Random!!!

Here's a lowdown on the week that went by in my life!

ಪಂಚರಂಗಿ (5 Colours) (2010):

My eyes are burning!!

Finally, after 3-4 months, I saw a Kannada movie! Directed by Yograj Bhat, this movie had huge expectations. His last 3 movies; Mungaru Male, Gaalipata & Manasare were all huge hits. Bhat's name has become synonymous with bittersweet love tales, & its for this reason he has become my only favourite director in Kannada! He doesn't give you eye-catching, titillating dance numbers or violent fights. He presents a simple, yet complicated story, with beautiful dialogues, soothing music and mesmerizing scenic locations. The only thorn was that in the theatre, a huge man was sitting in front of me & I had to sway from side to side to watch the movie. I felt like punching the fellow for being so huge & ruining my experience!

Diganth & Nidhi

Two families meet to see if their older siblings are meant for each other. While everything seems to be going just fine on the surface, there is nothing going alright. The younger sibling, Ambika (Nidhi Subbaiah) falls in love with the lazy Bharath Kumar (Diganth) who is also a younger sibling and seems to have an uncanny, if slightly exasperating, hold on the kannada language and treats everything around him (even people) like non-living things. He doesn't reciprocate and advises her to search for someone who is worthy of her and not a good for nothing guy like him. 

So cute

Loads of witty sequences, catchy dialogues which are sure to be a hit among the college going youth, highly interesting characterizations, background commentary, perfect cinematography along the beach ensure that there is enough to keep one's attention on the screen all the time. Diganth, still the chocolate boy, sports a rugged look and his acting has leaped in quantum amounts compared to previous attempts. Nidhi is gorgeous and sexy as the modern village belle (well, she is actually a city college girl who has gone home for the holidays), her acting also matches up with elan. The rest of the cast delivers up to expectations. There's a hilarious spoof on Nithyananda and other quack swamis. Watch this film with friends and family, you'll have enough material to keep yourself entertained for days! 

A small dialogue or whatever; me & my friends created it:

ಅರ್ಥ ಆಗದ ಪಾಠಗಳು,

ಉಸೆಲೆಸ್ಸ್ ಸಬ್ಜೆಕ್ಟ್ ಗಳು,

ಸಿಗ್ನಲ್ ಸಿಗದ networkಗಳು,

Heartbreak ಮಾಡೋ loversಗಳು,

ಬರಿ ಗೋಳು ಹೊಡಿಸ್ಕೊಂಡು ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಮಾಡೋ ನಾವುಗಳು ನೀವುಗಳು... 

ಲೈಫ್ ಇಷ್ಟೇನೆ!!!

[Lessons cannot be understood,

Subjects are useless,

Worthless signal in all the networks,

Heart broken by our lovers, 

Listening to boring stuff, completing engineering, myself & yourself,

That's all there is to life!!]

Umm, yeah, much more cooler & humorous in my language!!
By adding 'galu', it is like treating everything like an inanimate object.

In College:
 
I found out there is a humbling and embarrassing feeling you get when you find out that the thing you were good at some time ago, you are not so good at it now. I had a passion for Table Tennis & I used to play for my school TT team and that was 6 years ago! After that I got immersed in other activities & TT lost out. Due to the excess of free time in college nowadays, I decided to hold the racket again to see how I fared, whether my skills had stood the test of time. The first day I played like a complete novice. My partner, the racket, betrayed me and I was spilling the ball all over the place. I got segregated in the beginner's court (there is no apparent divide between the players, but you get pushed to the side when you don't play well!) I played against a girl & some guys who couldn't even do a proper serve. But thanks to them, I found some kind of footing and within a week I have become an average player, don't have the same kind of reflexes like before in my glory days, but I now know that I can compete without fumbling around like a fool like that sad first day.

Korean movies:

Yippee, watched two Korean movies after a long time and loved both of them!

Windstruck (2004):

When police officer Kyungjin met with Myungwoo accidentally in a crime scene, she found that this responsible teacher who acted like a conniving thief was a really nice guy. One night, Kyungjin got into trouble & found herself in the middle of a gun fight between rival drug dealers. Myungwoo tried to help her & then something happened that forced them to stay together all day long. They got closer to each other and Myungwoo was not able to repulse the strange but pure natural attraction towards her. One day, when Kyungjin was chasing a notorious criminal, Myungwoo helped her again, however, not knowing that was the last day for him on Earth!

This has a tongue-in-cheek atmosphere for the most part and its a real fun movie. The emotional scenes seem too forced and tries hard to tug at our heartstrings. The sudden jumps from emotional scene to a funny scene is quite distracting. Still, it worked on some level. Oh yeah, the guy looks quite average and cannot act properly. But the girl is beautiful and acts wonderfully. Told from the girl's point of view, this movie will appeal to girls who like sad romantic stories.

A Moment to Remember (2004):

A heart broken girl probably would like to get the bitter past erased, but what if it happened to a 27 year old woman. In A Moment to Remember, the young couple Sui Jin and Cheol-soo struggle with the fatal Alzheimer which ruins their marriage step by step. Cheol-soo could save Sin Jin from a bitter past, but how can he deal with his wife who is losing her memories of love and life? 

Being a guy who loves romantic movies, I cried for the entire second half of the movie! I felt transported back to my teen years when I saw 'A Walk To Remember' for the first time. The physical loss of a loved one seems much more kinder when you see this movie. I totally connected with Cheol-soo, in his love for his wife and getting his heart ripped apart when his own love didn't recognize him. Many cute aww moments. Major recommendation to any Korean & romantic movie fan. Be sure to keep lots of hankies in hand! You'll need it!

Troy: Immortality Awaits - In This World Or The Next!

Title: Troy (R)

Year: 2004

"If they ever tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise & fall like the winter weeds, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, taming the forces. Let them say - I Lived, In The Time Of Achilles"
 - Achilles

King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) of Mycenae wants to rule over the world. He has already conquered most of Greece, forming them into a fragile alliance and the only kingdom powerful enough to rival the Greek nation is the kingdom of Troy, with whom they have made a peace pact. Achilles (Brad Pitt), considered the greatest warrior ever born on the face of the planet fights for the Greek army. But his disdain for Agamemnon's rule threatens to break apart the fragile alliance. In Thessaly, Greece, Agememnon challenges the King of the land to fight the war in the old fashioned way, the best fighter of each side fighting one another and deciding the result. Of course, Agamemnon calls forth Achilles, whom he hates from the bottom of his heart. Achilles finishes the fight in one move and both the armies are confounded by his superior battle skills. He has many myths surrounding him; his mother being an eternal Goddess, his immortality even in the toughest and fiercest of battles, to name a few. His only aim in life is to immortalize and etch his name into the minds of men and history books for ages to come. When his bones will be dust , he wants to be remembered as being the greatest warrior in the the time of Achilles. Paris (Orlando Bloom) is smitten by Helen (Diane Kruger) who happens to be Agamemnon's brother's young wife. They both run away from Sparta along with his brother, Hector (Eric Bana), the Prince of Troy. Having got his reason for a war with Troy, Agamemnon gets his troops and marches his massive fleet across the great seas in hopes of bringing down Troy's unbreachable walls and defeating Troy to become the greatest Emperor.

The greatest of fights are always fought because of a woman, look at Mahabharatha and Ramayana from our Indian myths (cannot say its completely a myth, proof is being uncovered that it all happened). Brad Pitt has probably immortalized Achilles much more than the real Achilles had ever anticipated or hoped for. Brad Pitt is like an incarnate of Achilles' ferocity, love, beauty, strength, agility, prowess, his defiance, his supreme confidence. I was left in awe of this man's performance, he is such a good actor. And everybody in the film complement him with some wonderful, fine method performances. Achilles gives a short speech when approaching the beach of Troy, saying immortality awaits beyond the horizon. He takes the beach of Troy with only 50 men, defying Agamemnon's orders! I had read the story of Troy and knew how it ended, most would also guess given the ending involves a certain 'Trojan Horse'. Well, here is how the name 'trojan' stuck to a virus. Agamemnon is really a back-stabbing, lying, cheating bastard whom I hated from the bottom of my heart. In that respect, Brian Cox was awesome as Agamemnon.

Wolfgang Peterson has brought the story of Troy to life in this superb movie. Everything about this movie screams of a tale of epic proportions; love, betrayal, valour, justice, evil; and the movie is filled with testosterone filled six pack hunks to satisfy the viewer. Orlando Bloom plays the role of the scared younger brother of the heroic Hector to perfection. Other than Achilles, I loved Hector. He is like a Trojan (A man of Troy) version of our own Yudhishtira, the brave, kind and righteous king. I loved Bana's performance, I was hoping against hope he would win his fight against Achilles. The women in the movie, though having very less screen time, give amazing performances. The fight scenes are amazing even with the cgi effects, which you will rarely notice. The story is pretty authentic and the director has made a good effort to stay true to the story and make it entertaining. Give this movie a try if you haven't seen it yet and I promise you, you will be glad you saw it.

My rating: ****1/2 out of *****

The Box: Thinking Outside The Box!

Title: The Box (PG-13)

Year: 2009

One thing nobody can say about this movie is it is unoriginal. The story is very interesting, confusing and could well become an inspiration for other films. Nobody had ever thought about combining NSA, NASA and supernatural stuff like Richard Kelly does here. Of course if you know who Richard is, you wouldn't be surprised as he is the director of the amazing cult-classic 'Donnie Darko'. Like that movie, this is also a type of movie which you will either really like or hate. This is a slow movie which reveals itself in layers and you have to be patient and forgiving enough to enjoy it. Cameron Diaz seems to be making a conscious effort to do movies which give her enough chance to show her acting skills. After all those films which required nothing more than her charm and smile, she has done two good dramas; My Sister's Keeper and The Box. Those who like movies which take their sweet time to come around to the point will like this movie.

In the year 1976 in Virginia, a doorbell rings in the early morning when the Lewis' are asleep. By the time Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) gets up to meet the visitor, there is nobody except a package left on the front porch. Norma is a high school teacher, Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) is an optical specialist at NASA's Langley Research Center and they have one child, Walter (Sam Oz Stone). The family gather around the package during breakfast and open it. It contains a weird box with a red button, and to open the box they need a key. There is an accompanying letter saying that a certain 'Mr. Steward' (Frank Langella) will meet them that evening at 5:00 PM in their home to explain about the package. Dressed in an elegant suit and sounding like a perfect gentleman, the mysterious Arlington Steward arrives at the designated time. Of course the problem is he looks like a cousin to Harvey Dent (Two Face in 'The Dark Knight' whose one side of the face is completely burned away) and there are a few butterflies in the stomach by just seeing him. Steward hands over the key to the box and gives a bizarre explanation telling Norma that he will give them $1 million in cash if she or her husband push the button by 5:00 PM the next day.

Arlington Steward: Maybe Two Face's Cousin!

The weird thing is he tells her that a person who their family doesn't know will die if they push the button, and warns them against telling about this to anybody. He also gives a gift of $100 whether they push the button or not, as a show of good faith. Norma and Arthur are skeptical, believing the whole thing is a scam and after a few moments of moral dilemma Norma pushes the button. The next evening Steward delivers them a $1 million in cash, as promised. Now, they are afraid and try to give him the money back, but he assures them the deed is already done and he won't accept it back. Then there are people following Arthur and Norma's every move, these people have nosebleeds and do weird things. What exactly is going on and will the consequences be too high to pay for the Lewis'?

The setting of the movie is well done and authentic and the acting is good; Frank Langella (nominated for Oscar in 'Frost/Nixon') and Cameron Diaz, especially give good performances. Frank Langella is like the good devil; he gives you choices, hard choices among which you will have to choose and whatever you choose, you will bear a huge burden. Cameron Diaz doesn't smile much as her character needs to be afraid and emotional. James Marsden has a come a long way from his 27 Dresses, Enchanted and X-Men days, he is also pretty believable in his role. The eventual explanation of the nosebleeds and Steward's history and connection with the supernatural is excellent. There is no apparent weak link, except for the very weird special effects. Try 'The Box', you may like it.

My Rating: ***1/2 out of *****

Knight & Day: "I shot the pilot, who accidentally shot the second pilot! Its just one of those things!"

Knight And Day

Title: Knight And Day (PG-13)

Year: 2010

You cannot go into this type of movie without suspending your logic and belief about gravity and many other improbable things. But you know what? Cameron Diaz has one of the best grins and Tom Cruise is still a hunk and a charmer, they make us enjoy the movie, with all its stupid contrived plots and overwhelming action sequences. Me and my friends all loved the movie. I didn't know its genre and hadn't seen the trailers for the movie, but went to see it as I am a fan of both Cruise and Diaz. After the dramatic Valkyrie (which was in 2008, took a full 2 years for Tom to make another movie!), it was good to see Tom back in a mindless action movie. Diaz and Tom team up again after a long time. In 'Vanilla Sky' they didn't have enough screen time together. Director James Mangold knows that this isn't a movie which has to be taken seriously and has made the actors have fun with it. The cgi effects are quite well done (obviously) and the cinematography is excellent. Most of the locations are just so grand and beautiful. Not to forget, the excellent bull chase sequence in Spain which was awesome.

Carrying a bagful of metal junk to repair her father's old car, June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is on her way to her sister's wedding when she accidentally bumps into Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), a charming and handsome man. After repeatedly bumping into each other at the airport and finally finding out that they are on the same flight, they just flirt with each other. She finds out during the course of a rather entertaining flight that Roy is a rogue FBI agent, whose intentions is not exactly clear in the beginning. She is smack in the middle of all the chaos just because she happens to be a witness to something called the Zephyr, a perpetual energy source. June has to figure out who she can trust in this crazy situation; the FBI or Roy? During the course of the story, June and Roy travel all over the globe (Massachusetts, California, Austria, Jamaican Islands, Illinois, Spain among others) to keep the Zephyr away from the bad guys. The FBI and many others are after Roy and the Zephyr, but it turns out that Roy is being framed by his former partner who wants to sell the Zephyr to terrorists. Will June and Roy make it out of this mess in one piece?

There is also a sub-plot involving Roy Miller's parents. They think that their son is dead, but they don't know that Roy is keeping an eye on his parents for their safety. That was done just to give a background story on Roy's character. There are a couple of scenes which were definitely more suited for some other genre; Roy disappears from a room when the SWAT team is coming from all the exits of the room and a moment later we are shown him running across the roof top of the opposite building at full speed. That was a scene more suited for the supernatural genre. Well, he is more like Superman than an ordinary person here anyway, so I can forgive that.

Tom Cruise is definitely ageing gracefully; he has lost some of his famous boyish looks, but his acting still packs a punch. Cameron Diaz looks gorgeous and still has her comedic timing intact. There are a few scenes where she looks old and haggard at times, but it is understandable as she isn't exactly the new kid on the block. The movie has equal amounts of non-stop banter between Miller and June, romantic tension and an overdose of extremely well choreographed action sequences. Plot wise, Knight & Day doesn't offer anything new, nor do we expect it to be anything new. It is a tried and tested plot of an agent out to protect something, and in this case the thing happens to be a source of infinite energy which could solve the energy crisis around the world. Do we really care about this Zephyr? Not a chance, because it could have been anything and still we wouldn't care about it in the least bit. All we want to see is Tom and Diaz create their magic on screen. One scene I really loved is when there is a chase scene and Roy jumps off from a motorbike and lands on the FBI car and tells calmly to June that her dress is beautiful, while killing off all the agents! The ex-boyfriend scenes were also very funny. Tom Cruise still creates the magic and you have to watch this if you are a hardcore Cruise fan, the comedy and action provides wholesome entertainment.

My Rating: ***1/2 out of *****

Inception: Is The Dream The Reality or Is The Reality A Dream?!!

Tile: Inception (PG-13)

Year: 2010

"Dreams feel real while we are in them. Its only when we wake up that we realize something was strange..."

I think I am in love with this movie. This is a very captivating movie which is slickly edited and directed. I don't want to hype this movie too much, but this movie is truly the best film in this year by far, and one of the best of this decade. Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and Leonardo Di Caprio is also one of my favourite actors. I cannot believe that this incredible actor gets snubbed at the Oscars year after year even after doing so many amazing movies. Anyway, the idea for the creation of this movie is not exactly new. I have seen some movies which take place inside the subconscious mind, but Inception pushes the boundary to a whole new level. There are three levels; a dream, within a dream, within a dream which is a whole new concept and it was exciting. For every 5 minutes in the real world, it is an hour in the first level dream state, a week in the second level and some decades in the third level. The film scores some brownie points for the concept itself. My friends and me were captivated by the world of dreams. The great background score along with the taut screenplay was spectacular.

Cobb (Leonardo Di Caprio) is the best at what he does and the US government is wary of his skills for which it has made him an international fugitive. Cobb isn't your normal skilled thief, he is the best in the dangerous art of extraction, that is he delves deep into your subconscious mind while you are asleep and steals valuable secrets. This rare superior ability of Cobb has made him a coveted player in the immoral world of corporate espionage. During one of his normal extraction jobs, he cannot uncover the secret that a corporate leader, Saito (Ken Watanabe) is hiding. Saito offers him his life back in USA with his children if he does one last job for him; Inception. Planting an idea in the human mind is a far more dangerous job than extraction, but Cobb accepts and assembles a group of talented players to pull off this mission. Ariadne (Ellen Page) is the new comer and her job is to design the world in the dream, as the previous guy isn't exactly available and Cobb himself has took himself out from designing. Mal Cobb (Marion Cotillard) keeps ruining Cobb's perfect dream plans and there seems to be a dark secret which nobody know. Cobb could potentially destroy their lives if he cannot control his memories and dreams.

When Christoher Nolan announced that he would put Batman on the back burner and make this movie with Di Caprio, I was really disappointed because although I am a fan of Di Caprio, I loved the new Batman franchise under the direction of Nolan. It was darker, more intense and definitely more exciting, and I wanted the third part to be made soon. If you have seen the trailers for Inception, you know that it doesn't explain much about the plot. But it looked stunning and I went along for Nolan's ride, being a willing participant. I was blown away and most of you will be too if you would be willing to accept the plot. To write a dream is difficult in this era when most of the stories out there are just rehashed versions of the same story. Somebody should try to follow in Nolan's great footsteps, because we need more filmmakers like him who aren't afraid to blast away the boundaries and create their own benchmark. This movie will be remembered and hailed for generations to come.

Some movies make you think deeper even after you finish watching it and this is definitely one of them. Tom keeps on dreaming that one day he will be able to return to his home and live with his children in reality. But the boundary between dream and reality is blurring. Marion Cotillard's scenes were gripping and my heartbeat was racing when she was on the window sill. The English guy gave the light hearted moments in the movie which I liked. The movie takes us through a roller coaster ride, oscillating between dream and reality and sometimes I was left wondering whether the events were taking place in someone's dream or in reality. Christopher Nolan has displayed some excellent film-making techniques and come up with a story that is intelligent as well as exciting. The performances are great across the board and I am truly hoping that Leo Di Caprio gets an Oscar nod this time around (Two back to back amazing movies from him - Shutter Island and Inception, Oscar is way overdue for him). The supporting cast of Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Dileep Rao, Michael Caine were great. Di Caprio headed the group on his able shoulders and doesn't disappoint. Three cheers to the master director, Christopher Nolan.

My rating: *****/*****