. Top Gun - fell in love with Tom Cruise - of course this was much much much before the couch jumping antics.
10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Part I - I watched it on the recommendation of a very good pal/relative and I loved it.

Now that my top 10 Hollywood list is done, I suddenly remember a ton of movies that could have made the list but since I had to limit it to 10 (and I know I cheated by adding 11) I have to at least give these an honorable mention - The Magnificent 7, While you were Sleeping, Juno, The Family Stone, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (for its sass), He's Just not that into you, Pretty Woman, 3 Fugitives (haven't watched this in a long time but I remember it being a very funny flick), Ghost, The Bourne series, Sleepless in Seattle, The Hangover, this tiny movie called Slumdog Millionaire, The Sound of Music (one of the earliest movies I remember watching - this was probably what started my love affair with movies) and the list goes on and on and on.

So if you read this post, leave me some of your favorite all-time flicks!