Lost in Austen: A Review

In my recent expeditions to have as much Jane Austen related things around me, I've been viewing most of her novels made into movies. The ones adapted from Pride and Prejudice hold a particular place of importance as usual. And so, the other day, as I sat there, twiddling my thumbs, wondering what to view next when the TV series Lost in Austen caught my attention.

For those who're wondering what it's all about, let me explain. The story portrays a 21st century bank employee who's an avid Austen fanatic. She dreams of the world of the Regency era and yearns for an escape from the mundane things in her life. And as predictable as it gets, her prayers are answered. One day, she finds none other than Elizabeth Bennet in her bathroom and discovers that here's a hidden portal behind the plumbing that connects her world with that of Elizabeth's. And they decide to swap places. Up until this point, I was all in anticipation. But I should say... the moment she went into the other world, things started going a bit downhill for me.

For starters, she most decidedly wants to maintain the flow of the story but takes really drastic measures with no consideration for the times she's in to achieve what she desires. For a fanatic of Austen as the character is claimed to be, one would expect her to be aware of the ways in which things were dealt with in the time period of Austen's heroines. But nay! She acts brash and spunky and in her decided fashion of doing things, ends up complicating things more than they ought to be complicated.

For starters, why would she snog Bingley when she so righteously has taken it upon herself to actually bring him and Jane together? And then claim to be a lesbian to get away from him! I am sure there must have been another simpler way in which she could have achieved that and not alienate herself from half the population of the book. Any person with a grain of common sense would realize that the very act of being in a place where you aren't supposed to be alters that time and space. Ah... I guess I'm nit picking too much into the play now!

But there were good points as well. The characters of Austen's world for example. I am impressed with the way the story explores the unsaid assumptions that Austen left to her readers to ponder over. Wickham was one such character that I'm impressed with. Oh, and Mr. Collins. If I'd disliked him in the books, I positively loathe the one Lost in Austen portrays. Ugh... spending a lifetime in a monastery would be infinitely better than being married to that specimen! And it broke my heart to see his presence in the plot for more than what he merited in the books! And Darcy! Darling wonderful silly Darcy! I believe Elliot Cowan has done a wonderful job of usurping Collin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen to covet the title of my favorite portrayal of Darcy. Sigh... Too bad Amanda Price ends up looking like a swooning fan-girl everytime Darcy does something romantic. Yes, I understand resisting that man is futile. But, girl! One need not wear their hearts on their sleeves!

But all that said and done, I should say I enjoyed watching Lost in Austen for most of its duration and if you're a die hard Austen fan, you'd do well to pick this one up on rental. And for those who're hopeless romantics (or closet romantics like me), you could invest in a purchase as Mr.Darcy's passionate proclamations of love could melt frozen chocolate half a mile away!

Late Spring and me

I'm one happy camper today! Absolutely happy. Today, in Japanese class, we watched Yasujiro Ozu's (晩春Banshun or Late Spring. And to be honest, I'm moved... I'm more than moved... I'm happy... sad... invigorated... and a plethora of other emotions that I can't begin to express.

I'd heard of the ethereal beauty of Setsuko Hara. But it wasn't until I'd seen her in the movie that I realized what they actually meant. She's the sort of woman for whom the world could yearn and yet never hope to attain. She smiled as she expressed her disdain... in a way that made one feel as though she were teasing. And when she's sad, her face changes like a full moon behind the clouds. If we could have one actress like her, I swear cinema would take on an entirely new meaning!
Ah... I wish I could explain poignantly what transpired between the story and I! It was almost like for three hours, I was a silent spectator in the middle of the lives of a doting daughter and her kindly father... the little quirks... the tears that flowed... the friends that came and left... it all seemed so real! And sometimes, I wished I'd remained in that world forever!

Even after class was over, I still could not bring myself out of the movie. And I cannot thank my sensei enough for what he's done for us today. By showing us this movie, he has given us something to cherish for the rest of our lives. And hopefully, I'll get to see Banshun somewhere else at another time... And for everybody who hasn't seen the movie, please do go see it. You will not be disappointed!

And in other news, after Japanese class, Mom took me for some impromptu shopping where I got a few tops and a pair of jeans aaaaaaand.... the most beautiful wallet ever! It's purple and has Sakura blossoms printed on it. And it's sooooooo roooomy! It has a gazillion compartments but everything folds right away to form the cutest wallet in the world. Right now, I'm googling wallets and scoffing at everything I see because my wallet is so much cuter and prettier! 

Of copycats and.... copycats!

My mom had gone out for a movie with her office friends yesterday and it was some Tamil movie that had released on that day. First day... not quite the first show! My mother had wanted to see this particular movie for quite some time. As a matter of fact, it had two of her favorite artists in it. Since I was battling a butt ugly stye in my eye and dad had some really pressing matters to attend to, she decided to go on her own. And when she got home after the movie, I automatically assumed the movie wasn't that great. Because, if something impresses my mother, she gushes about it to me the moment we meet and well, she was just being normal.

So, when I asked her about the movie, she shrugged... "It's inspired by Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train." She deadpanned.

And that was all that took to have comprehension dawn on me. There it was... another over-hyped movie that's so heavily inspired by some other older one. My sensei the other day had promised that he would treat us to some really awesome Japanese movies by stalwarts like Ozu Yasujiro, Kurosawa Akira and Naruse Mikio. And when we asked him where he got these movies, he smiled and told us of his source who happened to be a guy from Bangalore who in turn sourced it from Taiwan. Apparently, that man's primary clientele happened to be really famous movie directors of the south. We all laughed though deep down in our hearts, we knew it.

To tell the truth;I feel insulted in a way. Sometimes the fact that it was taken, plot for plot from somewhere else is so blatant that it makes me wonder if the film maker is making fun of our intelligence... as though they're of the thought that unless the original was tempered to suit the Indian palette, it shall not see. Hello! Sure, there are folks who might find watching an English or foreign movie to be quite taxing. There are more people out there than those willing to accept that sometimes, they find even accented English hard to follow. And though I find it disconcerting to have these copies being marketed as something that's really wonderful, I've no problem with directors and writers trying their hands on adapting a foreign movie... see... I said adapting...not copying! And for anything to be adapted for something else, it is only right that the person give credit to the original idea.

And to all those idiots and jerk faces who are still in denial, worshiping their respective artists on a pedestal, GET A LIFE! Your hero or director is famous mostly because he decided to spend two hundred rupees on a CD that he thought would look good when it's improvised. And he's still making money, taking somebody's work, mutilating it in all probability and then regurgitating that mutilation with a heady number of songs and fights (something I just don't get!). While he gets richer and more rotund with all the joys money brings him, it is cinema that suffers.

And don't even get me started about the music industry! The day some d***ead decides to steal some composition by Yuki Kajiura, there'll be blood, I swear!

Harry.... just doesn't seem to age!

I finally managed to see the latest Harry Potter film in 3D. If only they could make these glasses lighter! By the time the movie was over, I was sporting a headache so huge, it felt like Voldemort was tap dancing inside with all his Death Eaters!

And what's with everybody looking the same 19 years later?! I mean, come on! It is so difficult adjusting to the fact that they're old... and actually.... OLDER THAN I AM when only a moment ago, they were 17! ARGH.... It's just not natural! But my mom was actually glad they retained the younger actors with a few prosthetic double chins and wrinkles because it would apparantly be confusing with difference actors! That's where a good screenplay comes into picture... isn't it?

Aaaanyway, when I was watching the 36 year old Harry and his similarly aged friends, I couldn't help but think of small kids putting on their parent's clothes just because they feel it's cool... it's cute but something's definitely off. Something like this -

I should take up Illustrating, don't you think so? :P

I saw Red Cliff. And I am impressed!

Yesterday, I got to see the dubbed rendition of the Chinese Epic Chi Bi (Red Cliff). I had seen the original one (part II to be exact), quite some time ago and was extremely impressed. I can assure you, it's not everyday that you get movies of this caliber! Though the original movie was made into a two part film that spanned a collective 5 hours or so, the English version was cut short to nearly half that time just to fit it all in one movie. Now though it didn't affect the narrative much, I'm afraid it ended up making the characters a little difficult to follow up. And I daresay, my mother who's not as interested in East Asian History as I am, found it a little difficult understanding who was fighting who and who was related to whom.

But that said, I must commend on the marvelous editing and the way the story was told. Not to mention, my favorite character was also in it! How could anyone have seen things to the end had it not been for the genius of Zhuge Liang or otherwise known as Kongming? And Takeshi Kaneshiro played the part with panache. And opposite the calm and composed Kaneshiro, we have Tony Leung playing the viceroy Zhou Yu. Kongming's unsaid thoughts are so perfectly understood by Zhou Yu and needless to say, together, they make a kick-ass team(though Kongming's only a strategist of sorts and doesn't actually fight much!). I mean, Kongming's the kind of guy who's the walking talking Farmer's Almanac! And Zhou Yu is the one who can multi-task all too well!

And we have Cao Cao, the baddie. Though to tell you the truth, I actually liked him just as much as Zhou Yu and Kongming. And the likening of the battle at Red Cliff to the Battle of Troy (minus the wooden horse) is uncanny. Cao Cao waging a war just so he can get another glimpse of Xiao Qiao, the wife of Zhou Yu, is very much like how things in Troy started out. Too bad Xiao Qiao is madly in love with her husband She appears every bit, the perfect foil for her husband who is as level headed as he can get already!

Hmmmm..... What do you know! I've found the perfect guy who could play the part of Hotohori,
the fourth emperor of Khonan! It's either Tony Leung or Takeshi Kaneshiro. I've not problem whoever plays the part but I'm leaning a wee bit (microscopically) towards Kaneshiro. But that's just because he's half Japanese! :P

I'd advice you guys to see the original Chinese version with subtitles if you want to understand everything that's going on. But if you can catch the meaning between the lines out of thin air (or all you care about are the kick-ass battle scenes), the English version will not disappoint you.

Must watch! Must see The Rite

I just realized that it has been ages since I've seen a movie at the theaters. And I just came upon the trailer of the yet to be released "The Rite".

It's a psychological thriller that shows the journey of a skeptic catholic priest as he delves deeper into the abbeys of his faith and emerges with the truth... or does he?

The film stars my all time favorite Anthony Hopkins and Colin O'Donoghue and is directed by the Swedish film writer and director Mikael Håfström.

It has indeed been quite some time since I've seen a good horror movie that does more than just scare... I'm talking about playing mind games with the audience here. I'm sure there hasn't been a movie along those line ever after "The Exorcist".

This movie is based on the book The Making of a Modern Day Exorcist by Rome based Matt Baglio.

The movie will be hitting the theaters in the US on January 28th next year. Assuming a worldwide release, I am eagerly waiting for its release here. Anyone game for a movie date? :D

P.S. The smell of Himalaya Gentle Face Wash gel is really soothing! :)

If I called... would you come?

I saw Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya last week. And I haven't been so moved in ages! Before ye brand me as a hopeless romantic, hear my plea!

The movie showed love as it is. None of the flossy running around trees with hags dressed in angel costumes showering you with paper flowers... no loud mouthed hero who could beat up twenty goons with one hand... no villainous super villain who is hell bent on killing the hero... no sugar coating... ever!

The Hero's the kind of guy you meet everyday. A guy who's in love, yet doesn't go overboard in his proclamations. A heroine who's sane, doesn't wear a skimpy mini skirt to office (just because the script demanded it!), doesn't faint in the middle of a fight (there are no fights here... not the dishoom dishoom types, at-least!), doesn't go overboard with the face paint... is just your girl next door. And they fall in love. Simple as that... or probably not... But the movie shows it as it is.

The songs were beautiful, especially 'Hosana'... It had a nice feel to it. Almost like making me smile thinking of the kind of love he had for his girl. And the other songs gelled well with the script... so, no problems there! If there's one other thing that got me straight at the heart, it's the carefully selected ambience throughout the movie. Not a couch is out of place... and just because it's a movie, nothing's been glamourized or overdone.

And in the end... what really got me was the climax. It was so different... yet so right! I was a little anxious when I heard a rumour they'd changed it! No other ending would work and Gautham Vasudeva Menon has understood that! I can't say how glad I am to finally meet a director who doesn't dilly dally just to make it commercial!

On the whole, for music, I'd give it 5/5! (A.R.R. rocked the roofs off, people!)

For cinematography and camera work, I'd again give it a 5/5!

For Simbu, whom I had earlier been wary of, for having given such a memorable performance, especially towards the end, I give him a 4.75/5... still gotta work on the voice, me lad!

For Trisha, for portraying 89% of girls in the country so beautifully, I give her another 5/5.

For Ganesh, the trusty best friend of the hero, for having carved a special place in the hearts of the masses without having to do slapstick humour, I give him a 5/5.

And for Gautham, for having given such a heart touching tale in its true colours, I give him yet another 5/5!

On a final note, this movie has made me laugh... made me sniffle.... made me feel so many things... Everybody... go see it NOW!!

Kandaswamy.... romba overa ventha swamy!

There are sometimes when we do somethings that are just so silly that we can do nothing but laugh at ourselves later on. Well, family and I decided we'd go watch a movie tonight and against my better judgment, we gave Transformers a miss and went for Kandaswamy instead.

Three words are all I have for that movie.... Oh. My. God!

And those three words can be taken in a lot of different contexts depending upon which aspect of the movie we're discussing here.

The Actors: Vikram did full justice (as much as he could humanly do) to his role. But when the screenplay doesn't support you much, there isn't much you can do...is there? But I have to say, the scenes where he imitates a rooster are just plain hilarious! I ended up laughing out loud in the theater when everyone was so busy being all intense and stuff! But he looked real smart when he wasn't wearing the chicken suit! =P And Shreya.... well... erm.... she has a great body. Nothing more. I know that every actress wants to be considered for more than what they look like... but come on! Anyone who's seen the movie will know what I mean! It's kinda obvious everybody's seen Shakira's music videos. But people... this whole belly dancer thing is getting old. I mean... she belly dances her way through all the songs! And furthermore... she can't be sexy to save her life. Such a waste for someone who's got the stuff. Too bad she can't strut it!

The Story: Your typical "Robin hood" plot. The hero steals from the rich and gives it to the poor. Blah Blah... a fight here... a narrow escape there... more blah blah... no evidence, hero is released. Too bad reality ain't so rosy-posy!

Screenplay: it sucked! It sucked more than anything in the history of Screenplays; in the history of sucking! The way the plot's taken about makes even the most ardent fan of the franchise yawn. And I was more than tempted to just leave! I'm sure Transformers would've been better in this department! At least they would've had fighting robots, which are cooler than some bloke in a chicken suit any day!

Direction: Susi Ganeshan has spent quite a lot of money on this one! And the direction could've been a tad bit slicker. As much as the movie talks about how the rich don't think about how they earn their money exploiting the poor, it is kinda ironic, we're being charged for watching this movie and making the ones who made it richer!

Music:Well.... remember the time when your grandma warned you not to overdo the spices and spoil the biriyani? Well, guess what? Gramma sure knew what she was talking about! The music's good at places but then, the music director tries to bring in too many genres of music into the same song and voila! Before you know it, you're covering your ears and cringing, thinking of where the melody evaporated to!

All in all, I'll give the movie four out of ten and I'm being generous here! Ah well... next time I watch a movie, I'll be thinking twice before I shell out money to sit in a theater where the lady next to me gives me the heebidibajeebies all because I'm wearing capris and the AC is out of control! But all that is another story altogether! Chennai sure is a funny place!

Far North - Far too good!

What defines civilization? What separates humanity from the animal that he truly is underneath? Is Man truly not an Island?

Well... if you're wondering why I spew forth such philosophical warbling, I'll have you know that you'll be thinking along the same lines had you seen "Far North" by Asif Kapadia.

With a heavy-weight character cast that include Michelle Yeoh, Sean Bean, Michelle Kruseic, this is one movie which will have you thinking about (and shuddering in a shocked but impressed way) for days!

A movie based on the book "True North" by Sara Maitland, the movie explores the human mind in its most basic and unadorned form. And the end will have the most confident critic shell shocked for sure!

And I'm aware some people think the ending is a little implausible. But, for the character in the story and the kind of events that she's been through, I'm sure it all makes sense.... and further more, had it been any different, it wouldn't be so beautiful!

And the cinematography and Music are aspects that just add to the beauty of the movie! All in all, I'll ask everyone not to miss this one!

Anatha Thandavam - a movie that made me go.... eeeeeeeh?!

Where do I begin? Hmmm... just so it is understandable as to why I am reviewing this movie, I'll let you guys in on one thing. I'm moved by two things in life. Something that's really mind-blowingly good and something that's utterly sad. This movie falls under the second category. Now before people think this is some tear-jerker of sorts, I'll have them know that this movie moved me - away from ever watching it... or even thinking about watching it.... ever again!

The story is an adaptation on the late Tamil writer Sujatha's story "Pirivom Santhippom" (It means, we'll separate; we'll meet again...or something along those lines). And I don't know how the book was. But if it was anything as corny as the movie, I shall be surprised. Because, Sujatha is supposed to be a really prolific writer (I haven't read his books... It takes me an hour to make it to the second page!) or so my mother says!

The story begins with an Anna University Mechanical Engineer (he's my University's alumini?! Gee... I hope there aren't many like him out there!). Even after completing his course, he finds it very hard to secure himself a job. And even though that is kinda surprising,(Anna University students almost always find some job or the other!) after watching his character for fifteen minutes, I can see why! And he returns to his hometown near Ambasamudhram to his doting and understanding father (one of the very few people in the whole movie with something between his ears!). There, he meets Madhumitha, the daughter of the Chief Engineering Officer. She is this really naive and sweet girl whose pranks "supposedly" show her mischievous side (though plainly, five minutes into the whole 'prank' thing, I wanted to smack her up the head and wonder if she even has something that resembles a brain somewhere in her body).

And Raghu sees Madhumitha and she beholds him... blah blah blah... they fall in love. Having known each other for a fortnight, they get engaged. And when any normal person would hear alarm bells going off in their heads, our hero floats about in Cloud number nine! And when his father asks him about it, he accuses his pops of being paranoid and silly. (Kids these days!) But things go awry when Raghu takes up a job that Madhumitha's pops sets up for him (he leaves, completely forgetting his father - the man who raised him and fed him and clothed him... Seriously, falling in love doesn't make people this selfish and 'jerk'y!)

Enter Radhakrishnan. He is some bigass executive working in Macintosh with an artificial bald-spot that looks downright tacky! And Madhumitha in her childish way chooses to marry him instead. When Raghu hears of this, he is heartbroken! (Le gasp! You don't say!) He tries to kill himself but survives and decides to carry on with his life after his daddy-dearest gives him some pearls of wisdom about how chicks dig dudes with the right bling... blah blah... you know...

He gets admitted into New York University and on reaching there, is kinda shaken up by the American society today. (or atleast what the director thinks of it - shootouts, Korean guys killing their girlfriends who cheat on them, coloured people robbing unsuspecting Indians...yep! That is all the ever happens there folks! Oh.. And pole dancing! Am I even making sense here? >__<) There, he meets sensible and well rooted Rathna, a girl who values her independence and her culture equally and has managed to strike a balance between the two. One almost begins to accept that perhaps Raghu has finally put his silly visage and probably lives on like a normal person with a cerebral cortex when Madhumitha makes a comeback in his life and he realizes he likes her even after all the shit he’s been through thanks to her! (Awww…. Sweet…. NOT!)

And so, they meet up more often and soon, Raghu realizes Mr. ‘Baldy a.k.a. Baddy’ is actually sending her off to meet him so he can frolic around with sweet young things. And in the meantime, he is drawn to Rathna and they’re about to get engaged when Madhumitha comes to know of her hubby’s bad side and suffers abuse because of it. She runs to Raghu and asks him to run away with her. And all of this happens on the day he is supposed to get engaged to Rathna in Pittsburg. And so, there’s this huge hullabaloo and Raghu is ‘forced’ to leave Madhumitha. (seriously… forced you say? Oy Vey! And hasn’t that female heard of helplines for abuse victims? Wait… if she was that smart, she wouldn’t be married to the jerk in the first place now, would she!) Madhumitha cuts her hand and gets herself run over by a trailer in Malaysia! (Yep! You heard me right! I don’t think road signs are in Malay in Pittsburg…. Do you? Uh huh! I can be observant too, ya know! B-D)

And well… everybody except the hubby repents and blah…blah…blah… a really boring climax and an abrupt end. There you go people! I’ve reviewed the movie. And if anyone’s wondering why I subjected myself to this misery, paying money for the theatre people and all, I didn’t. This is from what I saw of the movie from TV. And I might see it again. I love making fun of these stupid, brainless characters you see! Yep… this girl’s an M and an S at the same time! =P

Psssst... don't let this review make you shy of seeing this movie! What's life without a little bad entertainment?! And I personally think Rukmini Vijayakumar who plays Rathna is kinda cute. Oh... and I'm going through PMS. But that does not affect this review in any way! =D

Movies I'm dying (or killing) to see!

Oh kay... maybe the title's a bit too intense... Die is too strong a verb....'risk my life to a reasonable extent' will be a better substitute.
These are the few movies I soooo want to see!

1) KUNG FU PANDA: Kick it up for Po, the panda! I saw the trailers and beware... if I ever see you guys with a ticket to this movie, I will try homicide to get it. I love everything about that panda... from his knickers to his 'Aooooo' when he attempts Kung Fu. So, if someone wants to take me to this movie! YES! YES! OH YES!!!

2) WALL-E: I don't know... the robot seemed so... so.... no, cute is not the word... more than cute! Lovable... Well, from the trailers I've seen, I find Wall-e to be one of those characters that I would cry for. Yep! I'd cry for a robot! How about that? I'm not that cruel after all! :P And somehow, if a lonely robot who's had just himself for company for 700 years doesn't melt your heart, NOTHING will! (Okay... that was a bit of an exaggeration. But play along... please?)
And if you have a free ticket to spare (or just a ticket... I don't mind filling your place! MWAHAHAHA!), who're you gonna call?
*CHORUS* This Blog's Author!