20 years of waiting, and the Doc will see you now. Oh Doc Jones! You have more wrinkles now. Doc Jones, you have a new sidekick now who is a son as well. Can we call him Doc Jr? Why is the Ukranian lady trying to BE Ukranian and why is your son dipping his comb in Cola? Just too many questions, and I am not given any answers. Awright!!! I know Indiana Jones is one of those immortal characters that have been built on the basis of that boyhood daydream replete with fantasy worlds, deep secrets of lost lands and treasure hunts with adventurous journeys . The one we loved and perhaps can never be old enough for. But having said that, Indie has delivered them all in the previous installments and this one as well. But somewhere, somehow,the feeling creeps in that in these 20 years, the laziness of the filmmakers have taken over, which makes Crystal Skull just another big budget Hollywood no-brains matinee mayhem, even when we have the Gurus-Spielberg and Lucas steering the wheel.
As for the plot, here it goes. It’s 1957, and as the Cold War is warming up, the bunch from Soviet capture Doc Jones to find the secret package in the warehouse of Area 51. Flaw 1: Only 4 guards at the door of a high-secret facility. How convenient! (I think by the time I end this review, I am just gonna lose count) Anyway, the package contains the remains of a secret worthy of being kept in Area 51. Doc Jones then tries to escape the captivity of the Soviet bunch in an action scene which can be best described as lame, and then even manages to escape a nuclear explosion. We do come to know about the treasure hidden in the lost land of El Dorado which Doc deciphers from the note sent to Mutt by his mom-Marion Ravenwood, an ex of Doc. Mutt says that an old ally of his,Prof Oxley has been abducted while searching for a hidden Incan temple. And that is approximately where the story wraps up. What follows next is just a big hoch poch of ideas flowing in a turbulent wave from the brains of Lucas. You name it and they have got it here, to the point that you start feeling that the sole intention of the movie was to revive the franchise for the sake of it (and of course raking in big bucks). Speaking in the shortest way possible, I’d say the plot includes some of the most forgettable action scenes, grand sets with gold shimmering from every inch and yes, ALIENS. The plot gets so dodgy at times that you just want to get over with it. But yeh, you hold yourself back coz it’s supposed to be the Summer Blockbuster of the Year. [Continue Reading…]
God Bless Sean Penn!
God Bless Hal Holbrook!
Into the Wild it is. Sean Penn brings John Krakauer’s best-seller to the screen based on the life of Chris McCandless, a 22 year old who donates all of his savings of $24,000 to Oxfam, abandons all his possessions as well as identity and thumbs his way to Alaska.Why does he do so? Because he wants to detach himself from the shackles of money, career, the rat-race and rather get lost in the unpredictable, dangerous American outbacks and experience FREEDOM, all in the style of his literary heroes -Jack London and Henry David Thoreau. And as Chris(portrayed by Emile Hirsch) says ,”I don’t want money,give me truth”, and that is what we get it.Amazingly, we are not made to gulp it down forcibly. But in the reels of Sean Penn, we witness what made Chris to take such a decision- to abandon a secure lifestyle to choose to hit the road by himself. Was he a spoilt child or an introspective and thoughtful person?It is a tragedy no doubt,for Chris himself who dies of starvation and poisoning , his parents who do not get a trace of him until they discover his dead body years after he left, and also for the old man who wanted to adopt him as his grandson. But at the end of it all, the Light did shine. The questions that were raised have been left unanswered, but in the narration of Chris’ sister Carine (Jena Malone), we begin to understand the anguish of the upbringing of a dysfunctional family and its harsh consequences. But Penn prefers to keep it miles away from being preachy in any way and rather tell the beautiful tale of Chris in the breathtaking outbacks of Alaska and his endearing quest for Idealism – that’s the word. (Check out the screenshots after the jump) [Continue Reading…]
When a movie can prove that you need not know the language to understand the grief embedded within the person in front of you, that’s when I say it has transcended the limits of being an entertainment medium and escalated to a whole new level. To me, watching Marc Foster’s onscreen adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel “The Kite Runner” has been such a proof. Who would have thought that a movie with completely unknown faces, languages switching from Russian to Dari to Pashtu to English, and two kids with the most innocent eyes could steal the show? And please, let us not even attempt to compare it with the written work. The barometer which tries to measure a film’s ability to completely adapt each page of a book would always say that the movie fell short on many aspects. The Kite Runner is no exception to that. But the story comes through with as flying colors as the Kite of Amir Jan and the sincere spirit of Hassan, his Kite Runner.
The Story: I am one of those who haven’t read the book. And for me, what was shown was what I got, and not something for which I expected. Without giving much away (although, I believe millions must have already either read the book or seen the film), the story revolves around Amir , born to a rich family in pre-Soviet Kabul and how he comes in terms to get rid of his guilt of not having helped his best friend-Hassan. The story begins in the Late 70′s Kabul where Hassan and Amir spend their childhood as best pals, competing in Kite Flying festivals and Hassan serves as Amir’s Kite Runner. Hassan gets bullied by a group who sexually assault him as he is a Hazara and should not be in the company of someone like Amir. Amir witnesses the event but cannot defend Hassan. He even distances himself from Hassan by accusing him of theft. The Hazara family leaves the Khan family, and even the Khan family have to leave their grand haveli due to the Soviet invasion. They flee to Pakistan, and then eventually to California, America. Years later, Amir still strives to pursue a career in writing and marries the daughter of General Taheri, Soraya. Amir’s father passes away due to ill-health, while Amir manages to get his first book published. He receives a call from Rahim Khan at Peshawar who wants him to come back for a reason. [Continue Reading…]
After watching the movie ‘10,000 BC‘, all I could really do was THINK. Seriously. No not because it is a thought provoking film. Primarily because Arnab aka GreatBong had written this post called Akbarnama – a day in the life of Akbar (If you haven’t read it, READ it). But well, many may term my post here as plagiarist and to some extent rephrasing Arnab’s deliciously humorous post in a prehistoric context. But c’mon, you also know it, this will be real fun. So here it is-a day in the life of D’Le aka the prehistoric man.
8:00 am: I guess it is 5.00 am. Crap, I don’t know numbers , nor do I know the concept of time. Hey, my English vocabulary is improving though. Crap should be included as a good exclamatory outburst. Yay! Oh yeah, I think it’s actually time for crap.
After around 15 mins: Yeah, it’s time to get up. Look at that ugly guy under the water. I think he’s retarded. Keeps copying me. And I wonder how he breathes.
Another 15 mins: I guess it’s time for me to check out the new fashion line. Hmm! Zebra Skin or Camel. I hear that the new winter collection of Hyena Fur is really in. Ugh! the ladies don’t help me drape it. I think I’m just gonna wrap it randomly. Ooh! and look at me hair…so Bob Marley. Reggae anyone. Oh, I’m not supposed to know that either. [Continue Reading…]
