A Brand New Life (AKA Yeo Haeng Ja) - When my emotions got the better of me.

Rating: FULL DAMN MARKS!!!

Very rarely do I let my emotions dictate my thoughts while writing a review. But this is one of those movies, where I just can’t help myself.

It’s a simple movie with a very simple premise. But it’s the emotional undercurrents and innocently heartrending performances that make it stand out. Jinhee (Kim Saeron) has hardly reached a double-digit age, when her father gives her up for adoption. The reason to an uninitiated viewer might seem financial, but it’s not and we learn that later in the movie. All I can say, is that only a heartless bastard could give such an innocent, adorable little child up for adoption for no fault of her own. But, alas, that’s the world we live in, and movies are just an underestimated and sometimes, an exaggerated, projection of the same. Moreover, the child is tricked into being enrolled into an orphanage by her father, and when she comes to know the truth, it’s obvious that she’s devastated and confused. Contrary to what the orphanage administration tells her, she holds on to the belief that her father will return, only to have that trust shattered as the movie progresses. She does everything in her power to escape from that prison, but is forced to accept the reality and live with it. She gradually blends into the environment and becomes friends with one particular orphan, which makes her life at the orphanage a tad bearable. Being a child, she soon starts to engross herself in things at hand and enjoy it. However, certain sporadic moments forces her to revisit the longing for her father, and stubbornly demand for the same. She even deliberately sabotages her chances of getting adopted by the potential parents. She starts to adjust to the onslaught of thematically mature elements of life, and eventually, succumbs to it in her own way.

First of all, and I’m itching like hell to say this, the little girl was the most adorable and the most lovable being I’ve ever seen in my entire life. No, I’m not exaggerating, and her picture on the poster doesn’t even scratch the surface of her cuteness. The first time she cried, I cried. The first time she ALMOST cried, I cried. Every time she uttered a syllable, my heart melted. Her countenance: the typical Korean eyes with eyelids buried behind eyes; the almost-flat nose, with just enough protrusion to make its innocent presence felt; both her lips rolled inwards, leaving behind only a slim appearance of its rims; they all tugged at my heart’s strings. Moreover, 90% of our Bollywood actors should line up before her to learn acting. There isn’t a single scene where you could point out the fact that she’s acting. I’ve rarely seen an actor who wears the character with such unbelievable ease, and make it look like child’s play. There are a couple of scenes that’s just too good to have been acted out by a child actor; but it was. There’s one scene where she’s trying to put her plight to rest, and the way she loses herself in its process is akin to a painter losing himself while painting his masterpiece. The desperation, the resolve and the pain were all rolled in that one particular instance; and she delivered like a savant. Every other actor, including child ones, were pitch perfect in their performances. However, the maid stands out among those. There’s a scene where she’s beating a drying laundry with a baseball bat. One might find that strange, but few moments later, she tells Jinhee to do the same thing, and the reason is ridiculously simple, effective and touching.

Almost everyone will see my following rant as preaching, but I don’t give a rat’s ass. The movie is purportedly based on real-life incidents, and people who are responsible for such things make my skin crawl to say the least. No one has the right to take away a child’s childhood. No one has the right to introduce these children to the harsh realties of life at such a tender age. The early years of every child should have space for love and love only. It’s a different matter what they become after they mature. Most often than not, it’s their early childhood and the things they experience at that nascent age that defines the rest of their lives to an extent. It’s up to their parents and everyone around the kids to ensure that they don’t grow up with a scar to carry for the rest of their lives. It’s our duty to make sure they don’t mature when they should be just kids. If you’re willing to bring a new life into this world, you have only one right: do whatever in your capability to treasure that life and love it, rather than abandon it.

Few words for the director (Ounie Lecomte), who deserves all the praise I can possibly conjure up. Apparently, this movie was scripted over her childhood memories. I normally don’t forgive directors who use stereotypical characters and situations to move you, but this is one of those rare movies, where there was a need for just that. There’s no scene where these elements have been overdone, or underused. The director was at the top of her game from the word “Go”, and never did she lose her melancholic, yet beautiful touch. And it really takes an ace director to get such soul-stirring performances from your actors; especially when 90% of the cast are child actors. But, I reiterate, if I were ever to watch this movie again, and I’m absolutely certain that I will, it’ll be for Kim Saeron, and her only. She and her performance have left an indelible impression on my psyche, which would cease to exit only when I do.

Apocalypse Now (Redux) - An Experience.

Rating: FULL DAMN MARKS!!!

Col. Kurtz: I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor...and surviving.

Let me put the facts straight. This is not a review, simply because, movies of this grandeur and substance just can’t be reviewed; it can only be experienced. So, what follows, is my experience while the movie drowned me in its brilliance.

Firstly, let’s dangle some carrots in front of all our readers to realize what this movie was built on.

• The opening scene with Martin Sheen was unscripted. Sheen was actually drunk in the scene and punched the mirror which was real glass. Sheen also began sobbing and tried to attack Francis Ford Coppola. The crew was so disturbed by his actions that they wanted to stop shooting, but Coppola wanted to keep the cameras going.
• Marlon Brando enraged Francis Ford Coppola so much that the director turned over the filming of Brando's scenes to Jerry Ziesmer, the assistant director.
• Martin Sheen had a heart attack during the filming.
• The water buffalo (carabao in Filipino) that was slaughtered was real.
• After days of arguments over single lines of dialogue, an ad-lib style script was agreed upon for Brando, and this was shot according to his stipulations that he appears in shadows.
• Francis Ford Coppola threatened suicide several times during the making of the film.
• The total length of film printed for the movie was approximately 1,250,000 feet. That number roughly translates to a total of around 230 hours worth of footage.

The movie opens with probably the most beautiful war scene I’ve ever scene. A calm, tranquil treeline on the horizon, suddenly being lit up, and several balls of fire consumes the foliage. This scene is complemented in its beauty and maddening still-violence by an equally violent soundtrack “This is the end…” by “The Doors”. Right then, you know that you’re in for a cinematic experience of a lifetime.

One of the leads of this odyssey is Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen). The war in Vietnam has driven him into the mouth of paranoia, disarray and sporadic madness. The shabby, and reeking hotel he’s been put up at, only adds to his void. He’s desperate to step on the battleground and do whatever his country needs him to. His wishes are heard, and he’s tasked with a clandestine operation. The operation involves killing one of the most decorated, and probably the best officer the army ever had; Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando, our second lead). They want him dead because he’s crossed the lines of sanity. He’s gone rogue and governs a group of Cambodians deep into its jungle. For those locals, he is God, and they run his every errand, however absurd it may sound. Willard is assigned a unit who’ll help him make the excruciatingly long river journey, deep into the unmanned and dreaded territories of Vietnam, and eventually crossing over into Cambodia.

Along this exhausting journey, the unit makes a couple of stopovers. The first one is the best of all; courtesy Robert Duvall. He plays the surf-fanatic, carefree, gutsy, mean yet benevolent, eccentric character of Col. Kilgore. His introductory quote was just a treat and a testament to the surreal menace the movie’s wrapped around. As soon as he gets off the chopper, he says, “Lieutenant, bomb that tree line about 100 yards back! Give me some room to breathe”. Duvall wears, breathes, and spews all the traits of this character with extreme panache. Violence, mayhem, and the untapped reservoir of brutality is scattered throughout the unit’s journey. There are some light moments, but even they’re ferried along on the shoulders of impending doom and horror. There are some meandering moments, too. However, if you are deeply immersed into the film, and are as hooked as I was, you’ll see these moments as a part of the characters’ spiraling progression, during the twilight of their outlook, psyche and their existence in that war-ravaged nation.

The last hour or so is probably THE BEST part of the movie. The unit finally reaches their destination, albeit half in number since their departure. Oh, the picturesque production design of Col. Kurtz’s lair! It's a sight to sore eyes. All that splendor and panoramic view amidst the revulsion of war can only be pulled off by a master storyteller. The bleeding green color of coconut and palm trees; the earthy patches stained by severed heads; half-naked mutilated bodies hanging by the boughs, while some of them pinned against the trees with a spear; the colorful flare smoke emanating in the background; all of it coalesces to put up the big picture of beauty in chaos. And then enters the second lead, the pivot of this whole movie, Mr. Brando. Even though he’s appearance is physically felt in the last 40-odd minutes, we could still feel him breathing down every frame of the movie until that point. It’s like every incident that preceded his physical introduction, was only a stepping stone laid down by him. He was the invisible puppeteer, pulling all the strings, without the characters actually knowing it. He’d made his way into the psyche of Capt. Willard to such an extent, that Willard couldn’t see anything beyond this enigmatic presence of Col. Kurtz.

It’s as if the director was waiting until this moment, to let lose all the genius touches he’d stacked up in his repertoire. He made sure that every twitch in Brando’s expression, the tête-à-tête between light and shadow, and every baritone edge of his voice is felt by the viewers. It’s like movie went hypersensitive when Brando’s character was around. And when he delivered his lines, it was like you were transported to the hellish paradise he’s been living in. The coup-de-grace of the movie was violent as hell, yet very poetic.

Technically, the movie was a spellbinding exercise. The slithering, and sometimes panoramic cinematography, gnawing at the core elements of every frame; the sudden outburst and sometimes an escalation of background score provided the illusion of being part of a calculated nightmare; and the master himself was at the top of the pyramid, overlooking, marshaling his cadres and sculpting a movie of a lifetime. Every frame of the movie carried his strokes of class, and boundless enterprise. In summary, movie was a surreal and an epic masterpiece scripted in hell.

Col Kurtz: The horror...The horror.

Ha Phraeng (AKA 5 Prang, Phobia 2) - A Review.

Rating: * *

This is the second in the “Phobia” series. This one doesn’t have a single short that may be termed “remotely scary”. Sure, they’re startling, gory, gross and even rib-tickling, but barring, maybe, a couple of scenes, this movie doesn’t make the cut of being called a scary flick.

Unlike its predecessor, this movie had five shorts, hence the name.

Novice: This first short is about a delinquent who, due to his pretty sociopathic tendencies, ends up doing something horrifying. To keep him away from the law’s reach, his mother decides to enroll him in a hermitage, located deep in a dense jungle. Hoping that the boy would get some time to reflect on his actions, repent and probably, come out as a better person, his mother entrusts him in the hands of monks residing there. However, due to his aggressive nature and anarchic demeanor, he ends up incensing “The Hungry Ghost” that the local monks make their yearly offerings to, to keep his ire at bay. Thereafter, it’s your run-of-the-mill horror fare. One noteworthy thing about this short is its unimaginable and pretty unexpected end. You might like it or hate it, but the climax was pretty original. The director had a nice grasp over the subject and he ably magnified the already-present eerie atmosphere of the forest, adding to the overall frightful undercurrents. There were some really unique, startling scenes, but few and far between, and they didn’t help much in creating an indelible impression, when considering the short in its entirety. All the actors delivered handsomely, but the short left more to be desired.

Ward: Our lead in this short is hospitalized after getting into an accident. The ward he’s been put into is shared by another old, comatose, dying patient; but dies a couple of scenes later. But, as is always the case with such movies, no one’s really dead. Now, are they? Else, how will they ever scare us, or try to scare us, which this movie does and fails; at least for me. You have your usual cuts; uproarious background score to herald the creepiness lying just around the corner; the camera movement accompanied by the relaxed expression on the characters face, only to find a ghost staring him in the eyes a moment later. It’s all there, and a well-versed moviegoer would not be scared by such gimmicks. He’ll be startled; hell, anyone would be, if a weird-looking guy with an equally weird makeup is thrown right into your face for a fraction of a second, combined with a blaring percussive music. There weren’t any scary moments at all. Like for every other horror movie out there, I was waiting for the “twist” for this one, too. It was unexpected, but not a good one. In the end, I just didn’t care for any character, or the plot, or the purported “OMFG” factor.

Backpackers: A Japanese couple, on their way to Bangkok, hitches a truck-ride, only to find out later, that the truck is carrying a multitude of dead bodies. Apparently, the helper of the truck driver has been earning quick bucks on the side by using the illegal immigrants they traffic as drug mules, which the driver is ignorant about. But this time, things don’t go as planned, and the drugs end up poisoning each one of those mules, leading to their unforeseen demise. From there on, it takes the “28 Days Later” turn. The dead ones rise, baying for human blood. Yes, the same, old, zombie trick, with the usual “twist” in the end. And again, as usual, the trick wasn’t good enough for me. No scares here either, but lots of blood being sprayed. Acting was okay, since the movie didn’t demand from its characters any more than a hell lot of screams and moaning.

Salvage: Our female lead here is a used-car saleswoman. All the cars that end up as metal garbage after getting into accidents, or are abandoned for some reason, end up in this car lot after the needed overhaul. On an ordinary night, her toddler suddenly disappears among these cars while playing, and she sets out to find him, only to be confronted with the horror related with each and every car. This sets the stage for some truly horrifying moments, not startling ones, but truly "WOW" ones. One particular scene’s too gory for an average viewer. But for a veteran like me (:P), it’s just another day at the movies. The director really left some fine touches in certain scenes. It was the shopworn “in-your-face” approach, but the short still managed to elicit some admiration from me. Some scenes were subtle, yet damn impressive. The “twist” for this one was well thought-out, grounded in reality, and left me pretty flattered. This movie is the second-best short in this installment of anthology. The following short takes the honor of being the best short in the list.

In The End: First of all, it’d been quite a long time since I laughed my ass off, and this movie helped me recall how it feels to have your sides in split. This movie shares its characters and actors from another short called “The Man In The Middle”, featured in the first part of the “Phobia” franchise. The foursomes are in the moviemaking business, and are on set of a horror flick titled “Alone 2”. Yes, “Alone 2” is the fictional sequel to the real-world movie “Alone” made by the same director (Banjong Pisanthanakun) as this short. What else, this movie also has the same leading lady as the original. You can now pretty much guess that this short is utilizing every trick in the book to poke fun at the horror genre and the approach directors undertake to make one. Hell, it even makes fun of the obsession about the “twist in the end” concept. In one scene, the four guys are discussing what would be an apt twist for the movie they’re shooting, and the options they come up with are damn hilarious. The plot of the short involves some misunderstandings, which is amplified and aggravated to humorous extent by the beliefs inspired from all the typical horror fare. What ensues is a rib-tickling, 15-odd-minute parody, leading to the twist of the finale. All the actors were damn good in their performances; especially the actors playing the role of Shin, Puak and Tre. Even the leading lady of the fictional sequel/short (Marsha Wattanapanich), showed amazing comic timing. She should do more comic roles, instead of playing a poker-faced, distraught, horrified soul (read performance in “Alone”). All in all, this short is the only reason you should not miss the movie.

To wrap it up, the first three shorts fail to evoke even an iota of fright. The second-last short was a cut above the previous three shorts, and the final one takes the cake, despite being anything but horrifying. And yes, it's better than "4bia", if you look at the whole package.

Lost S06E15 - A Review.

As soon as one hears the name “Lost” the first thing that comes to the minds of many avid watchers, are the unfathomable gravity and magnitude of questions this series has left as breadcrumbs in its path of progress. Every season would answer a set of answers, but would also throw in double the number of questions for the viewers to figure out, or hold their breath until the creators decide to have mercy and do the honors. Well, considering this being the last season of the series, the creators have finally turned benevolent and they’ve let us in on, what could possibly be an unprecedented event in American TV history, the enigmatic core that drives the series of “Lost”.

Ever since the series began, every episode would build in structure, formation, character arcs, progression, scientific frontiers, emotional turmoil, and the smothering mystery the series threw up week after week. But, there was always one thing missing: the foundation. Slowly, the creators felt the need to be a bit more relaxing and forgiving, to provide viewers some respite from the ever increasing numbers of questions and an awful dearth of answers. They started throwing bits and pieces of the cornerstone on which the show stood tall, and remained a hot favorite in its long run. The pieces were few and far between for almost 5 seasons, but when they sensed the dwindling excitement in the viewers because of the lack of answers, and in an effort to rekindle that enthusiasm and the desire to be taken on a journey experienced never before, the creators decide to go all in, in the last season (like they had an option) and open the Pandora’s box. This week’s episode is a very essential artifact from that box. This episode finally told the viewers what, why and where it all started.

The episode in context took us at the inception stage of the series as we know it, and showed us the birth stage of, probably the two most important characters of the series, Jacob and his brother (nameless). To put it in simple words, everything that has happened so far in “Lost” was a part of the games these two were playing. By the looks of it, it’s not any amateurish game, but a very simple, yet a very convoluted one. It’s a battle between undying, unbending, unwavering faith, and the very nature of questioning that faith, the curiosity and the inanity of accepting something blindly. It’s all human, and yet it’s sometimes beyond that. This episode cemented those bits and pieces of the foundation together, and made the whole structure as sturdy and as believable as possible. I’d even go so far as to say that this was probably the best episode of the series ever. Simply, because it gave us answers; one of the most important one, mind you.

The “Lost” followers can finally stop gasping for breath, and finally start to breathe in the fresh air this episode has brought along, and wait for the equally mind-bending, rollercoaster of a finale a week later.

See Prang (AKA 4bia) - A Review.

Rating: * *1/2

Looks like some unseen force read my previous article about horror movie lacking the scare quotient, and directed me to this movie. However, the movie ran out of steam after the first horrifying 15 odd minutes; more on that soon. See Prang is a Thai horror anthology of four shorts. Each one of it is directed by a different director, and they share no common thread to bind them together, except the fact that all of them try to scare the living daylights out of you, and only one of them succeeds; at least for me.

Following are the summary of each shorts in the anthology:

Loneliness: First off, I loved this short, simply because it managed to scare me, and the twist caught me off guard. The story’s about a girl who stays home all alone because of a cast on her leg, which she managed to break in an accident. Her only contact to the outside world is through net surfing, and the occasional exchange of flirty messages with her boyfriend who’s out of station. One day, out of the blue, she gets an anonymous message from some guy, extending a hand of friendship. Foreseeing the temptation of getting to know a guy, as well as to kill time, she decides to reciprocate and replies to all his messages and obliges to some of his harmless requests. A handful of messages down the line, the horror creeps in, and the shocking nature of all the above seemingly benign developments are revealed. As my second nature, as soon as a movie starts, I start looking for clues and hidden messages to unravel the “twist” before it hits you in the face. And, 8 out of 10 times, I’m bang on target. However, this movie managed to outwit me, and the twist grabbed me by my throat. I couldn’t see it coming, and the brilliance involved is that the twist seemed pretty simple, but damn effective. My only grouse with the movie is that it didn’t end soon enough. For a scary movie, the point where and how it ends is extremely important. This short had the “how” going for it, but when it came to “when”, it faltered. It ended a couple of minutes too late. Otherwise, this was the only short from this movie that I truly loved, and would recommend to any true horror fan. As for rest of the shorts, read on, but don’t expect any praises from my sides.

The Deadly Charm: In summary, this short involved black magic; HOW BORING!! A couple of hormonally-charged teenagers pick on a defenseless kid, because he had squealed on them, which led to their suspension and seizure of drugs they always carried along. They bully him mercilessly, until it goes too far (like it always does), and the victim returns as a ghost with vengeance, utilizing his prowess in black magic to bump off each one of his nemesis, in pretty gory and unique way. Now, it’s time for nitpicking. The director somehow convinced himself to shoot whole movie like some hyper-kinetic action sequence from one of the Matrix Trilogy movies. I mean, seriously, the last thing a horror flick needs is the abuse of all the technical know-how. All those flamboyant edits, the camera angles, the tint the frames were dipped in, and the horribly terrible background score. Not to mention, the pathetic use and overuse of CG. It doesn’t help the cause if you have terrible actors to deliver on an already terrible plot. It tried to do everything, except scare you. This short was the worst of the lot. That’s it. I’m not wasting my breath on this one anymore; PERIOD.

The Man In The Middle: Four friends are out in the woods, camping, telling each other horror stories at night, just to scare the other to his wits. In the process, the director saw it appropriate to reveal the ending of some awesome horror movies; like “The Sixth Sense”, “The Others”, and the one I haven’t seen “Shutter (Original)”. Jesus Christ!! Anyway, back to the mind-numbing summary. All four of them go rafting, which due to someone’s stupidity, goes wrong. However, they mange to come out of the water unharmed, or did they? Did you see the sheer inanity and silliness of the director to reveal all his cards? From this point on, you’ll guess who’s who, and believe me; you’ll turn out to be right. Even a 10 year old would guess the so called “WOW” factor of this short. I guessed half the twist, but the part I didn’t guess was only the multiple of what I had already figured out. The sentence might seem convoluted, but if and when you see the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But I got to admit, the movie wasn’t as bad as the previous short. Agreed, that there was absolutely no horror value, but some light moments peppered throughout the short were pretty amusing. A couple of actors were decent at best.

The Last Flight: Firstly, this was the second crappiest short in the movie. It’s about an air hostess who has an affair with some prince, who already has a princess (frankly, she looks horrible. No wonder he strayed). The hostess was serving this couple, when the prince’s libido crossed the fidelity line. Thereafter, the affair leads to the fallout of their marriage, and the princess wants the hostess to pay. The princess decides to return to her homeland, albeit with a condition: the flight she’ll be taking must have the same hostess to serve her, so she could taunt her and exact her revenge. After taking some minor insults and hot coffee spills from the princess, the hostess somehow, ends up killing the princess; BAD KARMA. The cliché-ridden rollercoaster doesn’t stop here. After the princess’ death, her body needs to be flown back to her country, and guess who’ll be the stewardess on the flight? Damn right. An opportune situation to use all the textbook horror antics, accompanied by the usual cacophonic orchestra, is what plays out in the next few scenes. There’s nothing you haven’t seen before, and you’ll experience annoyance, disappointment, ear-bleed (maybe). But you won’t experience horror, because there isn’t any. You can anticipate with almost certainty, as to what the director will be filling the next frame with. Yes, that’s right, a terribly-decked up lady ghost, with bloodshot eyes, and puke-filled mouth gaping right in your face. The only thing this movie made me feel, was being pissed off at the insurmountable silliness and the hackneyed approach adopted by the makers. The lady playing the hostess was competent, but the short wasn’t.

Overall, if you were to come across this movie, and decide to watch it, please stop watching it right after the first short. The first short had a very simple story told in an unimaginably horrifying way, with a cute girl to play the lead. As for the rest of the movie, don’t even bother fast forwarding through them; even that’ll be a waste of time.

House MD S06E20 - A Review.

There’s no other series on this planet that could match this show's wit, the brilliance, the sheer amount of knowledge, the philosophical undertones, the brutal honesty, the gusto to go against the conformity and propriety, and the unimaginably stupendous portrayal of all of the above by just one certain actor, Mr. Hugh Laurie. If I could sum it up in a couple of words to explain the reason I watch this series, it would be Mr. Hugh Laurie.

Unlike almost every other series out there that fall prey to the generality and that compromises with the core concept of the show itself to humor the studio puppet masters, and the stupid masses in general, the creators of House chart out their own unconventional path, with the most unusually gifted, and interesting character of all time, Dr. Gregory House, embodied by the immensely talented Mr. Laurie. I’m yet to come across an episode in the show where I’d rue my spending of 45 minutes watching it. Even though most of the episodes would follow a fixed pattern, if one would look close enough, the initial misdiagnoses and failures can clearly be attributed to the patients’ unwillingness to come out clean. In simple words, they’d lie; the only thing House hates, and knows that it’s common in all human beings; ergo, his famous quote “Everybody lies”. Moreover, the cases are bizarre most of the times and interesting as hell.

This week’s episode, delivered with the usual uncanny insight and the philosophical halo, was a treat to every viewer who doesn’t mind utilizing a part of his brain in getting to know the show and its characters a little more organically and personally. As usual, the show was centered on House, but more so than most of the times. He’s paying his weekly visit to his therapist from his previous drug rehabilitation center, to state some of the salient features of his week that was. But the week under the microscope was pretty more eventful than others. Moreover, the events that unfolded left a somewhat indelible impression on the already bruised psyche of House. The cases he handled during that week, reminded House of the void his life has been built around ever since the leg infarction, and how all his efforts to change that fell miserably short. He wanted to bring enough changes in his surrounding and in himself to have a momentary respite from his rigid and bleak demeanor, and get to experience true happiness at last. Despite trying his best, all that changed was that people around him grew happier, and he became lonelier and distant than ever. So, all the endeavors to bring about a change paid no dividends whatsoever. And as always, House was left at the receiving end of the blunt emotional stick. The only iota of satisfaction he could’ve got, like always, was from the successful diagnosis of the case he was handling.

Next week’s episode is going to be the season finale, and I can’t wait for it. If its rushes are any indication, it seems the creators are going to deconstruct House’s character until he hits the abysmal bottom, or maybe not. Regardless of what’s in store, I can rest assured, for the quality and the performance will be top notch. Even if the content isn’t good enough, Mr. Laurie’s pitch-perfect rendering of the episode events, and the impeccable performance wouldn’t fall short on lifting the show to great heights. I can hardly think of an actor who exudes such poise and unprecedented talent, and the ability to deliver on them week after week with a freakish consistency. More so, the character traits are not something one would expect from a traditional doctor, but it’s Hugh Laurie’s charm and dynamism that forces the viewers to dispel all their preconceived notions, and love the character to his very core.

One Week - A Review.

Rating: * * *1/2

A slice of drama, served amidst the health crisis that befalls our protagonist. A Canadian import that's steeped in its idyllic landscapes, and a soul-stirring score.

The lead, Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) is diagnosed with cancer, which leads to him taking inventory of the days he has left. He has a nice family, and is about to get married to the love of his life. But the debilitating news forces our protagonist to start seeing everything in new light, and on a whim, he decides to take a cross-country road trip on his bike, to seek out something that never existed. This trip serves as a stepping stone for our hero, to eventually reach the point of realization, and call spade a spade. So, in a way, the trip helps Ben do some soul-searching, and experience reprieve from the responsibilities, the commitments, and indecisions that had plagued his life. The trip provides him with a moment of clarity, to review himself, his actions, and its consequences, that ripples through everyone around him. He visits all the famous landmarks, prairies, sanctuaries, to provide milestones for his trip. Through the people he meets along the way, he's able to build on their insights and experiences, and use it as a touchstone to gauge his own life and disposition. A couple of momentary, dense, and retrospective events, lead him beyond the eventual path of self-denial, inhibition and tenuous commitments.

The movie rests solely on the lead's ability, and Joshua Jackson never disappoints. The movie required an actor that could pull off scenes of calm angst, bruised outlook, and inherent confidence in the face of haphazard chaos; Joshua Jackson had all of the above in his repertoire. Other actors, particularly Joshua's fiancee Samantha (Liane Balaban), was decent in her role as well. The movie is riddled with picturesque scenery, which only helps to enjoy the calm nature of the concept's treatment. The director didn't lead the movie with heavyhanded, or preaching approach. He was able to provide the deft touch and mature handling that the movie demanded. However, the movie didn't have too many emotional pitfalls where a director's capability could be tested, but he did his best with whatever the movie had to offer. In terms of story, there's nothing one hasn't experienced in other movies like "The Motorcycle Diaries", or "Into The Wild"; all of which are way better than this one. But, due to the quality of the performance, some subtly fine touches by the director, the movie is not a total drag. One more thing, this movie has probably the best collection of songs I've come across in a very long time; "Once" was another such movie. Every other 10 minutes or so, a very soothing score flows along the mountain bends amidst the dense treeline. To be honest, the soundtrack itself is one helluva reason to give this movie a go. Not one song is off the track, and they complement every scene and the emotional quotient of the characters.

Apart from the average content and lack of some emotional complexities, this movie is a pleasure to all your senses. One could sit down on a rainy day, enjoy the movie's misty feel, and be transported to the visual halo the movie is dipped in.

Alone - A Review.

Rating: * *

This one's a horror import from Thailand. Yes, even Thailand people can make horror movies, and good one at that, too; "Shutter" is one such example. However, the American remake stripped the original to its bare, rendering the horror of the original, a tad undermined. But, "Alone" does not fall under the category of spine-chilling horror flicks, at least not for me.

The movie's about a conjoined twins, who get separated after one of them expresses the desire to do so. However, when the movie begins, we're told that only one of them is alive, and the other, well, it doesn't take a genius to realize that the other half of the Siamese twins plays the haunter in the movie. This twin has her reason, which is revealed akin to a shocker in the finale; sadly, that wasn't the case for me. I mean, I've seen so many twisted, mind-bending, and shocking movies, that no movie seems to come even close to knocking my socks off. I'm really dying for a movie, where I don't find myself way ahead of the storyline, character arc and the "twists". I really long for a movie, where my subconscious doesn't figure out the gist, and most often, the shock value the movie promises to deliver. However, for someone who's not a movie freak like me, this movie might be good enough to scare the holy Mary out of them.

The movie had a couple of startling moments. Yes, I use the word 'startling' and not 'scary', simply because there's a world of difference. The shots that last for a fraction of a second, and is a mixture of some awfully decked up lady staring right in your face, accompanied by a crescendo of percussion instruments, is called a startling moment. I find it hard to recall the last scary flick I saw since Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby". A movie is scary, when even just the thought of developments taking place on the screen gives you the chills. Only few movie of that caliber exist; "The Ring" to an extent, is one such movie. "Alone" used all sorts of textbook approach to cue in its viewers to brace themselves, for they're about to be scared. I'm not saying these scenes weren't good enough, it's just that, you prepare yourself in advance for the harrowing scene you're about to see; where's the fun, or scare in that? Anyway, for me the movie was made even more ordinary by its average star cast. The actors didn't have the competency or the range of expression to pull off certain vital scenes. The director tried his best to showcase his horror talents, but alas, looks like there's nothing new left under the sun for the horror filmmakers these days.

Iron Man 2 - A Review.

Rating: * *

“If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him”. This is probably the only part, among other things, that I supposedly remember from this sequel to the grossly overrated 2008 installment. I went in with as little expectation as possible, courtesy of the first installment, and I didn’t come out disappointed.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is reveling in the fruits borne by his alter ego’s endeavors. He doesn’t miss a breath to hog the spotlight, and wears his narcissism on his sleeves everywhere he goes. He never misses an opportunity to point out the fact that America is enjoying peace at the cost of his technology and his bravura. However, the Defense Department wants to return the favor by asking Tony Stark to hand over his technological marvel, citing it to be a State property. Of course, Tony does not oblige. Ironically, the palladium keeping Tony alive is slowly poisoning him as well. Meanwhile, the next Iron Man nemesis is gearing up in some dingy corner of Siberia for a showdown, to avenge the wrongs done to his family by Tony’s dad Howard Stark. This Russian enemy (Mickey Rourke) is devising his own weapon, a whiplash which has electrical energy running down its entire length, to get even with Iron Man. And then there’s Tony’s arch competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who wants to pin down Tony at any cost, seize on his technological advancements (Iron Man suit, to be precise), and snatch the limelight Tony’s been taking delight in. Among other cast of characters, there’s Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who like in the previous movie, doesn’t have much to do here either. Then there’s Tony’s buddy Rhodey (Don Cheadle), who’s given a fair share of the pie, by getting to don one of the suits, and display suit’s gamut of firework in the finale of the movie. Finally, there’s the Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) who provides enough “curves” in the scenes she appears in. She also moonlights as a secret agent from some clandestine league, whose name I forget. There’s only one scene where she gets to use her body not just to exude oomph, but to kick some butt. However, with the choice of clothing she’s been put up with, it’s hard to care about anything other than her curvaceous self, even while displaying her martial prowess.

I tried my best to chart out the story, if there was any, of the movie. But, just like its predecessor, this one, too, relies solely on visual extravaganza, massive and colorful explosions, exceptional fight choreography, and finally, but not the least of all, Tony’s wit. However, this movie falls drastically short on the last item. I sort of enjoyed the first movie in parts, mostly because of the wit and suaveness that would drip from the lines given to Tony Stark’s character. It only helps that an actor of Robert’s charisma and appeal got to deliver them, and he delivered them pitch perfect. If there’s anything going on for the movie, it’s Robert Downey’s presence and his broad shoulders, upon which the whole damn movie relies. I was so disappointed that a fantastic actor like Mickey Rourke wasn’t given enough meat for his character. Same goes for the brilliant, yet gratuitously underrated actor, Sam Rockwell. All the technical flair and gimmicks light up this movie a couple of times, with the face-off at the Monaco Grand Prix being my pick of the lot. Sadly, there’s all to it. I never expected any better, but was hoping to be proven wrong; a rarity.

If substance doesn’t matter to you and CG is the way you click, then this movie may well be worth your buck. If Robert Downey’s the reason you’re deciding to take a trip to the theaters, then you can be my guest. However, watching Downey’s recent ‘Sherlock Holmes’ would be a better and a wise choice. And if Hollywood’s decade-old obsession with the sequels is any indication, there will be a third installment to this franchise, too. Hell, there’s even an allusion to this very future prospect in the movie itself.

And Justice For All...

Amidst the current hullabaloo of Kasab finally receiving his comeuppance, I pose a few questions: Does Kasab really care that he’s going to the gallows? Will this swift justice act as a deterrent to other terrorists? Is the outcome ever going to affect the morale of other “brainwashed” incendiaries of the society? Answer to all of the above questions, according to me, is a big “NO”. We forget the fact that these terrorists set foot in our country with the sole motive of dying for their supposed cause of waging war against our nation and disrupting its machinery and peace. They already hold the belief of making merry with some 13 virgins in paradise where they think they’ll eventually end up.

Enough has been written and said about what drives these puppets to commit unimaginable acts. Some say, they’re brainwashed before being armed with weapons of destruction. I say, it’s all bull. Every person has enough brains to choose between the two given options. By choosing to listen to some mind-numbing religious rhetoric doled out by some bushwhacking weirdo, who had a sodomite for a father, a weapons manual for books and a lopsided viewpoint of people beyond the borders of his own land, one’s merely letting that cleric fill the candidate’s thick skull with all sorts of innuendos, discrimination and the bleak worldview which the cleric himself grew up with. That’s not brainwashing, it’s simply giving up the rights to use your own brains.

As for Indian judicial system finally coming out with flying colors, after an agonizing two year wait, well, that was indeed fast. But to be honest, Kasab overstayed his welcome by living the past two years, protected, fed well, and kept alive. It should’ve been over on 26/11, or maybe, a couple of days later. The term “fair trial” is an insult to all those who put their duty above their lives. This hanging is not going to do a rat’s ass for the families of the deceased. This legal revenge would only console them for a while, but the reality of the dead ones will live on for life. Some people talk about strengthening terror laws. Yes, good point. By adopting these measures and a few months down the line, they’ll receive flaks for discriminating, just like America does every now and then. America is paying the price for toughening up terror laws. In the process of trying to weed out potential terrorists, some innocent bystanders end up facing the blunt end of the stick. That will always be on the cards, especially when a nation has faced the worst terrorist attack in the history of mankind. They’ll dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ to protect itself from future attacks. Is India willing to go down that line, and place itself on the list that America now is a prominent member of? I don’t think so. India’s too concerned with its image, and that probably will rub it in the wrong way.

I don’t see any end in sight. The recruits of these war-mongering morons are too widespread for one nation to handle. They walk among us wearing familiar faces and a smile. Only a presence of mind and studying the situation could help us a little bit in avoiding future massacres. No government is going to come running to help you put out the fire in your house; you’ll have to do it yourself.

Kick-Ass - A Review.

Rating: * * *1/2

The movie I recently saw was Kick-Ass (pun intended). It’s about a bunch of people whom you’d least expect to don a cape, or a mask, or a costume, and go around kicking bad guys’ asses.

The ones who make this strange list of wannabe and veritable superheroes are even weirder. One’s a high-school loser, going by the name Dave. No, he doesn’t have a mutated gene, vengeance doesn’t dictate his everyday lifestyle, he was never bitten by an arachnid, and he was born on Earth. He’s human, and possesses all the traits of being one. For instance, he jacks off at the sight of his fortyish English teacher’s cleavage, and bare-chested African tribal women. What more credible evidence one needs? His only pet peeve is that despite the pervasive superhero culture, no one actually does a thing to become one, until that is, he decides to, by wearing a green wetsuit and adopting the moniker ‘Kick-Ass’. His initial assignments never fall short of kicks, punches, bone-crunching heaves on pavements; but it’s Kick-Ass who’s at the receiving end of all of the above. In fact, due to his obvious amateurish attempts at shooing the baddies away, he gets beaten up black and blue, then stabbed in his guts, and subsequently, run over by a car. Miraculously, he survives, and a better part of his bones are replaced by metal fittings, and is partially brain-dead.

The other superhero goes by the name ‘The Hit Girl’ (she was freaking explosive and a bloody treat to watch). The very special thing about her is that, well, she’s only eleven years old. It’s her dad (Nicholas Cage), another superhero known as Big Daddy, who takes it upon himself to introduce her to the term vigilante, and he doesn’t pull any punches while doing so. A typical outing for a daughter with her dad would be an amusement park, or at movies, or some ice-cream parlor, but this father-daughter duo is a cut above the rest. The father takes his daughter to an abandoned place, gears her up with bullet-proof vest, and fires a couple of rounds in her chest, to give her an idea of the pain she’d go through when real bad-ass people ever pull the trigger on her. Don’t worry. By the end of the movie, a rational guy would deduce why the dad chooses this sort of upbringing over the more conventional ones. There’s another guy called ‘Red Mist’, but he’s just a red herring in the movie.

In terms of storyline, it’s nothing great. The character Kick-Ass starts off being a superhero just to look cool, and partly because of the notion that he can make a difference. The duo of Big Daddy and The Hit Girl has another set of motives that make them tick. They have a druglord locked in their cross-hair for destroying everything they ever had. It’s the violent treatment (which one would always expect from Lionsgate movies) that reflects in the gritty, dark undertones, and no-holds-barred approach in action sequences and languages, that make the movie stand out from the crowd. In fact, our 11-yaer-old angel mouths as many cuss words as the next guy. Her lines are replete with all sorts of ‘F’ words, and her fight sequences involve lopping off limbs, riddling bodies with bullets, stabbing and breaking all the mentionable bones, and much more. Besides all the concerns and horrifying notions the previous sentences arouse, it’s just awesome to watch her do those things. Even Lara Croft won’t have the balls to do those things, and she’d never look as cute while doing them.

In the end, it was an entertaining movie, especially because of The Hit Girl. All the actors pull out every scene competently. But, if there’s one character I’d watch this movie again for, it would undoubtedly be The Hit Girl. I was just flattered by her performance. Some people might find the movie repulsive and offensive, but they forget the fact, that it’s just a movie. Just go and watch the damn movie, but please don’t take your kids along. Let their minds get corrupted gradually by the world around them, rather than have them face a barrage of obscenities and grim nature of mankind, all at once.

The Twilight Zone - A Review.

Rating: ****

First off, this is the classic series and not the revamped, rehashed knockoff version of itself. The creator Rod Serling was probably one of the bright minds who worked back then in the entertainment industry, and if his clash with the studio moguls are of any indication, he was one helluva fighter, too. He didn't bend backwards for any money-grubbing, penny-pinching weasel. He believed in untainted, unlaced and a satiable family entertainment, and The Twilight Zone is one such endeavor.

Episode 49: Back There.
This episode dealt with time traveling, and if it were possible to change the course of events in regard to a particular era. The leading person, initially, doesn't buy into the notion, but a moment later, is somehow transported back into time. The day in question is when Mr. Lincoln was assassinated. After the stark reality is revealed upon our lead, he conjures up every strength and might to stop the unthinkable from happening, only to be dismissed as a nutjob. The episode wraps up this fictional notion with a subtle, yet a very effective resolve. The comments by Mr. Rod Serling at the end and the beginning of every episode puts the whole episode into a nice, ribbon-clad, spooky, yet very relevant perspective. You see, no matter how unthinkable, improbable, eccentric, and bizarre the episode's content may be, Rod Serling has the unearthly ability to paint it with contemporary notions, and with a remark on the most important and basic of all aspects: the human nature.

Episode 50: The Whole Truth.
I guess, the concept for the Jim Carrey flick "Liar, Liar" was ripped of from this particular episode. The butt of this twilight joke this time is a car salesman, who'd do anything in his power and use all the imaginable trickery and gambit to swindle an unsuspecting customer, and leave him with no option but to buy one of his decrepit, haggard, run-down metal junk. That is, until, one of his customers sells him a car that is supposedly haunted; not in the traditional sense, however. In actuality, whoever owns this particular car, cannot lie (just like Mr. Jim Carrey in "Liar, Liar"). That's pretty much the gist of the whole story, but that's more than enough for Rod Serling to hold us captive to his leap of imagination and narrative. Like every other episode in the series, this one, too, has a befitting ending with a decent enough twist.

A request.

To anyone and everyone visiting my blog, if you could just take out a couple of minutes to visit http://www.hojaanede.com/ViewDetails.aspx?ContentID=1421&nType=3&sLocation=Maharashtra&mail=false, I'd be more than grateful. It's my entry in the script section of the 'Luv Ho Jaane De' contest :P. It was brought to my notice by Mr. Santosh Prajapati, and he compelled me to give it a shot. It would be really nice if you could visit his entry, too. His script's titled 'Shayad'. If you somehow end up liking either of the scripts, it'd really be nice if you'd vote, too.
Thanks.