Extraordinary Measures

Now I have to give some kind of a spoiler alert for this. OK, not a spoiler alert but an alert nevertheless about how the more emotional of you would be challenged big time to keep your tears back, a few minutes into this movie. And from then on, you would face the worry every few minutes. Yeah it is that kind of a movie. One that would go extremely well with your family on a Sunday afternoon with the kids around because there are just so many messages that the kids can take away. And it surprises me a lot (actually it should not) that this one again never saw the light of the day on the big screen in this country. Why is it that there are so many movies that are not released in India despite there being a reasonably large sized market out here? In sharp contrast, there are movies which are premiered in India along with other markets – for e.g. Avatar. Well anyways we live with what we get I guess.

Muscular Dystrophy or Pompe has no known cure but there are therapies that help reduce the impact in a manner of speaking. But if you are a father of two kids who have Pompe, then what would you do? How far would you go to find a cure for the disease? Would you quit your job which pays you enough and more money as a senior manager and more importantly the $40K that you need every month as insurance for the kids medical fees? Would you consider relocating from Portland to Nebraska – only about 2500 kms away only because the one person who could be in the right direction for the cure is based out of Nebraska? Would you consider picking the scientist’s cure and raising half a million dollars for starting up on the cure all by yourself? And would you consider that the only purpose in your life is to find a cure for Pompe despite the fact that your kids may not have more than a couple of years and the cure would take an indefinite time? John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) answered yes to all of the above questions. He decided that nothing was less when it comes upto his kids and he would go to whatever extent required to find the cure for Pompe.

I like Brendan Fraser. I think he is an under rated actor and needs to just find himself the correct roles so as to get him into the really quality league. No inputs required for the most bankable star in Hollywood and Keri Russell as the simple mother of two was also pretty good. It is indeed a very commendable effort from director Tom Vaughn to have managed to get the required emotions out from every single person of the cast. The movie is after all primarily driven by the emotions of a desperate father. I thought it was a couple of hours invested well. I am quite certain you would also find it to be the same. The TV premiere was on HBO last nite. I am quite certain it would be repeated over the next few days. Catch it if you can. 7 on 10 is what I would give it.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2237007129/

Cowboys & Aliens

It may seem like ages that we have seen Harrison Ford on screen but when you look at his filmography, there are 10 movies starring what Hollywood has described as, “The Most Bankable Star” which have released including What Lies Beneath in 2000. And there have been only 3 years where a movie has not been released. Now lets look at this gentleman called Daniel Craig for whom it has definitely been the first release since Defiance since 2008. But, he has 4 movies already signed up, 3 of which are in post production and due to release this year – Dream House, Adventures of Tintin and Girl with a Dragon Tatoo – all of which are supposedly solid movies. And if they were not sufficient, Bond 23 is due to release next year. Lastly there is Jon Favreau who is not really the best director in the world but did quite a good job with Iron Man 1 and 2. More importantly, he also has his acting to fall back on. Why then would three people who are reasonably well off sign up for a movie called “Cowboys and Aliens” which has absolutely nothing different to offer in their lives. We are talking about Indiana Jones, James Bond and Iron Man who I am certain can offer and have offered enough and more thrills to Ford, Craig and Favreau respectively – so doing something different is crossed out. And then there is the question of money which the world is quite certain these 3 do not have any less of. So the only conspiracy theory which would hold good are the existence of some photographs in certain compromising positions which involve our 3 stars. I cannot find any other explanation for their presence in this movie.

I am actually struggling a lot to complete this review because I really don’t have much to say. And it is definitely not because of writers block. There is definitely nothing new in Cowboys and Aliens that you have not seen in any other Alien movie. In fact most other movies offer much more. The movie is littered with really bad screenplay and very average direction at best – probably the makers really did not pay Favreau enough. Ford and Craig keep the movie at a reasonable level and full credit to their acting talent. Without them the entire experience would have been really crappy to say the least.

One would see a few “flying machines” in 19th Century USA (when flying was unheard of) whose only business is to run sorties over the topography picking up unsuspecting villagers for research. You would also be privy to some well done special effects which are the only high points of this movie. And yes, the aliens look a bit different. They continue to be ugly and have retractable hands around their hearts – I mean other than 4 appendages that they are normally provided with. Net Net, nothing you haven’t seen before or would miss if you don’t see this one. 4 on 10 is what I would give this at best.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi161586201/

Morning Glory

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is a hard working woman. Hard working to the extent that she always talks about work even on dates. She is not a workaholic. Just a little too involved with work. So it is not surprising that after a couple of dates at best, the future prospect loses her phone number. It is therefore also no surprise that her favourite activity seems to be banging her head against the wall out of frustration – not just related to her personal life but also to her work life which is not the easiest in the world. She is the Producer of an early morning show based out of New Jersey and her work begins at 1:30 am for a show that is slotted between 6 and 8 in the morning. All seems to be going well and the rumour is rife that she is going to be promoted to Executive Producer for the show. Therefore when HR calls her to discuss something she is all thrilled and dressed up in a red T shirt with the words “I Accept” she goes upstairs in anticipation – only to be slapped square across the face with the words, “I have to let you go”. Becky is not just taken aback but shocked out of her wits. But the enthusiasm in her doesn’t allow her to take this as a set back and she quickly dives into the process of searching for a new job in her own desperate comical manner.

Her efforts finally get her an audience with Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) from another TV station called IBS, based in New York. She promptly gets to the interview and tries her best to convince Barnes that she can make a huge difference to “Day Break”- the daily morning programme which is terribly low on rankings and is anything but entertaining. But her desperation for the role doesn’t seem sufficient to get her a job. Her endearing enthusiasm, however does the trick and Barnes takes a huge risk by offering her the role of Executive Producer for the show at a much lower salary that she was drawing before. After a bit of struggle, Becky makes her intentions quite clear about shaking up the system when she fire the co-host of the programme who is a sexist pig to say the least. An act that goes well with the team but puts a challenge for Becky who now has to find a new co-host to Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). A few debates later she zeroes in on taking the risk with the legendary Mike Pommery (Harrison Ford) who is on a 2 year contract with IBS but currently out of a slot and is bound by contract with IBS to do what is required.

Morning Glory is a hugely predictable RomCom but is entertaining nevertheless. I am quickly beginning to believe that Rachel McAdams has a lot of talent and is definitely waiting for her really big break that will get her a shot to ultimate glory in Hollywood. Its been nearly 10 years that she started acting and hopefully she will make it big sooner than later. The bit of overacting that she has done in her role of Becky Fuller makes it even more, for lack of any other word, cute. Diane Keaton is fabulous as ever and so is Harrison Ford in his portrayal of the crabby, high on self respect, out of work legendary journalist. Roger Michel continues with the compact narration that he has displayed in previous attempts at direction with Notting Hill and Changing Lanes to name a couple. There are times when he just about goes off track but is quick to correct himself and ensure that there there is not much damage done. As mentioned earlier, Morning Glory turns out to be an entertaining Chick Flick or RomCom or whatever else you may want to call it. I give it a 6 on 10. Worth a watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You will not feel crappy when you walk out of the movie.