"The Hangover" after "Taking Pelham 123"

Today was a historic day! For the first time in my life I watched two back to back movies in a theatre. What started as a very lazy Sat afternoon had an exciting ending. Yours truly along with a handful reached the theatre at around 5 deciding which movie to watch "Pelham.." or "Hangover". The former had Hollywood heavyweights but the latter had a huge fan following among my friends.. nevertheless I convinced my friends to go for Pelham.. it was an OK movie.. another one of Travolta's movie where he is the bad guy and have a hostage situation.. I am a bigg fan of Travolta but somehow I feel there was nothing in this movie which I did not anticipate... anyways after the movie, one of my friends came up with this idea that lets go out and get back in for Hangover... In the beginning I thought he must be joking but I was wrong and in a miraculous way we convinced the whole group to walk back right in for another movie... "The Hangover".

Hangover was a hilarious movie... one of the good comedies in a long time.. no fancy actors, no new story line but the whole package was quite good... it might be a bit "guy" kind of a movie so to say but was a perfect movie to end an otherwise ordinary Saturday night...

P.S. I just realised that the last 3-4 posts of mine had always been about movies.. maybe an indication thats all I am doing right now! Until next time.....

I too watched the Watchmen!

Last Saturday I watched the "Watchmen" on an IMAX screen, on the 2nd day of its release. Well for many back home in India it would not even ring a bell. Who would have heard of a comic series which came in the mid 80's and known for its graphic nature in a country already too prone to censorship left, right and center. Frankly there are only a very few 'elitist' comic heroes who leaves the shores of predominantly the developed world namely the trio of Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Even yours truly's first tryst with the Watchmen was during the screening of "The Dark Knight" (IMAX).. where the unique style in which the trailer was shot and an awesome soundtrack (yes I am talking about the track - The beginning is the end is the beginning by Smashing Pumpkins, which incidentally does not even feature in the movie but is there in its official trailer) make me sit up and notice. I would bet that the majority of the theatre would have had a similar effect.

Directed by one of my favorites, Zack Snyder (the man behind "300") this movie is different than any other "super-hero" movies which ever came out, quite like the comic itself. Christopher Nolan showed the world the first time in "The Dark Knight" that the world of super-heroes can be every bit twisted and scary as any other human being... even seasoned movie goers would have come out of the theatre feeling heavy and mesmerized after the movie... well "Watchmen" had quite the same effect on me... I guess this very well may be the beginning of an era where super-heroes dont just stay with the kids.. it becomes serious adult business.... at least Watchmen does... its one movie where one should seriously consider the rationale behind its "R" rating..... where on the nudity department we have Dr. Manhattan's attire and super-hot Malin Akerman, the movie also has numerous gory scenes which might disturb young viewers. None of the gore is misplaced however, it goes amazingly well with the overall mood of the movie and quite like 300 the shots shown in slow-motion just exemplify the visual experience.

There are some amazing reviews floating around for this movie - from the user reviews on IMDB to some amazing professional ones. Few of my favorites are the one on CNET Review and Roger Ebert's independent review and follow-up. A thing quite noticeable in the case of Watchmen is its selected and very loyal fan base... and you would find people who absolutely either love or hate the movie/comic book.

I am still mid-way through the actual comic book and am sure by the time I finish the whole book I will have something to add to this post.. so watch out for an update....

Before Sunrise and Sunset!

Last weekend I was one of my laziest self... the only thing I did was cooking, a lit' bit of cleaning and the rest of the time watching movies.. I could have easily watched over 5-6 movies in approx 1.5 days.... It was during this expedition of mine that I pounced upon a movie - Before Sunrise (1995).

Its a tale of 2 people who meet on a train as complete strangers and end up spending an unforgettable evening in Vienna. The whole movie is just about ONE day - beautifully portrayed and directed. It stars Ethan Hawke and a not so well known French actress - Julie Delpy and has a running time of around 100 minutes. The characters are one of the most honest I have ever seen in a commercial movie.

The movie ends on a note where the protagonists promise to meet each other again after 6 months at the same place... which unfortunately does not happen but they do meet again.... after 9 years... thats where the sequel to the movie comes - Before Sunset (2004). Noteworthy too is that the film takes place essentially in real time, i.e. the time elapsed in the story is also the run time of the film. Furthermore, the sequel was also released nine years after Before Sunrise, the same amount of time that has lapsed in the plot since the events of the first movie.I am yet to see this movie but whatever reviews I have read it seems to be equally fascinating and lovely... Can't wait to lay my hands on its DVD.....

For folks interested, here are the IMDB links for both. One suggestion - PLEASE see the movies in chronological order to really appreciate the magic and the story.

Before Sunrise (1995) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112471/
Before Sunset ( 2004) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381681/

Definitely, Maybe

Sometimes you enjoy certain movies you least expect to be good...yesterday was one such day when I saw a movie with the same name as the title of this post and what should I say... it was serendipitous!!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832266/

300 Dor

Well to everyone wondering what the title all about, its simple. I happened to watch 2 awesome movies on the same day and couldnt stop myself to write about them. They were 300 and Dor. Hugely different subjects with magnanimous differences but nevertheless a class apart in their own right.

300 based on the book by Frank Miller, directed by Zack Snyder is a masterpiece from every sense of the word. The story as most of us knows was about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC between a humongous (close to a million soldiers) Persian army led by King Xerxes and King Leonidas of Sparta (with only 300 of his elite guards and few others). The battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher the world's first democracy. Whatever be its historical/mythical significance, the movie is just awesome. Right from the first scene to the end, you just sit down holding your breath. Great direction, just awestrucking performances never let you forget the movie. Gerald Butler does complete justice to the role of King Leonidas and is quite impressive throughout the movie.

DOR on the other hand is a timid love story,shot at the backdrop of Rajasthan and Shimla! yes thats correct its as vibrant as the desert of Rajasthan to the greenery of Shimla, to the oppressed, simple village girl from Rajasthan (Ayesha Takia) to the "never say die" girl from Shimla (Gul Panag). The story was so cute and so elegantly picturised and portrayed that you cant help but feel spellbound. Indian cinemas have really come a long way and it is these directors like Nagesh Kukunoor who are leading the way from the front.