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?