I saw the trailer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (TBEMH) over 3 months back down under. I was actually quite certain that some moron somewhere in this country will find some of the things said offensive enough to file a Public Interest Litigation and ensure that the movie never sees the light of day in India. Something like the powers that be did with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Thankfully that didn’t happen unless of course there is something that was done behind the scenes that we are unaware of. I was not complaining either ways.
TBEMH traces the lives of 7 people who have one foot in the grave – each with a secret of their own who find themselves in India at the same time. Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) has just lost her husband who she was severely dependent upon. Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) leaves London on a whim of sorts – just like that in the middle of a speech from his colleague – he packs his bags and heads off to India. Douglas (Bill Nighy) and Jean (Penelope Wilton) Ainsley are a couple who are dealing with coming to an age where they cannot afford to buy more than very basic accommodation in an old age home.
Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) has come to a point where her hip bone has given way but she is some sort of a racist and doesn’t like to be touched by anything that’s not white. Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) and Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) are 2 people who do not believe that age has anything to do with being sexually active. In the case of Cousins, he just wants to get laid. But Madge’s desires extend to finding a single man of royal blood.
Norman and Madge are actually the funniest characters in this geriatric Romantic Comedy from the table of John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Captain Correlli’s Mandolin) who is known for spinning stories that touch your heart. Madden has once again stuck to his strength of fleshing out each character beautifully. Each of the 7 people are introduced in just under a minute right at the beginning before the actual credits start. The sequence is really well done.
Madden need not have worried about the acting department in this one (or previous ones) because he has picked up his cast to a perfection. To me the outstanding performance came from Maggie Smith who will definitely stake a claim to Uncle Oscar this year. Add to the performances some vintage British humour and dialogues that will stay with you for a really long time such as, “I am single by choice. Not just my choice” OR “When I want your opinion I will give it to you” or the more serious, “The only real failure is the failure to try. And the measure of success is how we cope with the disappointment that comes with trying”. Beautifully written words from Ol Parker. Adapted from the book Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, this is one Brit RomCom you must add to your weekend watches. 7 on 10.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi929996313/
Showing posts with label Maggie Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maggie Smith. Show all posts
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
To start on a humourous note, here is a letter that was doing the rounds yesterday. It read
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
If I had taken 8 movies to kill the villain in my movie, I would have give the money back
Rajnikanth
8 movies and 10 years down the line after creating enough derangement amongst fans and generating euphoria like never been seen before amongst young & old alike and contributing new the English language through hilarious but useful spells such as Wingardium Leviosa or the more deadly Avada Kedavra and spawning the careers of 3 kids aged 11, 12 and 13 who have now grown upto being 21, 22 and 23 (what a mathematical genius I am) respectively Pottermania finally comes to a close – correction – pottermania can never die; the series has come to a close. Pottermania took the world by storm in the late 90s, moved into being a cult figure which was sought only by the geeks of the world and has now left a legacy for many many generations to come. Purists may debate if I were to compare J K Rowling to the evergreen Enid Blyton but that is what marketing has done to the field of writing and extended the same to movie making. The fact of the matter is that kids these days would rather swear by Harry, Hermione and Ron and would have no clue to who Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Tim were.
The last edition of the series will probably break all previous records of collections and earnings simply because it has been by far the most anticipated to date – thanks to the hype created around Harry Potters imminent death at the hands of Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort because the dark lord has got his hands on the Elder Wand. The movie takes exactly at the spot where Part 1 ended and continues with its dark cinematography. I get the concept of the deathly hallows guys but why would you want to make a movie primarily meant for kids into something that is so painful on the eyes. And in such a dark environment, the search for the remaining 3 Horcruxes (or should I say 4) starts with right earnest. Our 3 heroes break into Bellatrix Lestrange’s locker, talk to the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower, take the fight to Nagini (remember the hideous snake from the first part) and also take on Voldemort’s army in the bargain. All makes up for the right mixture of a wonderful way to spend your evening with family or friends. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record – maybe they could have added some light to the movie – just too damn dark.
The direction is as consistent as David Yates can get it to be. Considering that he has directed more Potter movies than anyone else (Chris Columbus -2 and one each for Alfonso Cuarón & Mike Newell), he would be – rightfully – under the skin of his character. The effects are as always fabulous but it is not at all mandatory to watch this or Part 1 in 3D and definitely not @ PVR (cant get enough of putting my request for lighter glasses). Wholesome entertainment as I had called for Part 1 also. Same score 7 on 10. Have a lovely Potter filled weekend folks!!!!
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi128621593/
Dear Mr. Harry Potter,
If I had taken 8 movies to kill the villain in my movie, I would have give the money back
Rajnikanth
8 movies and 10 years down the line after creating enough derangement amongst fans and generating euphoria like never been seen before amongst young & old alike and contributing new the English language through hilarious but useful spells such as Wingardium Leviosa or the more deadly Avada Kedavra and spawning the careers of 3 kids aged 11, 12 and 13 who have now grown upto being 21, 22 and 23 (what a mathematical genius I am) respectively Pottermania finally comes to a close – correction – pottermania can never die; the series has come to a close. Pottermania took the world by storm in the late 90s, moved into being a cult figure which was sought only by the geeks of the world and has now left a legacy for many many generations to come. Purists may debate if I were to compare J K Rowling to the evergreen Enid Blyton but that is what marketing has done to the field of writing and extended the same to movie making. The fact of the matter is that kids these days would rather swear by Harry, Hermione and Ron and would have no clue to who Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Tim were.
The last edition of the series will probably break all previous records of collections and earnings simply because it has been by far the most anticipated to date – thanks to the hype created around Harry Potters imminent death at the hands of Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort because the dark lord has got his hands on the Elder Wand. The movie takes exactly at the spot where Part 1 ended and continues with its dark cinematography. I get the concept of the deathly hallows guys but why would you want to make a movie primarily meant for kids into something that is so painful on the eyes. And in such a dark environment, the search for the remaining 3 Horcruxes (or should I say 4) starts with right earnest. Our 3 heroes break into Bellatrix Lestrange’s locker, talk to the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower, take the fight to Nagini (remember the hideous snake from the first part) and also take on Voldemort’s army in the bargain. All makes up for the right mixture of a wonderful way to spend your evening with family or friends. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record – maybe they could have added some light to the movie – just too damn dark.
The direction is as consistent as David Yates can get it to be. Considering that he has directed more Potter movies than anyone else (Chris Columbus -2 and one each for Alfonso Cuarón & Mike Newell), he would be – rightfully – under the skin of his character. The effects are as always fabulous but it is not at all mandatory to watch this or Part 1 in 3D and definitely not @ PVR (cant get enough of putting my request for lighter glasses). Wholesome entertainment as I had called for Part 1 also. Same score 7 on 10. Have a lovely Potter filled weekend folks!!!!
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi128621593/
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Sister Act 2 : Back in the Habit
We are in the season of sequels and it was only obvious that when Sister Act was playing on Star Movies, the next movie that followed was Sister Act 2 : Back in the Habit. A back to back exhibition of classic acting and comic timing from a class actress – one of the few ladies who have a natural flair for comedy and ace their part of the deal every single time that they come on it. But this time around it is directed by Bill Duke – who would probably be best known for his roles as an actor and not the ones behind the camera. Remember the guy who plays Mac in the Arnie starrer Predator? The big African American guy? If not then maybe you would remember the guy Cooke from Commando? Well it would seem that he is a director as well. Well whaddya know!!!! He has about 5-7 full length features to date but a bulk of his work behind the camera has come from Television and you can add his name to the long list of people who probably haven’t made the transition quite well from small screen to big screen – especially as directors. Duke probably got his chance with Sister Act 2 thanks to Emile Ardolino (the director of Sister Act 1) kicking the bucket sometime in 1993 (the year of its release). Guess he got a bit lucky i.e. Duke.
This time around, Deloris Van Cartier or should we say Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) is not running away from anyone or anything. She is just basking in her success as the nun who got a gangster into jail and then made it big as a show singer in Vegas. She is now immensely successful and well written about. So money is no longer a problem. But the sisters want her back. They want her to come back with them to a school that they have started and pay back to society by teaching music. They want to use Deloris’s excellent capabilities to rally people around her in the noble profession of teaching bright but extremely rowdy children in a school that is probably going to be shut really really soon. Reluctantly Deloris agrees to don the habit once again. Needless to say, it’s a roller coaster of sorts after that happens.
Sister Act 2 however doesn’t manage to recreate the magic that the first part does so very well. Whether it was due to change of director or a story line that was OK or because it released the very next year of the first part releasing one can never tell but it may just about be a combination of all of these points. Sister Act 2 marks the debut of a couple of stars in Hollywood - Lauryn Hill & Jennifer Love Hewitt both of whom go on to be reasonably successful in tinsel town. The fun moments are however quite limited this time around. Which is probably the reason it gets a rating that is a tad lower that the first part. 5.5 on 10 from my side.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80E5KTjvmA
This time around, Deloris Van Cartier or should we say Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg) is not running away from anyone or anything. She is just basking in her success as the nun who got a gangster into jail and then made it big as a show singer in Vegas. She is now immensely successful and well written about. So money is no longer a problem. But the sisters want her back. They want her to come back with them to a school that they have started and pay back to society by teaching music. They want to use Deloris’s excellent capabilities to rally people around her in the noble profession of teaching bright but extremely rowdy children in a school that is probably going to be shut really really soon. Reluctantly Deloris agrees to don the habit once again. Needless to say, it’s a roller coaster of sorts after that happens.
Sister Act 2 however doesn’t manage to recreate the magic that the first part does so very well. Whether it was due to change of director or a story line that was OK or because it released the very next year of the first part releasing one can never tell but it may just about be a combination of all of these points. Sister Act 2 marks the debut of a couple of stars in Hollywood - Lauryn Hill & Jennifer Love Hewitt both of whom go on to be reasonably successful in tinsel town. The fun moments are however quite limited this time around. Which is probably the reason it gets a rating that is a tad lower that the first part. 5.5 on 10 from my side.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k80E5KTjvmA
Sister Act
There are superstars and then there are superstars. And Whoopi Goldberg would probably fall into a category called Super Duper Whooper Stars. So when I had the opportunity of watching Sister Act last Sunday (on Star Movies) I wasn’t going to give up the opportunity at all. Now Sister Act is not one of the best movies ever made by mankind I can assure you. It is directed by Emile Ardolino whose claim to fame is the evergreen Dirty Dancing and some RomComs such as Chances Are. I mean there is really nothing much to write home about in the movies that he has given us (except Dirty Dancing). But all of them, if you notice closely have this classic charm about them which make them watchable any given time of the day. As a movie, Sister Act is barely there in a manner of speaking. Which would explain the imdb rating of 5.9 on 10 and the rating that I would give it would be around the same (only that I would round it off to a 6 because I don’t complicate my ratings with the decimal points other than 0.5). But it is not debatable that Sister Act is entertaining, fun, evergreen and a definite watch for anyone – must see it if you haven’t done so yet.
Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) is a bar singer who doesn’t have much of a fan following. Now she is in love with the local gangster Vince LaRocca (Harvey Kietel) who is married and is basically using Deloris as his mistress more than anything else. Deloris knows this but doesn’t do much because she needs the income. But when her repeated pleas go unheeded she decides to storm into Vince’s office and demand her pound of flesh. Unfortunately, she also walks into a situation where Vince has killed someone – just part of his job as a gangster. Now Deloris is aware of Vince’s legal status but seeing someone killed in front of her is something that she doesn’t quite know how to handle. She does manage to however run away from the scene and goes straight to the cops where a Detective Lt. Eddie Souther (Bill Nunn) offers her police protection and in return expects Deloris to take to the witness stand against LeRocca, an offer that Deloris reluctantly accepts. The way Lt. Souther expects to keep her protected is to put her in a place where no one expects someone like her to be. Inside a church. And that too as a nun. Deloris Van Cartier is now Sister Mary Clarence for the rest of the movie.
Sister Act is almost a laugh every 5 minutes kind of a riot with Goldberg leading from the front with an absolutely fabulous performance – something that u expect her to deliver at the bare minimum. The direction as explained earlier is just about average but good enough to carry out a concept like this. The support cast has a couple of good efforts from Kathy Najimy and Wendy Makkena who will also feature in the sequel to this one and rightfully so. Playing this whole month on Star Movies, watch Sister Act to kind of re-live an old classic that quite a few of us would have seen while growing up. As mentioned earlier my rating is a 6 on 10. But it is also a Must watch in its own right.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3162702105/
Deloris Van Cartier (Whoopi Goldberg) is a bar singer who doesn’t have much of a fan following. Now she is in love with the local gangster Vince LaRocca (Harvey Kietel) who is married and is basically using Deloris as his mistress more than anything else. Deloris knows this but doesn’t do much because she needs the income. But when her repeated pleas go unheeded she decides to storm into Vince’s office and demand her pound of flesh. Unfortunately, she also walks into a situation where Vince has killed someone – just part of his job as a gangster. Now Deloris is aware of Vince’s legal status but seeing someone killed in front of her is something that she doesn’t quite know how to handle. She does manage to however run away from the scene and goes straight to the cops where a Detective Lt. Eddie Souther (Bill Nunn) offers her police protection and in return expects Deloris to take to the witness stand against LeRocca, an offer that Deloris reluctantly accepts. The way Lt. Souther expects to keep her protected is to put her in a place where no one expects someone like her to be. Inside a church. And that too as a nun. Deloris Van Cartier is now Sister Mary Clarence for the rest of the movie.
Sister Act is almost a laugh every 5 minutes kind of a riot with Goldberg leading from the front with an absolutely fabulous performance – something that u expect her to deliver at the bare minimum. The direction as explained earlier is just about average but good enough to carry out a concept like this. The support cast has a couple of good efforts from Kathy Najimy and Wendy Makkena who will also feature in the sequel to this one and rightfully so. Playing this whole month on Star Movies, watch Sister Act to kind of re-live an old classic that quite a few of us would have seen while growing up. As mentioned earlier my rating is a 6 on 10. But it is also a Must watch in its own right.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3162702105/
Monday, 21 February 2011
Gnomeo & Juliet
I am an amateur critic and would probably not understand the finer nuances of animation. But in my not so expert opinion, I think Disney has given us a lovely movie yet again. This time with director Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2; Spirit : Stallion of the Cimaron) they give us an adaptation of a The Bard’s classic and make no bones about it when they start the movie by saying “The story you are about to see has been told – A LOT”. It is definitely just another Romeo and Juliet movie but it is told a bit differently and Disney has ensured that it doesn’t turn out to be insulting to a classic like Rob Letterman did to Gullivers Travels. In fact it is an extremely entertaining animation movie for both adults and kids alike. And rest assured, the kids will totally love it.
In Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birth place) stay an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) and an equally elderly lady called Ms. Montague (Julie Walters). They are forever at loggerheads with each other. But this enmity is not restricted to just them. Even their ceramic garden gnomes come to life when there are no humans around and take the fight way too seriously for their own good. In the Blue corner is a team of gnomes led by Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith) and her son Gnomeo (James McAvoy) along with their trusted ally Benny (Matt Lucas). In the Red corner is Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), Tybalt (Jason Statham), Fawn (Ozzy Osbourne) and the extremely cute martial arts expert, Juliet (Emily Blunt). Their fights range from ruining the opponents garden to their favourite “national” pastime – Lawn mower racing. The not so obvious twist in the tale is when Gnomeo meets Juliet and it is love at first sight. Of course they take a few minutes to figure out what they are getting into but as Juliet’s frog nanny – Nanette (Ashley Jensen) puts it – the relationship is DOOMED from day one. And things only get worse when Tybalt decides to raid the Blue Lawns and destroy a flower that Gnomeo’s late father had lovingly planted and the Blue Army had tended to all these years.
A slew of corny one lines and references to Shakespearean classics do not prevent this movie from being great fun to watch. Stuff like Juliet being stuck to her pedestal with the “Taming of the Glue” or the fact that the warring elderly couple stay on Verona Drive or Nanette telling Gnomeo’s pet mushroom “You look like a fun gi”. And it is garnished with Elton John songs from the past 3 decades. The voice overs are excellent. The distinctly identifiable ones are those of Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne and surprise surprise Hulk Hogan as the Terrafirminator – the mean lawn mower that sets you back by a 1000 pounds of hard earned money only to cause the complete destruction of the back yards. The resulting product spread over just under 85 mins is a lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon. And it would not matter if you don’t see it in 3D coz the effects are quite bland. A very entertaining flick but on second thoughts, may not make it to the Oscars this year. Guess there were many other animation movies that were better off. I give this a 6 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi854264089/
In Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birth place) stay an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) and an equally elderly lady called Ms. Montague (Julie Walters). They are forever at loggerheads with each other. But this enmity is not restricted to just them. Even their ceramic garden gnomes come to life when there are no humans around and take the fight way too seriously for their own good. In the Blue corner is a team of gnomes led by Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith) and her son Gnomeo (James McAvoy) along with their trusted ally Benny (Matt Lucas). In the Red corner is Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), Tybalt (Jason Statham), Fawn (Ozzy Osbourne) and the extremely cute martial arts expert, Juliet (Emily Blunt). Their fights range from ruining the opponents garden to their favourite “national” pastime – Lawn mower racing. The not so obvious twist in the tale is when Gnomeo meets Juliet and it is love at first sight. Of course they take a few minutes to figure out what they are getting into but as Juliet’s frog nanny – Nanette (Ashley Jensen) puts it – the relationship is DOOMED from day one. And things only get worse when Tybalt decides to raid the Blue Lawns and destroy a flower that Gnomeo’s late father had lovingly planted and the Blue Army had tended to all these years.
A slew of corny one lines and references to Shakespearean classics do not prevent this movie from being great fun to watch. Stuff like Juliet being stuck to her pedestal with the “Taming of the Glue” or the fact that the warring elderly couple stay on Verona Drive or Nanette telling Gnomeo’s pet mushroom “You look like a fun gi”. And it is garnished with Elton John songs from the past 3 decades. The voice overs are excellent. The distinctly identifiable ones are those of Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne and surprise surprise Hulk Hogan as the Terrafirminator – the mean lawn mower that sets you back by a 1000 pounds of hard earned money only to cause the complete destruction of the back yards. The resulting product spread over just under 85 mins is a lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon. And it would not matter if you don’t see it in 3D coz the effects are quite bland. A very entertaining flick but on second thoughts, may not make it to the Oscars this year. Guess there were many other animation movies that were better off. I give this a 6 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi854264089/
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