Pictured Moving

How does one get through an entire role without changing expressions? Ask Sweeney Toad..err Todd. Johnny Depp has made it an art form to get through a role without changing expressions. Even a toad has more expressions than that. He did that in Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But this is not about Johnny Depp, this about the a successful musical not being let to just be, but going ahead and celluloiding it.

Why on earth would anyone keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Nothing really to say about this, thankfully my flight ticket paid for this movie. Also helped me catch up on my much needed sleep.

Sorry JD, hopefully you will do better in Shantaram.

My Take: Eeeks! ■■■■■

I watched this movie pretty much at my better half’s insistence. I was expecting a mush romance which it eventually also turned out to be. But this one is a fairy tale set in modern day New York. Nothing expectionally great about this movie except that the good ole musical seems to be back. Storyline is standard mish mash of a fairy tale and a standard hollywood romance so nothing is out of the ordinary. If you have to watch this get your hands on a rental DVD. The musical extravaganza in the songs is a treat to watch.

My Take: Hmmm! ■■■■■

If you want to see an editing masterpiece this is one of them. The true display of non linear narration is in movies like these. Amores Perros or Love’s a Bitch is a Spanish flick with English subtitles. Directed by the acclaimed Alejandro González Iñárritu of Babel fame this movie keeps you to your seat till the end. Excellent performances from the entire cast. A must watch and if you are a movie connosiuer you should have this in your DVD collection.

My Take - Wow! ■■■■■

Let me first admit that I’m not a fan of fiction or fantasy books, especially the latter and I always feel that tto he Harry Potter series is a media beast that is thrust on is. It is like if I have not read or seen Harry Potter then I’m this ‘atheist’ of this world. So I succumb to this and end up to watch ‘The Order of the Phoenix’.

I ate popcorn, snoozed a little, saw a little, was bored a lot and walked out of the theatre feeling what on earth do these Potter fans see in this movie or book (I can’t comment on the book as you know why by now). Maybe I’ll watch the next one in Hindi, probably then I’ll enjoy the movie.

Less said the better - I’m just waiting for some doofus to tell me whether Harry Potter will live or die in part 7 and rest in peace.

My Take: Huh! ■■■■■

I finally did catch up on Capote and the resuly was amazing. Based on a true life incident of American non fiction author Truman Capote in the run up to his book In Cold Blood, this is truly fascinating. With Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his Oscar winning role, he has been able to catch and execute the emotion of an author caught between his human side and his professional side, besides all the mannerisms of the real Truman Capote. For serious movie fans this is a must watch.

My Take: Yeah! ■■■■■

I watched Akeelah and the Bee yesterday on DVD. I was avoiding it for a long time at my DVD Rental store, but yesterday it somehow landed for my viewing. A moving about the hugely popular and intensive middle school spelling contest called Scripps National Spelling Bee in the US; it shows the journey of a talented black kid all the way to the nationals.

The performances by Keke Palmer (Akeelah) and Laurence Fishburne (Dr. Larabee) are phenomenal. The best part of the movie is a quote that Dr. Larabee asks Akeelah to read - “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” Truly profound! This is a must watch for people wanting to succeed.

My Take: Yeah! ■■■■■

Raising Cain is another of Brian De Palma masterfully crafted suspense thrillers dealing with multiple personality disorders. It has John Lithgow who plays the character with the multiple personality disorder. Well directed and well performed by the entire crew. Take time off to watch this interesting psychological thriller.
 

My Take: Hmmm! ■■■■■

A man in his car hits a dead man at 11:14 in the night that falls from a flyover above, he tries running away from the cops - lands up at a family whose girl has gone missing. Girl’s boyfriend is trying to get money for her abortion, robs the store he works in. Girl’s dad finds girl’s ex boyfriend dead in the graveyard and decides to fix the crime scene…..girl dies in car crash….it so happens that girl is connected to nearly everyone in the movie. Confused! Even I was when I saw the movie on DVD. Forced connectivity to create a suspense thriller all comes to naught. Watch this at your own risk.

My Take: Huh! ■■■■■

This Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy Wedding Crashers is about two guys who have a fetish for crashing in weddings. The goal however is to bed single women at weddings. They have their set of rules that they work on. However it leaves a lot to be desired, and does not deserve the hype that it generated. Watch it at your own risk.

My Take: Huh! ■■■■■

This Jim Carey starrer A Series of Unfortunate Events is part of the series of unfortunate Carey gags that by now have become predictable, staid, ridiculous, and hamming at its best. Please! Please! I beg you run away from this movie even if someone gives you a million dollars. Alright for that kinda money watch it with you eyes open fantasizing about something else and set the DVD on a dubbed version you don’t understand.

What on earth were powerhouse talents like Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman doing in this production; ‘Is money everything in this world?’; Come on guys have some self respect and give some importance to the reputation you have before signing on the dotted line. It is an interesting plot and all that, but…it leaves a lot to be desired. Watch at your own risk.

My Take - Huh! ■■■■■