Am I the only
person who hadn’t heard about a reality show titled Million Dollar Arm that was
held by Major League Baseball to find Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh
Patel (Madhur Mittal) as the first Indians to pitch in the MLB??? Well I’ll be
darned!!! Because apparently I am the only person who didn’t know about this!!!
Showing posts with label Alan Arkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Arkin. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Thursday, 9 January 2014
Grudge Match
One look at
Peter Segal’s filmography and you would never think that he could run a movie
that is not a comedy – Anger Management, The Longest Yard, Get Smart, Naked Gun
33 1/3 – all of them more comic than serious.
Maybe that is the reason imdb lists Grudge Match as a Sports
Comedy. What I can tell you is that any element
of comedy was ersatz, more often than not.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
What makes your
feel exhilarated when you see a magic trick? Is it the surprising aspect of
something that you did not expect? Or is it the actual showmanship that the
magician gets to the table? Or is it just the awe of seeing something that is
so difficult to believe that you start believing that anything is possible?
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Argo
I have always respected Ben Affleck as a director in comparison to Ben Affleck the actor. Most movies where Affleck has been in the lead role have exposed his weakness. I can think of probably one movie where his performance as an actor was quite controlled and well executed – Valentines Day (if I remember correctly).
But the minute our man dons the director’s hat, he seems to be much better placed. I thought The Town was slow but it was quite well made. There was an effort to paint a picture with each character and the overall story. Ditto with Gone Baby Gone. Both were very intense movies.
I have heard that both Affleck and Matt Damon – the young guard of Hollywood about 20 years back are great thinkers when it comes upto cinema. Screenplay and direction. With Argo, Affleck has definitely taken himself to the next level – both as a director as well as an actor.
Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé), Joe Stafford (Scooty McNairy), Bob Anders (Tate Donovan) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane) owe their lives to one Antonio Joseph Mendez (Ben Affleck). Tony was or should I say is an exfiltration expert of sorts – someone who specializes in getting people out a particular troubled country and take them back home.
Why does he need to do that because the 6 of them are holed up @ the house of the Canadian Ambassador to Iran – Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). This is after the revolutionary Iranians take the US Embassy Hostage on the 4th November 1979. Our 6 diplomats escape just in the nick of time and find their way to Ambassador Taylor’s house after being rejected by a couple of other embassies.
Along with Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and Academy award winner John Chambers (John Goodman), Tony hatches a plot to make a sci-fi movie – Argo. It would be set in a middle eastern location. To ensure that there are doubts which creep up, the team does everything that a movie maker would have been expected to do from the script to the director to press releases to posters – the works.
Argo differs from most other espionage movies on two major counts. Firstly there is a distinct addition of humour that makes it easy to watch. There are almost no action sequences but enough and more of edge of the seat drama. Other than these 2 aspects there is a stunning start with a background of the revolution which grabs you by the scruff of your neck and pushes you down to your seat.
Great use of fade in and fade outs at the appropriate moments. Some really good camera work there. The use of 2 audio tracks overlapping like when the Iranians are proclaiming that severe action will be taken on the hostages and the Argo screenplay reading is being done for the press – superb!!! The screenplay is fantastic.
My prediction – Argo should get nominated in the top 10 of the year. It would get a nomination for screenplay and just maybe (an outside chance based on the Hollywood movies that I have seen this year) a nomination for direction for Affleck. If none of these work out… Argo Fuck Yourself (watch to understand). 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1537319449/
And read the article on the Canadian Caper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Caper
But the minute our man dons the director’s hat, he seems to be much better placed. I thought The Town was slow but it was quite well made. There was an effort to paint a picture with each character and the overall story. Ditto with Gone Baby Gone. Both were very intense movies.
I have heard that both Affleck and Matt Damon – the young guard of Hollywood about 20 years back are great thinkers when it comes upto cinema. Screenplay and direction. With Argo, Affleck has definitely taken himself to the next level – both as a director as well as an actor.
Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé), Joe Stafford (Scooty McNairy), Bob Anders (Tate Donovan) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane) owe their lives to one Antonio Joseph Mendez (Ben Affleck). Tony was or should I say is an exfiltration expert of sorts – someone who specializes in getting people out a particular troubled country and take them back home.
Why does he need to do that because the 6 of them are holed up @ the house of the Canadian Ambassador to Iran – Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). This is after the revolutionary Iranians take the US Embassy Hostage on the 4th November 1979. Our 6 diplomats escape just in the nick of time and find their way to Ambassador Taylor’s house after being rejected by a couple of other embassies.
Along with Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and Academy award winner John Chambers (John Goodman), Tony hatches a plot to make a sci-fi movie – Argo. It would be set in a middle eastern location. To ensure that there are doubts which creep up, the team does everything that a movie maker would have been expected to do from the script to the director to press releases to posters – the works.
Argo differs from most other espionage movies on two major counts. Firstly there is a distinct addition of humour that makes it easy to watch. There are almost no action sequences but enough and more of edge of the seat drama. Other than these 2 aspects there is a stunning start with a background of the revolution which grabs you by the scruff of your neck and pushes you down to your seat.
Great use of fade in and fade outs at the appropriate moments. Some really good camera work there. The use of 2 audio tracks overlapping like when the Iranians are proclaiming that severe action will be taken on the hostages and the Argo screenplay reading is being done for the press – superb!!! The screenplay is fantastic.
My prediction – Argo should get nominated in the top 10 of the year. It would get a nomination for screenplay and just maybe (an outside chance based on the Hollywood movies that I have seen this year) a nomination for direction for Affleck. If none of these work out… Argo Fuck Yourself (watch to understand). 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1537319449/
And read the article on the Canadian Caper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Caper
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Wait Until Dark
Been reviewing most of the new ones lately. So about a couple of weeks back I decided to go back a bit in time. Actually almost 50 years back in time, in Technicolor however. Sometime back on a Facebook update I had mentioned that Katherine Hepburn is probably the best actress ever to be born. I still hold on to that opinion. Although it’s the other Hepburn, the Audrey variety, who would take the title of probably the most beautiful actress of both her time as well as the decades to come. Marrion Cotillard probably comes really close but just not up there. Now some of you may debate that Catherine Zeta is incomparable, but you will kinda figure out what I am talking about if you see Audrey in her element.
In Wait Until Dark, Audrey plays the central character of Susie Hendrix, the twenty something, blind protagonist. A role that would remain as probably one of the best that she has ever executed in her career (other than Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Sam Hendrix (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is a reasonably successful photographer who bumps into the sexy looking Lisa (Samantha Jones) who uses him, without his knowledge, as a mule to transport a good quantity of coke across customs. The coke is slipped in neatly into a doll which Lisa leaves with Sam in an attempt to avoid her contact. She kinda wants to go out on her own in the drug business. But she does not realize that Roat (Alan Arkin – who looks much younger than the Arkin we know who won the academy award for Little Miss Sunshine) is not going to be pleased with the idea.
Mike Talman (The incredibly handsome Richard Crenna) and Carlino (Jack Weston) are 2 small time criminals who run suspicious odd jobs for a fee. They come over to the Hendrix residence thanks to a message assumed to have been sent by Lisa. A message on the door asks them to be comfortable but there is no sign of Lisa. Warily they make their way inside but quickly do as instructed – get comfortable. A few minutes later Roat walks in but without Lisa. As of now, both Mike and Carlino have no idea that this is the Hendrix residence.
Roat offers them a large sum of money to recover the doll which obviously get the 2 suspicious. They casually start searching the house only to find Lisa’s body stashed away in a cupboard. Their obvious immediate attempt to pull out of the deal comes to naught coz by then they have left fingerprints all over the place.
Around this time Susie returns home. Although she is blind, she does sense something amiss but is not sure. Once she leaves, the trio of Roat, Mike and Carlino decide to leave and work on a plan to figure out what needs to be done to recover the doll.
What follows is an extremely thrilling 60 minutes which show several layers of emotions. On one side there is Sam who is a caring husband to a blind wife but still pushes her to be independent in every way possible. He does not hand hold her for every small thing and does his best to ensure that Susie lives as normal a life as possible. Then there is an extremely soft corner that Mike develops towards Susie during his efforts to recover the doll posing as Sam’s close friend from Philadelphia. The tension between Roat, Mike and Carlino is way too obvious to be missed with Mike and Carlino on one side as the bad guys with heart and Roat on the other as the really mean drug dealer who will go to all extents possible. Last but not the least, there is the most pivotal character of the movie – a ten year old – Gloria (Julie Herrod) who is the next door neighbour of the Hendrix’s and helps Susie with odd jobs around the area. She shares an extremely bitter sweet relationship with Susie. But all she does is act her age.
Terence Young’s claim to fame is that he directed the first few Bond Movies Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball. He far exceeds these performances with Wait Until Dark. Fredrick Knott was the original playwright for the Broadway production. I get goose pimples by simply thinking about how powerful the play would have been. Rest assured, dear Mr. Knott would be extremely pleased at the conversion to celluloid.
Performances are brilliant. I really cannot say enough about each an every one of the 6 main members of the cast and the 2 supporting actors. Each person delivers exactly what is expected of him or her. Surprisingly Julie Herrod did not take up a career in acting. Her performance as a 10 year old should have given her enough encouragement to take a career in acting very seriously.
For those who love the classics, a simply MUST WATCH. A clean 8 on 10!!!!
In Wait Until Dark, Audrey plays the central character of Susie Hendrix, the twenty something, blind protagonist. A role that would remain as probably one of the best that she has ever executed in her career (other than Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Sam Hendrix (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) is a reasonably successful photographer who bumps into the sexy looking Lisa (Samantha Jones) who uses him, without his knowledge, as a mule to transport a good quantity of coke across customs. The coke is slipped in neatly into a doll which Lisa leaves with Sam in an attempt to avoid her contact. She kinda wants to go out on her own in the drug business. But she does not realize that Roat (Alan Arkin – who looks much younger than the Arkin we know who won the academy award for Little Miss Sunshine) is not going to be pleased with the idea.
Mike Talman (The incredibly handsome Richard Crenna) and Carlino (Jack Weston) are 2 small time criminals who run suspicious odd jobs for a fee. They come over to the Hendrix residence thanks to a message assumed to have been sent by Lisa. A message on the door asks them to be comfortable but there is no sign of Lisa. Warily they make their way inside but quickly do as instructed – get comfortable. A few minutes later Roat walks in but without Lisa. As of now, both Mike and Carlino have no idea that this is the Hendrix residence.
Roat offers them a large sum of money to recover the doll which obviously get the 2 suspicious. They casually start searching the house only to find Lisa’s body stashed away in a cupboard. Their obvious immediate attempt to pull out of the deal comes to naught coz by then they have left fingerprints all over the place.
Around this time Susie returns home. Although she is blind, she does sense something amiss but is not sure. Once she leaves, the trio of Roat, Mike and Carlino decide to leave and work on a plan to figure out what needs to be done to recover the doll.
What follows is an extremely thrilling 60 minutes which show several layers of emotions. On one side there is Sam who is a caring husband to a blind wife but still pushes her to be independent in every way possible. He does not hand hold her for every small thing and does his best to ensure that Susie lives as normal a life as possible. Then there is an extremely soft corner that Mike develops towards Susie during his efforts to recover the doll posing as Sam’s close friend from Philadelphia. The tension between Roat, Mike and Carlino is way too obvious to be missed with Mike and Carlino on one side as the bad guys with heart and Roat on the other as the really mean drug dealer who will go to all extents possible. Last but not the least, there is the most pivotal character of the movie – a ten year old – Gloria (Julie Herrod) who is the next door neighbour of the Hendrix’s and helps Susie with odd jobs around the area. She shares an extremely bitter sweet relationship with Susie. But all she does is act her age.
Terence Young’s claim to fame is that he directed the first few Bond Movies Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball. He far exceeds these performances with Wait Until Dark. Fredrick Knott was the original playwright for the Broadway production. I get goose pimples by simply thinking about how powerful the play would have been. Rest assured, dear Mr. Knott would be extremely pleased at the conversion to celluloid.
Performances are brilliant. I really cannot say enough about each an every one of the 6 main members of the cast and the 2 supporting actors. Each person delivers exactly what is expected of him or her. Surprisingly Julie Herrod did not take up a career in acting. Her performance as a 10 year old should have given her enough encouragement to take a career in acting very seriously.
For those who love the classics, a simply MUST WATCH. A clean 8 on 10!!!!
Marley & Me
“A Dog doesn’t care if you give him diamonds or gold. He just needs a wet stick. A Dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor or live a huge house. Give him your heart and he will him yours back. How many people can you say that about? How many people really make you feel extraordinary”?
I loved the last line of the movie and if you are dog lovers then you would too. Not because its feel good and deep and etc. etc. But because only a dog lover would understand that the statement is 120% true!!!!
John Grogan (Owen Wilson) is an up and coming journalist who has always wanted to be a reporter. Jenny Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) on the other hand writes for the Palm Beach Post but gets much more importance than John. Nope this is not leading towards a friction between husband and wife. Both are very much in love and do not really consider the other as competition. Ideal nah? Sad that life unfortunately is not the same way.
Sebastian (Eric Dane) is John’s more prominent reporter colleague who writes front page news unlike John. Now Jenny wants to go the family way and John is lets say, not quite ready for it. Over a conversation Sebastian suggests that John should get a dog since they are the best way to prepare for a baby (I second that opinion) And therefore for Jenny’s birthday, John decides to surprise her with a puppy. Now, I am a huge dog lover (for those who know me) and seriously found the scene with 6-7 golden lab puppies irresistible to say the least.
And they name him Marley after the Bob variety.
However, what they were not prepared for is the fact that Marley is one hyper active li’l beast whose only passion in life is to completely wreak havoc with the house. Now I say that’s one normal dog . But, not only does Marley bring in happiness at home but also luck. John is able to crack a deal with Arnie Klien (Alan Arkin) for writing 2 columns a week to discuss everyday life in general. Marley becomes his inspiration for the column.
What follows is the life of an everyday family who tries to cope with the nuances of having a growing dog at home. The movie shows very common place situations that every dog owner would be familiar with. The irritation at the constant demand for attention, the disgust at the poop and pee in all the wrong or the right places, the trauma of cleaning up a house that has been ripped to shreds when u were away. The usual stuff. But all that is replaced with the unconditional love that one receives when s/he is back from a tiring day at work.
One failed pregnancy and a trip to Ireland later, John and Jenny are finally blessed with a baby boy Patrick. He is followed by another boy Connor and then a daughter Colleen. As the pressures of the family get to the couple, Jenny in a moment of weakness asks Marley to be sent away. Reluctantly John agrees to the idea and leaves Marley with Sebastian. However, like most people, they quickly realize that a dog is an integral part of a family and not just a pet.
Probably for the first time, a movie handles the bringing up of a dog and the effects it has on an normal family. The transition from being perceived as an incorrigible brat to an inseperable part of the family. The panic that sets in when he decides to run away. The pain that one goes through when he falls ill. The immense vacuum that is left in your life when he passes away :’)
The movie is well directed by David Frankel (Devi Wears Prada, 6 episodes of SATC). Imagine having to use 22 dogs in the same movie to play one part. Would have been one really difficult experience. But he comes out trumps.
This is the first time I have seen Owen Wilson playing a serious kind of role and not something dreadfully slapstick. I think he does a really good job. Jen Aniston is as always successful in playing the kind of woman, every man would like to get married to. I think she is getting to be an expert in the same after Bruce Almighty, He’s just not that into you, Love Happens and many others over the past decade. Alan Arkin as always is superb in his execution of Arnie Klien.
Marley and Me is a wonderful movie to catch with your family on a Sunday afternoon. Just like I did. It also gives you reason to change your mind about not getting a dog – if u were undecided till date. Trust me, it would be the best decision you take. And while you are at it, adopt a stray. Score for the movie – 5 on 10….. actually 6 on 10. Marley independently deserves to take the movie a notch higher.
I loved the last line of the movie and if you are dog lovers then you would too. Not because its feel good and deep and etc. etc. But because only a dog lover would understand that the statement is 120% true!!!!
John Grogan (Owen Wilson) is an up and coming journalist who has always wanted to be a reporter. Jenny Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) on the other hand writes for the Palm Beach Post but gets much more importance than John. Nope this is not leading towards a friction between husband and wife. Both are very much in love and do not really consider the other as competition. Ideal nah? Sad that life unfortunately is not the same way.
Sebastian (Eric Dane) is John’s more prominent reporter colleague who writes front page news unlike John. Now Jenny wants to go the family way and John is lets say, not quite ready for it. Over a conversation Sebastian suggests that John should get a dog since they are the best way to prepare for a baby (I second that opinion) And therefore for Jenny’s birthday, John decides to surprise her with a puppy. Now, I am a huge dog lover (for those who know me) and seriously found the scene with 6-7 golden lab puppies irresistible to say the least.
And they name him Marley after the Bob variety.
However, what they were not prepared for is the fact that Marley is one hyper active li’l beast whose only passion in life is to completely wreak havoc with the house. Now I say that’s one normal dog . But, not only does Marley bring in happiness at home but also luck. John is able to crack a deal with Arnie Klien (Alan Arkin) for writing 2 columns a week to discuss everyday life in general. Marley becomes his inspiration for the column.
What follows is the life of an everyday family who tries to cope with the nuances of having a growing dog at home. The movie shows very common place situations that every dog owner would be familiar with. The irritation at the constant demand for attention, the disgust at the poop and pee in all the wrong or the right places, the trauma of cleaning up a house that has been ripped to shreds when u were away. The usual stuff. But all that is replaced with the unconditional love that one receives when s/he is back from a tiring day at work.
One failed pregnancy and a trip to Ireland later, John and Jenny are finally blessed with a baby boy Patrick. He is followed by another boy Connor and then a daughter Colleen. As the pressures of the family get to the couple, Jenny in a moment of weakness asks Marley to be sent away. Reluctantly John agrees to the idea and leaves Marley with Sebastian. However, like most people, they quickly realize that a dog is an integral part of a family and not just a pet.
Probably for the first time, a movie handles the bringing up of a dog and the effects it has on an normal family. The transition from being perceived as an incorrigible brat to an inseperable part of the family. The panic that sets in when he decides to run away. The pain that one goes through when he falls ill. The immense vacuum that is left in your life when he passes away :’)
The movie is well directed by David Frankel (Devi Wears Prada, 6 episodes of SATC). Imagine having to use 22 dogs in the same movie to play one part. Would have been one really difficult experience. But he comes out trumps.
This is the first time I have seen Owen Wilson playing a serious kind of role and not something dreadfully slapstick. I think he does a really good job. Jen Aniston is as always successful in playing the kind of woman, every man would like to get married to. I think she is getting to be an expert in the same after Bruce Almighty, He’s just not that into you, Love Happens and many others over the past decade. Alan Arkin as always is superb in his execution of Arnie Klien.
Marley and Me is a wonderful movie to catch with your family on a Sunday afternoon. Just like I did. It also gives you reason to change your mind about not getting a dog – if u were undecided till date. Trust me, it would be the best decision you take. And while you are at it, adopt a stray. Score for the movie – 5 on 10….. actually 6 on 10. Marley independently deserves to take the movie a notch higher.
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