Desperate Housewives

"Desperate Housewives" is made up of an interesting breed of characters. The "wives" in this program are indeed desperate- for either a "perfect" relationship with one of their thousands of desirable suitors, or from keeping their already crumbling marriages from falling apart. I've not seen one character on this show who is truly happy with what they've got. 

"I envy you" 

"Why? What are you talking about?"

"You're so detached. You treat men like tissues. You can throw each one away after using them." 

"Well honey, here's the difference between you and me. I want men. You need them. You're weak." 

"What?"

"My father left me and my mom and took away all my ceramic horses. After that, I've never trusted men again."  

So, Desperate Housewives is like a comedy-drama about not gaining happiness from relationships... and I guess it's entertaining. But what I enjoy more is the sinister mystery going on in each season. In the first season, it was the murder of Mary Anne Young and how her son was actually conceived. These murders and mysteries are not all serious, some are actually quite funny. It's a great sense of originality in the program. 

I suppose Desperate Housewives has some relevance to our lives as well: as people who always search for happiness in others instead of happiness within ourselves. But here's the irony-  only in TV shows can people get over cheating husbands and sudden tragic deaths. That's what makes them so fun to watch- people move on to better things. 

Of course, characters have to fall again, so we can watch them get back up. 

So I don't want to like this show, but I do. 

New Moon

I did not expect anything from "New Moon." I sort of walked in with a clean slate: without having done any prior research, or without having consulted Richard Corliss or Roger Ebert. That's why I am not at all surprised that I found New Moon to be a fun movie. I thought it was much better than the slow-paced first one- which yielded an entire scene of two people staring at each other while lying on grass.

One of the entertaining additions was the character "Jacob Black," who's hotness exceeds Edward's by a factor of a million. I wouldn't be disappointed if the directors decided to make Jacob and Bella a pair by the end of the series. 

Another addition is the awesome special effects... Jacob transforming into a werewolf is the coolest scene in the movie. I also like Victoria (the villain)'s lurking mysteriousness.  

Of course, the acting is eh, the drama is eh, the plot is eh. But the rest makes up for it! This is a movie after all, not a word by word reenactment of the bleeding wistfulness and desire in Stephanie Meyer's novel. 

So you should watch it! And see how you like it with no expectations. 

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is probably one of the most entertaining teen movies I've ever seen. The characters are well developed and the plot is simple. Basically, five totally different kids land up in detention together and slowly start getting along. You have the druggie/burnout, popular girl, the jock, the eccentric, and the nerd. If you ask me, my favorite character is the druggie because he's the one firing up all the conversations. 

He (Judd Nelson) asks the nerd (Anthony Michael Hall) why he thinks Ceramics would be an easy subject to take. 

Hall said that trigonometry's important because without it, there'd be no engineering.

Nelson said that Ceramics is more important because without it, there'd be no light. 

Nelson seems insightful, but at the same time we know that most of his jokes are wise-cracking and retaliating instead of meaningful. He has all this anger inside of him because of  his rough family situation- with a father on dope and a mother who's barely around. His aggression probably comes from his background- and his unresolved feelings. 

That's why it seems ironic that such a loud and obnoxious person like Nelson is the product of neglect from his family, from his peers, and even from the school principal,  who sees him as a screwed up case. This same sort of neglect also applies to the eccentric- who became an outcast because of parents who ignore her existence. Perhaps it also applies to the prom queen- who is given too much attention to get a chance to show her imperfections. And the jock- with too much attention from his bullying, perfectionist dad and friends- who constantly expect only the best or "coolest" from him. 

So we all have expectations, from other people, and mostly from ourselves. Perhaps we outta have our own mental breakfast club and just stop and think for a moment, about why we might feel sad or unfulfilled- and then try to resolve the situation. 

BTW: Don't get me wrong, this movie is NOT a complete drama- it's actually kind of a comedy. But it gets you thinking about some pretty serious stuff. 

My So-Called Life

On second thought.... maybe this show is making a statement about teenagers in a unique way... because at the end, by not making it obvious who Angela ends up with, the director is making it all the more realistic... 

As teenagers we haven't really found ourselves. We don't really know what we want... yet. 

My So-Called Life

Now, in 21st century serials, we see teenagers use words like "pirana" and "extortion". Words that we, as normal teenagers would have to look up in the dictionary to confirm. 

After watching "My So- Called Life" from 1994, it seems as though in the early 90's, this was the opposite.  

It's interesting to see how the characters in this show are very slow with their talking.

 "why are you, like the way you are?" (took a pause in between)

"why do you like, say things like that?" (another pause)

"what?" "huh?" (three minutes to just let this out)

"like.... whatever"(same thing)

I for one think that teenagers speak a bit more fluently than just three-five words at a time with swaggering stances. 

But you see, although I am a bit ticked off by the dialogue, I am impressed by the way the show leaves the audience hanging- who will Angela (school outcast) end up with? Jordan, the popular burnout? Or Brian, the sensitive nerd? Neither of the resulting relationships would be normal..

I believe there's been a lot of fanfiction about that...  

Ordinary People

“Ordinary People” is a deep film with significant nuances but not much entertainment. The protagonist is Conrad (Timothy Hutton), a sad sad teenager suffering from low self-esteem, fear and guilt of his older brother’s sudden death. Conrad’s feelings and relationships are complicated- especially the one he has with his mother, which he feels has died along with his older brother. In my opinion, his mother is a scary cookie. She puts on a cheerful façade and serves breakfast to Conrad, but when he says he’s not hungry out of clear emptiness, she nonchalantly dumps his French toast down the sink. She is obviously so selfish that she doesn’t care about anyone. I hate how the movie shows her being nice and polite to Conrad when all I really want her to do is strip off and show her true colors.

Conrad visits a psychiatrist who is a HUGE disappointment. I just watched Goodwill Hunting yesterday, and with the enthusiasm, energy and skill Roger Williams uses to deliver his lines as Will’s psychologist, this movie’s shrink definitely falls short. “I’m your friend Conrad,” he says in a monotone drab, and the kid has to act as though he has a life changing experience… HOW LAME.

“Ordinary People” won four Oscars and is definitely not a bad film. There were many elements to it that were impressive. Timothy Hutton was amazing as Conrad and there were touching scenes: my favorite one is the ending, when Conrad’s dad who was always shy and reluctant in expressing his love, finally shows it. 

Brokeback Mountain

Oftentimes I wonder why I like this movie so much. It is so poignant.... Yet, there is something special that makes it more than just a "gay cowboy" movie.

Ennis and Jack meet as teenagers when they get their first job herding sheep in an area amid mountains called "Brokeback Mountain." The isolated atmosphere of Brokeback Mountain and the confidence that these two characters cultivate in each other, results in a passionate affair that is unforeseen. This brief but significant affair creates an unavoidable force that draws these two men together every four years, even when they have their own wives and children. Yet, we sympathize with these characters because of their forbidden love. We buy into the hardcore determinism and realize that both Ennis and Jack are doomed in their forbidden love because Ennis cannot accept his homosexuality and Jack cannot resist being away from Ennis long enough to keep his dignity. At least Romeo and Juliet's plan could have worked, if that stupid letter came on time. But here, there is MORE complexity, and an issue with accepting these feelings itself. 

I recommend this movie to those who like watching hard and realistic films. What I mean by "hard" is intense. There is a lot of emotional tension in the air and the movie has a big possibility of either making you feel sad, frustrated or empty. 

Watching this was definitely a good experience though because it got me thinking of what it really means to sacrifice your passion for convenience, wealth or money... 

The Namesake

"The Namesake" directed by Mira Nair, is an interesting and slow film, and it is relatable in a way because as American Desis, we all feel  at one point in our lives that our parents are too old-fashioned or superstitious. Gogol Ganguli, the main character, takes this very reason to avoid his parents completely after getting involved with an American white woman, Maxine. However, this only creates more pain after a tragedy strikes his family.

"The Namesake" has a dramatic pace to it, and most of what occurs is quite extreme, as the protagonist goes through a huge and frustrating transformation.  After his father dies, Gogol tries to abstain from his erratic western way of life by sticking strictly to Indian culture and living with his mother, but when he marries a Bengali woman who ends up cheating on him, he realizes that life is more than just following traditions... 

The sweetest character is probably Ashima Ganguli (played to perfection by Tabu), the mother of Gogol, whose kindness eventually makes her open-minded enough to accept her son's liberal views. She comes to accept her son's mediocre identity, and even asks him to make up with Maxine after noticing his loneliness. I can see my dad making the same compromises for me if I was really intent on getting a degree in art (which is never gonna happen cuz I SUCK at art or making things...). 

So okay... the movie is a relate-able to me, and I am sure it may be to anyone who's parents are immigrants.

Kotha Bangaru Lokam (telugu movie)

There is something about conventional telugu movies that makes me wanna barf.  Perhaps it's the overacting and extraneous sentimentality that pervades every two minutes of these dragging pieces of crap. Well, this one stars Varun Sandesh, probably the best looking telugu actor in tollywood, who I liked much better in "Happy Days" where he was a nice and shy college student. In this movie, he is a teenager, which is very unconvincing, since he looks like a college student and acts like a five year old. But what I find annoying might be normal: for Sandesh is simply following in the footsteps of the top telugu actors, making bizarre gestures that most people would find inappropriate... 

the heroine (who HAS to be his lover) is depicted as "cool" and "innocent," code words for "boring" and "dumb."

I suggest that you don't watch this movie if you are not a regular viewer of telugu movies, and if you are, then please don't get offended by my review. I was somehow really frustrated by this film, and its strange dimensions.. 

Chances Are

The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., the awesome dude from Iron Man, who manages to bring great complexity and emotion to his role in this light hearted comedy. 

In a nutshell, this movie is about a lawyer (Louie) in his 30s (totally in love with his wife, Corrine) who dies and gets re-incarnated as a yale graduate (Downey) whose girlfriend is the daughter of his previous birth.

 It's funny to see Downey realize his former identity. Especially as the ex- husband of the ever loyal Corrine who sneaks pictures of  Louie in the refrigerator.

And when Corrine finally believes that Downey is Louie, she tells her shrink, "I'm in love with a 22 year old man I knew for 26 years." 

I really liked this movie because it was cute. I enjoyed the reunion between Downey and his former birth's wife because it seemed like real, genuine love for a change. 

Downey is really cute, being the young actor he is in this film. 

Do I recommend it?? Ehhhhh. This review has lots of spoilers and it's pretty old. So if ya have time and wanna see it after reading this, then I suppose you can =) 

Halallooyah

PS: Sorry for the confusing plot explanation.... :) 

12 Angry Men

I chose to watch this movie the day before a physics final... and I don't regret it at all. This movie is intellectual gold... it captures the very essence of good film making, and it MAKES SENSE.

The movie is about an hour and a half long and it involves a jury making a decision about a boy's innocence. By the end, 12 men which make up the jury must either mark this boy as "guilty" or "not guilty" for stabbing his father ten minutes after midnight. It is REMARKABLE to find these gentlemen, all from varying backgrounds and pasts come together and make logic of fragmented trial evidence (apparently the boy's lawyer wasn't very good...). In this extraordinary case, the men must not only use their brains but overcome their prejudices.

It is a MUST SEE film, rated #8 on IMDB's top 250 movie list, and it is probably the ONLY OLD movie worth watching (in my opinion...). It released in 1957, but this movie is TREASURE, and with its simplicity and down-to-earth arguments, it is spectacularly interesting to see.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!

Go figure.

Cutting Edge 3: Chasing The Dream

This movie didn't release in theaters... it premiered on television, which might be the answer to why you've never heard of it. 

This movie's a spinoff of the original Cutting Edge movie, released in 1992 about a hockey player becoming a figure skater on ice...

Except this time, the changer is a girl played by Francia Raisa, a well-complexioned, hot figured latino girl. Her veteran figure skating partner is practically a backstreet boy model, played by the hot Matt Lanter. Is this realistic?? Ehhh, not really. Is this worth watching?? Not quite (at least in my opinion...). 

A lot of the stuff is dramatized. For one thing, the relationship between Matt Lanter and Francia Rasia's characters. Now, I never thought the relationship between figure skating partners HAD to be romantic, but that's what the movie seems to be proving... and it might seem to make sense, I mean you're touching your partner in intimate places and chemistry does play a huge role. When Matt Lanter's character tries to pull away from that romantic connection at one point in the movie, it is awfully frustrating for Francia's character, because a part of the game seems to be the tension between the players. And Francia and Matt are somehow doomed to fall in love from the beginning because if it isn't so, then neither can skate comfortably, and neither would be happy either... That's what this movie seems to be proving...

HOWEVER, often times in real life, people do not HAVE to fall in love to be figure skating partners and so at times I kinda felt that their whole relationship was too dramatized.

NEXT, in a STATE competition, Matt Lanter's character (Zack) falls and trips over Raisa's character (Alejandra). Despite this cardinal mistake, they still get 4th place, and then by luck of a cheating couple, they get 3rd and then go to nationals. This is highly improbable.  Generally, IF you FALL, YOU'RE OUT!!! That's it. There is no chance, whatsoever. Especially in a state competition...

Anyways, I like Francia here much more than in the Secret Life of the American Teenager. She  is more natural and has the potential to be a fun person, although at times she's nosy.... Matt Lanter is quite the hottie, although at times his voice is too earnest for the role (in my opinion...)

It was quite obvious that Francia and Matt weren't really figure skating throughout, there were doubles that were doing the difficult parts (if you look closely on the screen, ya can see)....The doubles actually did almost the WHOLE national competition - do I have any qualms about that??? Not really, but it was quite obvious....

SO....No need to really watch this movie. But if ya wanna kill time, I suppose it's okay.

:)

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

This show is an acquired taste...at first you think it's just plain WIERD...but then you get used to the way the characters bluntly talk about their drama and personal lives. This is NOT a rated R series- it's TV14, and VERY appropriate for teenagers. It actually discourages sex, which is a good thing and tries to make the whole scene realistic. But then it has to be entertaining....so there are a bunch of complicated plot devices to spice it up a bit. 

My favorite character is...NO ONE. Everyone is kinda screwed up in one way or another. If it is either through their personalities, or their decisions, BUT at least, it shows how lame having a baby in highschool is. No matter how much you love the child, it was produced at the wrong time...

Amy Jergins has a baby with the school player, Ricky. And after she finds out she's pregnant, Amy falls for a sweet boy named Ben (too clingy as we see through later episodes...). Then her mom gets pregnant by her dad WHILE they are having a divorce. If this is not complicated enough for you...then try the relationship between Ricky and Adrian (the school biatch/slut/girlfriend of Ricky)....Excuse me, but I think I accidentally forgot to mention the two most boring characters...Grace, a christian/cheerleading  barbie doll, who's irritatingly perfect and her innocent, nice but slow football boyfriend, Jack. The most normal character would be Jack, but then he had a thing with Adrian and did all these strange things which made him enter this show's conventional club of stupids. 

SOOO...if I am complaining so much...why the HECK do I watch this show???

It's not inappropriate, there's drama, characters that would do things that I would never do, etc. 

So it's time pass. If ya wanna kill your time watching an american soap opera, especially for teens, ya gotta accept the stupidity in the lives of its characters. 

AND that is precisely what I am doing...

yay me. 

Forrest Gump

There is nothing much left to say about this movie other than the fact that it is AMAZING! Forrest Gump's perspective is optimistic, bright and innocently sentimental which gives this movie a genuine flow in its hero's endeavors. Forrest Gump is only capable of doing profound things... and ends up taking part in almost every major event in USA history ranging from the integration of an all white school in Alabama to the Vietnam War. 

WELL...who IS Forrest Gump?

Forrest Gump is perhaps the most non-cynical, disinterested and spectacular man on the planet. His attitude is what makes him a genius, as his military captain tells him..."GOD DAMN Gump... you are a GOD DAMN genius...you must have a GOD DAMN IQ of 160..." although Gump has a lucky and miraculous life, he still marks the moments with his lover, Jenny as most precious...

Jenny however is not as lucky as Gump and experiences the dangerous counterculture of the 50s and 60s, involving herself in drugs and vagabonding through big cities. Yet it is SO SWEET how Gump still loves Jenny throughout the movie and how they both relate to eachother although they are so different. 

Tom Hanks is a BRILLIANT actor. He IS Forrest Gump pretty much. 

I love this movie. It is so inspiring. 

Watch it if you haven't, please. 

Sinngh is King

I just finished watching this movie two minutes ago... and my mind is already spinning with the song "Singh is King... Singh is King" featuring Snoop Dog that popped up during the ending credits of this film...I thought that was one of the best parts...

The movie is entertaining and contains a lot of authentic punjabi masala. And the hardcore Punjabi culture is evident from the mentioning of "Guru Nanak." There is an innocence from the characters that suggests their intrinsic Indian creed, which is nice, but it unfortunately makes their criminal roles even more unconvincing.... no wonder they were able to change so quickly from bad to good.... they were never REALLY bad in the first place.... 

"Happy Singh", played by Akshay Kumar, is a thoroughly happy man from a punjab village.  However, whenever he does something intentionally good in his clumsy alacrity, he always ends up making the situation worse....so the annoyed villagers hatch up a plot to send him to Australia to convince (in vain of course) Lucky, an ex-villager turned mobster back to the village. They know that Happy would fail but never come back a loser, so would never return to the village again. This plan changes, however, when one  of the villagers that plans this strategy ends up accompanying him to Australia.... 

The female hottie in this movie is Katrina Kaif, who tears it up as a tough criminal psychology student from Egypt. She has good chemistry with Kumar, who has done several movies with her in the past. 

The plot and the movie are really silly...but plain dumb fun.. and it is nice to not use your brain for a while, because the acting is great. Akshay Kumar is perfectly cast and brings charisma to the role...

Just make sure to leave your brain at home, and this movie will be a nice time pass. 

Oh balle balle!!! :)

HAIRSPRAY!

Hairspray has a very positive beat to it, which I enjoy deeply. The characters are not perfect, yet they do not allow their imperfections to hinder their dreams...at least that's the case with Nikki Blonsky's Tracy who embodies the very meaning of joy. She is happy, confident, a good dancer...and fat. Do you know what would make her an EVEN better dancer?? If she lost some weight. I am not even kidding, when I lost a pound, I all of a sudden had much more endurance, because whenever I put a step down I didn't have to support the same amount of weight as I had to earlier. I guess the charm is that she IS fat, but in reality, what's the harm of being more healthy and LOSING a few pounds???? BUT if I sit here and criticize the point of the movie, which is to be yourself and dance to your own beat, then I am a loser and a fun-sucker. I do not wish to be that, so I will give this movie a high rating because it was overall enjoyable. I mean the songs even included insight on integration and hope, how cool is that?  

Watching John Travolta as the mother was a unique experience, and I loved it... in particular the love song between him and Christopher Walken ("her" hubby). It was cool to see that, and Travolta carries charisma- being a good dancer himself and having been the hottie (which Zac Efron is in this movie) in Saturday Night Fever and Grease. 

If you like musicals, fun, color, and corniness, Hairspray is the right movie for you! 

ROCK ON!

"Rock On" is very unique for a Hindi film: it is not afraid to be slow-paced. 

And it does have a nice realistic touch to it. 

For those of you who don't know: Rock On is about a hindi rock band (although the songs are more like "pop"). It's not based on a real music group. The hindi rock band consists of credible actors ranging from Arjun Rampal to Farhan Akhtar. It's about how they break up and reunite, and although it might seem like a formulaic soppy cliche dissembled as a hard core music-band movie, Rock On! is nice because it shows different sides to what success is and how it can be ruined by ego. It is also believable: you can believe that the dismantling of the band was through the altercation between two of its players. You can believe, that Farhan was broken because of the failure of his band and so made compromises for the rest of his life to move on and never return (although it is odd that he became a successful businessman in nine years out of workaholism and sadness- I would think drinking would have been a more realistic route). You can believe that Arjun Rampal's passion was dying because his wife was pressuring him to take up another job. You can believe that two of the players who weren't involved in the eventual break up of the band were slowly getting interested in bringing it back...

The movie's not bad. Not wildly entertaining, but nice to see...The ending is very touching, and it makes you believe that life should have a balance...and winning is not everything....

Kal Ho Na Ho

Sharukh Khan is quite the charmer in the hit emotional drama “Kal Ho Naa Ho” directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Karan Johar. In this deeply likable movie, the characters are confronted with situations challenging their true feelings. It is sad, happy, and at times, funny. Overall it is simply heartwarming. So do I really have any gripes about it? Well, a few: but they are quite arbitrary. 

The idea of Sharukh being perfect for the situation and improving EVERYONE'S life is quite unrealistic and sometimes weary to watch... ALSO At the end, he avers through pits of solemn knowingness that Naina was truly his through every single lifetime, and it makes you wonder how a person who isn't charmed by Sharukh could possibly endure that level of corniness....

 However, Sharukh Khan IS very charming in the movie. He is the only actor I can think of that can pull this emotional crap off (except MAYBE  Amir Khan). He has a charisma that can jerk tears out of virtually every teenage Indian girl on the planet thus he is perfect for the role of the perfect sweet funny guy. 

My sister and I agree that Sharukh is great when he is going after girls and showing his vulnerabilities...In other words: when he is lovable. That's why I disliked him in Don and I don't like him at ALL in items where he tries to be hot....

I am sorry....

Movie Reviews

So...I like watching movies, and I have been writing reviews for a while. This is just a website open to all who are interested in knowing my opinion about particular movies I have seen in the past. 

Enjoy!!! 

~Shalini