Thursday, July 19, 2012

Yahaan Kal Kya Ho Kisne Jana

I can't claim to be a fan. I've hardly watched any movies of his. I'm an 80s baby and his popularity had started to wane by the time I tumbled out into the world. But I've heard stories of women going hysterical over him...sending him letters written in blood, trying to commit suicide when he married Dimple Kapadia etc. That is some serious stardom. And then he got lost into oblivion to the extent that he had to do B-grade movies to be able to continue paying his bills. That's a sad story indeed.

And can I just take a moment to say that the Havell's ad with him was completely appalling? Not something I expected of Balki.

RIP Rajesh Khanna

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is directed by David Fincher - the guy who directed 'Fight Club', 'Seven' and 'The Social Network'. All 3 movies that I liked and come on...isn't 'Fight Club' like a cult movie?


He doesn't disappoint with 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' either. To begin with, the casting is brilliant. BRILLIANT. I mean the sequence where they introduce the cast members, not the choice of cast (more on that later).


As soon as the casting begins, you know this is going to be one hard hitting movie....what with the amount of violence in the book...there will be no shying away from that. And there isn't. The sexual violence is all there and it's done in a way that will move you, rather than make you uncomfortable.


The movie is engaging and fast paced, and like most movies that are based on books it would help if you've read the book before. There are a couple of things you may miss if you haven't, and a few things you may not understand.


The casting I thought was a mixed bag. The male characters are spot on. I can't think of anyone else in Hollywood who would fit the character of Mikael Blomkvist better than Daniel Craig. Even the actor who plays Martin Vanger is perfect for the role - comes across a regular guy, even nice! But mentally, he's sick and deranged.


I'm not so sure of the casting of the female characters though. Let's start with Erika Berger who is played by Robin Wright ('Message In a Bottle', anyone?). I agree she is never described as being hot or pretty in the book (or is she?), but she comes across as quite sought after and is an important character in the scheme of things. Robin Wright just does not have much of an impact as Erika Berger, not much to do in the movie.


And then there's Lisbeth Salander herself. Now. In the book. She kicks ass. And even though she is a complete social misfit you find yourself rooting for her because she is just so awesome. She isn't social because she doesn't give a damn, but the movie makes her come across as shy. The actress who's played Lisbeth Salander has done a good job no doubt - given it's such a challenging role physically and emotionally - but she's not all that Lisbeth Salander is. And that's a real shame because she is the hero of the series. Maybe I'm feeling this way because I've seen the Swedish version where I found the actress to be awesome.


My main grouse with the movie is that they have changed the ending!!!!!! It may sound like a nice twist, and people who haven't read the book will not pick up on it, but I don't like it when they change things in movies from what they are in the book. I can understand it if it's done to make things more cinema-friendly, but here they have actually changed a part of the story in a way that was not required.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

He's closing on 40 but Jude Law is just as sexy now as he was years ago.


Jude-You-Sexy-Law, why don't we get to see more of you? :(


Sherlock Holmes - The Game of Shadows is really good. Just as good as the first one, if not better. Check it out if you haven't already - it keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. You'll like it...unless you didn't like the first one and you're not a fan of Guy Ritchie's style of movie-making.


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I went to Watson's Bay last weekend. It's a 30 minute ferry ride from Sydney CBD and is one of the most beautiful places I've visited so far in Australia (of which I haven't visited many yet, and I'm the worse for it because Australia is absolutely breath-takingly beautiful!). On one side of Watson's Bay are two cliffs over-looking the Tasman Sea (the picture on my blog header being one of them). You can climb right to the top and gaze out at the deep blue waters stretching to infinity infront of you.


At a short walk from these cliffs is Camp Cove beach with golden coloured sand and clear blue-green waters, and the legally nudist Lady Bay beach.


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I am so glad 2011 is behind us. Annus Horribilis. I don't know about you but I feel it was one of the crappiest years of my life. Happy to be in 2012 - it seems to be a year of hope and optimism. It even sounds so much better! Twenty-twelve...a nice round even number.


Hope you've all had a good start to the year.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The long braided hair, the stubble, the arrogance, the cockiness...SRK hasn't looked sexier before. I just wish this was his look throughout the movie.





Don 2 has made me fall in love with the man all over again.



On a separate note, Happy New Year folks.