In Search of Myths & Heroes
By admin | January 12, 2009
Director: Michael Wood
Take a break from staid TV features and watch an entire series on travel, history and adventure. This four-part series produced for BBC and the PBS television network combines all three as it retraces the origins of four famous myths across the continents. Michael checks out the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece after his wicked uncle Pelias packed him off to collect the Golden Fleece. The crew travels from Greece to Istanbul to dig up facts, if any, behind this myth. And traverses the South Arabian and Ethiopian borderlands to explore the myth of the fascinating Queen of Sheba and discover Shangri-La, the mythical capital city of Tibet that supposedly lies hidden behind the Himalayan range. The biggest myth of them all-the legend of king Arthur-takes them across the English countryside from Ireland to the Isle of Iona. Breathtaking scenery, mystic mysteries, great storytelling-don’t miss this!
Topics: Adventure | No Comments »
The Punisher War Zone
By admin | December 26, 2008
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Cast: Tom Jane, John Travolta
Sometimes, just to get over the week’s intellectual burden on your mind, you need a real solid dose of a blood-and-gore slug fest. So, here’s the perfect weekend watch. Based on a lesser known Marvel Comics character, Frank Castle, It’s a slam-banger, akin to the 1970s vigilante flicks with Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood. Undercover FBI agent Frank (Tom) poses as a drug dealer to bust a major deal involving the ruthless mob boss Howard Saint (John). All hell breaks loose when Howard’s son dies in the shootout. Howard promptly butchers Frank’s family. As betrayals fester, head roll and cars explode in robust grandeur, Frank decides that revenge is not enough, that he must mete out punishment as judge, jury and executioner, that Howard must pay for all his un-Saintly acts. And those are good reasons for all his un-saintly acts. And those are good reasons for all action freaks to push play!
HOT Tip: A blast from the retro-action past; nothing ‘comic’ about this!
Topics: Action, Adventure, Movies | No Comments »
Roman Polanski Repulsion
By admin | December 11, 2008
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Yvonne Furneaux, John Fraser, Ian Hendry, Patrick Wymark
What’s bizarre about this 1965 black and white movie by the great director-for whom this is a first in English-is that the viewer becomes a voyeur who gets to peep into a disturbed mind. Carol (Catherine), a Belgian manicurist working in a London salon, is reticent and always scared. She shares a flat with her sister Helen (Yvonne) and detests men. Carol is also haunted by nightmare of getting raped. Little fissures on her room walls turn into monstrous cracks and ugly hands appear from nowhere to grope her! Gilbert Taylor’s photography-more of the arthouse variety-comes alive via creepy sounds long bouts of silence tick-tocking of clocks and sudden screeching crescendos (courtesy Chico Hamilton’s music) to jolt you out of your skins. Watch it for its sheer shock value!
DID YOU KNOW?
Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski’s 1971 film Macbeth, based on Shakespeare’s tragedy is viewed as a brutally violent film. It was supposedly influenced by the gruesome murder of his pregnant wife Sharon Tate in 1969.
HOT TIP: The film’s pace can be frustratingly slow but get an eyeful of the gorgeous Catherine who emotes largely with just her eyes!
Topics: Movies | No Comments »
Broken Flowers:Bill Murray’s expressions-bored and cynical.
By admin | December 5, 2008
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Cast: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Julie Deply, Jessica Lange
The ‘oh-so-original’ tag can be a handicap for filmmakers like Jim, since viewers and critics alike are always busy searching for their trademark style in all films. This one-a Grand Prix winner at Cannes 2005-actually has a tidy story not fractured moments revolving around characters. (Think of the final version of the director’s 2003 Coffee and Cigarettes with 11 different stories somehow holding on for dear life on transient whiffs of caffeine and smoke!) Here Don Johnston (Bill) has a story to tell if not conclude and a quest to fulfill. This supposed womaniser (it took some stretch of imagination to think of deadpan Bill hooking those gorgeous women) gets an anonymous letter from one of his lovers that says he has a son by her who might come looking for Don. With a nosy neighbor who wants to play detective Don moves out of his mostly-finished and gone-sour life to look up exflames. This is followed by a glam ramp walk cum close peek into the lives of some very eclectic American women who were once draw (god alone knows why) to Don.
HOT Tip: Slow and unfocused at times Bill reprises a role he’s good at–man of action not words-but his girls steal the show!
Topics: Comedy, Drama, Movies | No Comments »
Waitress Movie (2007) starring Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion & Cheryl Hines
By admin | December 4, 2008
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Cast: Keri Russel, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines
Jenna (Ken) a small-town waitress with big ; dreams bakes great pies and secretly hopes to win a $25,000 contest so she can walk out on her obnoxious husband and open her own pie shop. Enter a handsome newcomer in town, who might just help Jenna find true happiness.
Topics: Comedy, Movies | No Comments »
Hijack is a riveting thriller!
By admin | November 27, 2008
Shiney as the action man-that’s a new one! Chandigarh airport ground officer Vikram’s life goes haywire when the Amritsar-Delhi flight is hijacked and forced to land at Chandigarh. Reason: His daughter’s on the flight. He manages to sneak into the aircraft with the help of feisty airhostess Saira (Esha). And they start to trounce the terrorists, one by one. But do they manage to save the day? Of course! But how? Watch to find out…
Topics: Action, Movies | No Comments »
New Kids on the Block - The Block
By admin | November 6, 2008
The boys are back. And how! The late-1980s sensation band has regrouped after a gap of more than a decade and, going by their new album, they seem to have hit all the right notes. Well, almost. The voices have matured and the songs no longer have the trademark bubblegum feel that made them such a rage back then. Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey Mcintyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood have tried hard to show that boy bands still have takers, despite what critics claim. The Block has Lady Gaga, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, New Edition and others making great appearances on various tracks. Songs you’ll love at once are Summertime, Click Click Click, Single, Full Service, Don’t Cry and Grown Man. Almost all the songs have sexual undertones but since the music is easy on the ears, don’t let the lyrics get to you!
HOT Tip: Way better than their earlier stuff. Don’t bother to retrospect about their earlier style, though.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
By admin | October 15, 2008
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Cast: Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi), Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu; Japanese with English subtitle;
A placid countryside in Japan. A blind, blonde man sits on the roadside to rest his aching limbs. A few rogues appear and entice a child to steal his shiny, red cane. The child does the job but gets slap instead of the promised coins. In a flash, the blind man leap up, a snatches back his sword (disguised under the very shiny cane all this while) and slashes all the rogues to very bloody ands. If you liked what Quentin tarantino did in the gory Kill Bill series, you’ll now know where his inspiration came from! A high-budget film production of the immensely popular Zatoichi TV action series of sparring Samurais and the local Yakuza gang wars, this flick adds more finesse to swordfights, more gore to blood (Which incidentally is computer generated) and more panache to the reticent, grimacing, muttering oddball of an actor Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi). This pop-cultural icon of Japan has scripted, directed, acted in and edited the film as well! Zatoichi is aided by a pair of sibling geishas (including a cross-dresser!) trying to avenge their parents murder. He has to vanquish the powerful Hattori (Tadanobu), the bodyguard of the gang chief, to reclaim peace and fairplay in the village. Look out for the gang chief, to reclaim peace and fairplay in the village. Look out for the stylistic ending-quite unlike the gory tempo of the gory tempo of the entire movie.
HOT Tip: Won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Fest and the People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Fest, both in 2003.
Topics: Action, Drama, Movies | No Comments »
ENIGMA - SeVeN LiVeS ManY FaCeS
By admin | October 13, 2008
The seventh album from Enigma may not be their best but does a neat job of keeping you hooked. The songs may give you a sense of déjà vu but there are a few elements that are quite fresh and new. Founded in 1990 by Michael Cretu, David Fairstein and Frank Peterson, the band has carved a niche for itself among music lovers. Starting with Encounters, the album has gems like Seven Lies, a blend of contemporary and classical beats apart from La Puerta Del Cielo, Touchness and fata Morgana Much better than their last offering this one scores because the melodies sound more like the group’s early works. According to Michael, it was his intention to combine the dirties Bronx hip-hop beats with the purity of the London Symphony Orchestra!
HOT Tip: A great hear, especially during those romantic, candlelit dinners!
Topics: Music | No Comments »
Taalisman - Pete Lockett & Amit Chatterjee
By admin | October 12, 2008
East and West do meet, like in the musical repertoires of Pete and AMIT MULTI-percussionist Pete has played not only with icons like Bjork and Peter Gabriel but also A R Rahman and Vikku Vinayakram. And Amit-guitarist, sitarist, composer, vocalist-has not only been associated with jazz-fusion legend Joe Zawinul but also with Carlos Santana and Trilok Gurtu. When these two meet, what do we get but a melting pot of musical textures? Tune in to quirky Jugalbandis in 7G 444. Forest and Ojha and the stylized vocals in Ghunghat and Talisman, Intellectual lounge music for an arty do!
HOT Tip: Pete’s mastered a host of percussion instruments, including the mridangam, the Egyptian tabla, the West African djembe and the Japanese taiko! Drum it on.
Topics: Music | No Comments »
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