High Plains Drifter

This is the real rough and uncouth side of a drifter. Somewhere the plot has traces of Seven Samurai, but with a twist in the tale. The characters are very memorable, very well developed, and sometimes very typical too.

I like the part where Mordecai is made the Sheriff, it vaguely reminded me of the Bottom from Midsummer Night’s dream. I know revenge is not all that a great virtue at all, but still somewhere down below it gives some pleasure to see the revenge on screen. Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds, Boondock Saints well, some of the secret pleasure in watching revenge on screen…

Play Misty for Me

After seeing Clint Eastwood in Play Misty for Me, I was sure the kind of roles in which I wish to see him. Definitely not as a romantic. Somewhere his ‘raw appeal’ gets lost in the whole business…Claimed to be one of the all time favorite thrillers, it is not of the movies which I particularly enjoyed.

Twilight New Moon

I am neither too much into blood sucking vampires, nor did I ever understand what is so very sexy about vampires…For that matter there are so many other things which I have not really comprehended the need or craze…

I have seen director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski’s’ Nosferatu the Vampyre’, but to compare that with Twilight would not mean anything. Twilight is based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel. I found the movie to be quite intense, with enough plot development to keep me hooked. Though I am not an authority on the vampire folk lore and nuances, it still did not hinder me from relishing the movie.

We had gone the watch the movie at one of the popular multiplex, PVR, and it was an all together completely different crowd for Twilight. It looked as if all the young, trendy, weirdoes bunched up together turned for the show. I guess the target audience for Twilight is also the same kind, so no wonder…

Dirty Harry

Director: Don Siegel
Cast: Clint Eastwood
Year of Release: 1971


I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

You don't assign him to murder cases, You just turn him loose


The other day during lunch, I said, that Clint Eastwood as a director made path-breaking movies. Then what exactly defined path breaking movies really? Path breaking could be the plot, the direction, the handling of the subject, it could be innumerable things. For Clint Eastwood I think it was the characterization and its impact on the audience. The influence of these characters on the cinema to come years after is proof enough. It also has strong depiction of the times then, the way how the society was evolving and its vices and addictions. I need to read more on how Clint Eastwood got to understand the psyche of the cops so well, and create a character so raw, and so powerful. Lot of Bollywood movies too, have been influenced by him.

Coogan's Bluff

Director: Don Siegel
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Sarah Clark,
Year of Release: 1968

Clint Eastwood, hunts, yes hunts his fugitive and nabs him after three days of hunting. From Arizona, Coogan has it all and whatever it takes to bring the convict behind the bars. He is sent to extradite a
Convict to NY and to find his way through the NYPD red tapism and bureaucracy. He does it with style and also he has a way with women, of course; he does, he is Clint Eastwood after all…

Sarah Clark tries really hard to stop the romantic invasions from Coogan, but, Coogan being you know can guess what happens. Its sometimes great to see the effect he has on women, you believe, there are men, who can still weave their magic…

Astronaut Farmer

In the opening shot, when I saw a man riding a horse wearing a space suit, I was puzzled, and then I saw the name of the movie – Astronaut Farmer. First of all I did not realize that Farmer was a name, so the title sounded very strange. Then I saw Billy Bob in the cast, it was almost 2 AM in the morning, but then somehow I knew I am going to love the movie…

If you dream a dream, then dream it like the Astronaut Farmer, you give the story the liberty of the plot and logistics n I am sure you will awed by his pursuit.

Special mention of Virginia Madsen as an ideal fit as Mrs. Farmer.

What's happenning around the world

I am just thinking this is what you would be doing; and this is my best guess:

Bhatia (Dubai)– Getting up, playing fun-jaabi music while getting dressed, semi-dressed rush out to catch a bus/metro to work, pretend to be busy @ work, and pretend to understand everything and finally give a solution from experience….Curse, curse all the while on his way home, come home, search for bed - crash…

Kapil (Ohio)– get up, cranky and with ruffled voice, search for the glasses and his balls, fix a cup of tea, set up WI-FI, iron clothes, get dressed, plug the iphone, get to work, hit the keyboard of his laptop so soft that, the neighbor knows that yes, Kapil has reached office, read mails, make calls, think about home and miss it, check cricket score, read some reviews, think of what work needs to be done, walk up to next the cubicle and solve their problem, figure out his problem is still undone, two hours after work hours, solve his issues and tickets, imagine how would it be to date the Russian on his way back home, cook dinner, listen to music, watch Jeeper’s Creeper’s for 70th time, doze off…

Sappy (Bangalore) – get up, pick newspaper, watch over the maid, doze off again, get up when maid is about to leave, shower, wear whatever is ironed, kick start the bike, zip zap zoom reach office, time for coffee break, get back, time for lunch break, get back, reply to mails, time for coffee break, come back for status meeting, figure out the politics at work and outside, decide to close his tasks tom, zip zap zoom, reach home, have dinner, watch TV, download some serials, snoreeeeee

Tarun (Dubai) – Sleep, sleep a little more, time to reach office, no worries, select the combination he wants to wear, switch on some devotional music, iron clothes, including handkerchief, polish shoe, reach office, log on to msn and Gtalk, not sure how is his work routine, reach home, cook, read, doze off, get up mid-way with phone ringing, on phone even if he is under the neatly tucked under the blanket…

Varun ( California)– not very sure, drive to work I guess, say ‘Hey man’, ‘Hello There’ to people around, read the e-newspaper, come home, fiddle with his new found love digital SLR, slyly sneak a cocktail, appear all happy and gay, watch some TV, plonk, dream of a adventure sport…

Tiwari (New Jersey) – snore, sleep, snore, sleep, snore, if in time have a great breakfast, if in mood dress to kill, if in mood clip his beard, give gyaan at work, listen to some gyaan at work, drags with co-draggers, drive home, listen to some good music, fix dinner if in the mood, fix a drink….sleep, snore, sleep, snore

Joneja (Connecticut) – sleep smiling, wake up, fix a cup of tea, drive to work, socialize, work, lunch, network, catch up on music, reviews, technical material, business development, tea, help, design, solutions, architect, de-bug, clarify, cycle, swim, weights, run, jump, cook, read, review, call up, fix things, fix things in the apartment, sleep smiling

The Truth About Love

Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jimi Mistry

You would know what is coming up; so just let it happen, and maybe you too will join the flow; even if you don’t you are not likely to be in any grave danger.

Juno

Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner
Screenplay – Diablo Cody

Lot has been said and written about Juno. And when I watched it for the third time, yesterday, it becomes all the more stark, the genius of Cody Diablo. Academy award right away for the first film, its something. The characters in Juno get their identity from what they say. I mean Juno could have just been another pregnant teen, had it not been for her acerbic wit and humor. Bleeker, Bren, Leah, Su-Chin, and all the others say something which gives the character and the movie the needed edge. It was a great ride, you are on a high every three minutes or probably every two second…


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Cody

Burning Plain

Cast: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger
Director: Guillermo Arriaga

Directorial debut. I was not sure if I was sure, I wanted to continue. Since I knew the linkage to Babel and 21 grams, I knew the plot would get interlinked and the stories would merge. It was Charlize Theron’s and Kim Basinger’s performance which was the highlight of the film. Though the style is quite contemporary, somewhere it lacks the zing which Babel and 21 grams had. ‘The Edge of Heaven’ also on similar style of film making has a more intriguing plot and climax.

Good Girl

"After living in the dark for so long, a glimpse of the light can make you giddy. Strange thoughts come into your head and you better think'em. Has a special fate been calling you and you not listening? Is there a secret message right in front of you and you're not reading it? Is this your last, best chance? Are you gonna take it? Or are you going to the grave with unlived lives in your veins?"

"I am fertile; I could repopulate the whole planet"