Serendipity

Like me, you too might find the first few minutes of the movie a bit .... well ... stupid... :-)

But love often makes one do pretty weird things (right guys?!) And Jonathan Trager (John Cussack) and Sara Thomas ( the beautiful Kate Beckinsale of Underworld fame) in this movie are no different! :-)

You may meet your future soul mate anywhere - in a shopping
mall as well as in  the labour room of a hospital! ;-)

You might have experienced that when you meet some girls/boys you just feel so awkward and are desperately groping in the dark, trying to to think hard, what next to say to her!! But then you meet someone ... someone with whom you just click from the first hi you say to each other... while talking with that special girl/boy, hours seem like minutes, minutes like seconds.... Well it was like that for Johnny and Sara when they come across each other in a mall.

But then they go on to do something quite stupid (one may feel like telling them - "grow up!" or "STUPID!")

But as i said love makes one do stupid things!

So, bear with their seemingly stupid decision to not to give their contact number to each other and rather leave it to fate for them to meet again. If you manage to get past this point, i promise the rest of the movie will manage to wow you! :-)

They get on with their life... meet someone else and are about to get married to completely different ppl- the other kinda guys'girls, with whom they don't click, they have a lot of awkward movements.... and suddenly they miss their ultra brief encounter many years back...

And from this point they set themselves on a desperate attempt which was pretty much like finding a needle in the hay!... :-)

One dialogue that particularly struck me (and probably explains the foolishness in the movie..) was Jonathan's conversation with his best buddy while trying to search Sara... His buddy tells him that he was having problems with his wife and they were getting separated exactly because their relationship lacked the foolishness that Jonathan and Sara were unwittingly doing... He then goes on to quote a wonderful line by an ancient philospoher named Picatus,

The philosopher Picatus said,"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."

If you are someone who believe in the often illogical, and even trying, but in the end, handsomely rewarding love and in soul mates..then, this is definitely made for you! :-)

300 - Rise of An Empire

If you wondered how these guys would manage to make a movie as good as the first one without Gerard Butler, rest assured they have made it even better... with the help of most unsuspected character - Eva Green!! After playing a damsel in distress in Casino Royale, her role as a Greek/Persian villain in this movie was a big surprise - and a hugely pleasant one!! If the first one was a success due to Butler, it won't be wrong to say that his persona is matched by Eva Green in part two... (Finding it hard to believe? Watch it to believe it!) :-)

Sullivan Stapleton (though a relatively unknown star) too plays a very convincing role as the Greek hero Themistocles...

However while it's first part got 7.8 rating on IMDB, this one has just managed 7 rating. But to all those who have yet to see the movie let me assure you that it is largely because people are missing Gerard Butler, and no way due to any lack in the movie itself.

The sequel has an equally gripping story, same way of cinematography, double the gore and action and great acting by the two protagonists.

So do keep aside your misgivings and watch it! you shall not be disappointed! ::-)

P.S. - If violence and blood is not what you like, it is best avoided... :-)

Law abiding Citizen

That Gerard Butler is a brilliant actor needs no second opinion. His role of a Spartan king in 300 only brings pure thrill and an adrenaline rush in us! Ahoooo!!

Rest assured this movie also doesn't disappoint at all! :)

Quite deliberately this movie starts on a jarring and sad note with Gerard  Butler shown as a helpless father and a husband who sees his young daughter and wife being mercilessly abused and killed by a dirty psychopath... Jamie Foxx is an ambitious public prosecutor who is more concerned about his conviction rate and carrier rather than getting justice for Butler....

However don't be lulled by the slow start because a brilliant, roller coster of suspense, thrill and drama is about to begin!!!

However don't be lulled by the slow start because a brilliant, roller coster of suspense, thrill and drama is about to begin!!!

Gerard Butler's carefully planned revenge and open rebellion of the indifferent justice system reminds us of the strength he is able to bring to any character !

His rich baritone voice and dialogue delivery (remember 300?! :0 ) also multiplies the adrenaline rush from this brilliant thriller!

His earnest though violent attempt to change the system reminds us of the Indian Justice system where crores of cases are pending in xourt, getting justice is such a long and expensive business that people try to avoid taking matters to court!! where a simple case can stretch to as long as 10-20 years, losing all significance and bringing prolonged mental agony to those concerned.

Queen

Bollywood has indeed come of age!

Or at least part of it has...

Movies like Jolly LLB, Hasee to Phasee, Barfi and now Queen are at par with their Hollywood counterparts in content, story, originality, cinematography - in short everything!

These have an original story and not something which has been blindly translated from some Hollywood movie.... like Dhoom 3 from 'The Prestige' and 'Now You See Me', Challo Delhi from 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'.

Queen, is a brilliant story of a girl (Kangana Ranawat) who grows up and becomes more mature after her lover dumps her just a day before the wedding.... She has brilliantly portrayed the character of an immature Indian girl (1000s of Indian youth can identify with her blessed naivety and innocence) who is rudely shaken out of her dreams and placed in the centre of the crude world of disappointment when her boy friend breaks their engagement because he now finds her too dull in contrast to the girls in UK...

She decides to go ahead with her life long dream to visit Paris in order to overcome the rude shock, and in the process encounters a whole new world  in Paris.

Kangana who is still too sad on arrival to Paris gradually, out of helplessness more than desire, befriends a local girl

and then a Russian, Italian, Japanese and a Negro!!

She unwittingly befriends a Russian, a Japanese and an Italian Negro and her outlook and attitude towards life changes so dramatically for the better that it is inspiring!

And we need to see to believe how her nature, attitude and outlook towards life changes dramatically through her interactions with them!!

Through her many of us Indians can become aware of the fact that here is a whole new world out there beyond the narrow confines of one's mind and one's narrow-minded society!!

Through her journey and self-realisation, we too come to realise that there is so much positivity and beauty and good people in this world that we are simply unaware of... and how interacting with them and exploring new places can help us broaden our attitudes and outlook!!! It also tries to tell us that wasting our mind in negative and narrow minded attitudes and beliefs only brings misery with it...

The writer tries through this brilliant story, tries earnestly to inspire us Indians to have a broader and more fun attitude towards life and people around us... and indeed it is a requirement in today's india where still riots break out on a regular basis bwn different communities on petty issues, where still black skin is considered an inferior human, where there are so many unwanted social and cultural restrictions which bring nothing more than misery, sadness and bitterness to one and all. ....

However, unfortunately too few shall take home this message or even realize that this is what the movie is trying to convey! Thanks to a pathetic education of mugging up questions and short notes, our mind has lost most of its creativeness and the eye for beautiful and meaningful things around us.....

Charlie St. Cloud

Despite its okayish rating on imdb, i went ahead and saw the movie one night... More owing to lack of any other better alternative than anything else. :) The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Ben Sherwood.
And boy i was hooked to it straightaway... Right from the first scene showing the happy life of Charlie St Cloud (Zack Efron) in the adorable sea facing town in British Columbia, Canada.  the elegant sail boats, the rustic cannon that shoots every hour like a town clock, the unhurried pace of a small town is a pleasant departure from the frantic pace of our day to day life in cities...
However tragedy strikes Charlie St Cloud at a very young age and, ever since, a part of him too dies with it. He just quits living life for the next five years by throwing away college and a promising carrier and taking up a dead end and low rewarding job in a cemetary.
Enter the beautiful Tess Caroll ( amanda crew)

whose captivating beauty and a shared passion of sailing was what he desperately needed to jolt him out of his comatose life. An hence the wonderful line on its poster- Life is for Living! :-)
In the end, Charlie St Loud is a movie that will delight the hopeless romantics like me who have a tolerance for the surreal, those who admire the natural beauty of a sea facing town and often pine for the slow and jovial pace of  life in the country side.
 But it may fail to impress those who have a more practical approach towards life, who have no patience for human emotions, psyche or romance. :-)

Dallas Buyer's Club

A double thumbs up!!

If you are a Dr , and even if you ain't , this is a movie one shouldn't miss.... 

Matthew McConaughey deserves, with both hands, the Oscar he won in the Best Actor category for this movie!

He 100% looks and acts as an immunocompromised AIDS patient!!! Hats off to his dedication to the character!

Matthew McCaunoghey (BEFORE)

Besides it has got a brave story ( which is true by the way) that will surely strike a chord with you straightaway .. 

Matthew McCaunoghey (In Dallas Buyer's Club!)