HD-licious is a new section to spread the HD Love. Of late, I have collected quite a lot of HD resources which I want to share with everyone. This section will have a lot of visual show-off of the High Definition kind.

And what better way to start this new section with Avatar; James Cameron’s Magnum Opus, releasing this December. Oh yes, click the images to get to the Full HD screencaps. Obviously, I could not include the High-Definition screens directly on here. Just feast your eyes darling, at the H-Delicious Nom Noms.

**** HD Screenshots of Avatar ****

**** Lots more HD Screenshots of Avatar after the Jump ****

Jake wakes up!

Green Na’vi

Na’vi tail..or is that a…????

Jake Happy for transplant..and to get the tattoo

Jake gets wired up

Wakes up once

Wakes up twice..in blue

Jake likes the body blue tattoo

Enter Na’vi..the forest edition

Do NOT piss the locals

Do NOT mess with the monsters

Serena Williams is a global fashion icon..in Na’vi

Glow worms of the Future..err..Na’vi Land

Is there a Sigourney inside you?

Reminds me of ID4

Sunny Deol calling!

Return of the Scream!

Oh GI Joe…oh wrong movie

Fight in the Skies

Told ya..Falling in Love..is hard on the knees

And the Locals are waking up

C’mon Baby Light my Fire!

Love will conquer all

Do NOT forget the Date of release. See you there!!

I had been thinking a lot to just let my frustrations out on this series. I was a big fan of Season 1 and Season 2. But the entire Sona-Panama chapter and then the Company general-Scylla-Christina-Triangle just made the drama escalate and the series’ level of creativity down the drain. But now that it has ended, I have some good memories of Prison Break – how Michael Socfield knows it all and applies every tactic with an evil smirk; how Linc is soooo dumb; how Alex Mahone and T-Bag are actually the show-stealers and above all- how unnecessary additions of Don Self, Company General and Christina Scofield makes me throw up (ok, I made that up..hehe). So, here it is; a tribute to Prison Break in the for of some screenshots of the Series Finale, served as a comic strip, with dialogues and situations made up by MY EVIL BRAIN. Don’t like it? Just yell at me in the comments section..And oh! We go character wise!!

1.T-BAG

2.RANDOM ELEMENTS

3. CHRISTINA SOFIELD

4. LINCOLN BURROWS

5. C-NOTE & FERNANDO SUCRE

6. ALEX MAHONE

7.SARA TANCREDI ..SCOFIELD

8.AND FINALLY…..MICHAEL SCOFIELD

I know what you must be thinking…I have way too much time.

It’s official. Heroes SUCK!!!! 

Episode after Episode, I keep questioning myself why I still keep on watching this show. The entire Fugitives thing just fell flat, pretty much like Matt Parkman sat on the face of Nathan Petrelli. Frankly, with the way things are turning out I could be least bothered about the turn of events in the ‘Heroes Universe’. Since the last time when we discussed Peter, Hiro, Claire, Angela, Mohinder and HRG, the plot hasn’t progressed much, even after 4 episodes. Hiro didn’t feature in the latest episode. What has he been busy with? Breaking some random Indian lady’s marriage. Angela got questioned by Nathan if she was “REBEL”. Mohinder is in captivity and HRG just seems to be such a mysterious character. I really don’t know and don’t care on which side is he playing his game. Of course protecting Claire and Peter and supporting Nathan in a very secretive way. Someone just pull the trigger on him. BTW, Claire has found romance in the form of Aquaboy. Ugh!!! And well Daphne isn’t dead. As for the other remaining characters, let’s discuss their future in Heroes, and why I’m JUST NOT BOTHERED.

SYLAR AND PARTNER: That wannabe Kid has to go. He has stuck around for way too long for no good reason. Just seems like an annoying male version of Claire, but with microwave radiating powers. Sylar’s quest for his Dad and realization of his mother’s murder by his beloved Dad, all of which flashbacks to Sylar’s brain (which by now is a mix-fruit jam of donno how many mutants) when he and partner come across a dried up hot-dog joint. Jeez!!! Sylar had family issues, who would’ve imagined? And why does he keep tolerating that useless piece of shite, and not tear up his head wide open. Even though I am well psyched that Sylar is back to being on the dark side, this arc of his story is just getting on me nerves.

Matt Parkman: The dude who was all powerful and could bend free thought. God knows what came upon the writers to just screw up with this character and give him the most useless power of all – Yes, Isaac Mendes’ forecasting eyes of the ‘heroine-high’ Oracle, only sans the heroine. I seriously don’t get the point in someone painting shades with perfect hues in times of crisis, especially when the government’s secret service is hunting their asses. And oh oh, HRG reveals Parkman’s inability to focus in presence of audio distortion. Hmm!!! Parkman’s search for Daphne still goes on, but in turn, due to a well crafted blunder by the Petrellis ( yeah all 3 of them ), Matt is now standing in front of the White House, and as predicted in his own paintings, has explosives tied tightly to his belly.
P.S. Parkman’s vision is complete B.S. compared to Isaac Mendes’ in terms of long-sightedness.

Nathan Petrelli: The prick of all trades, and the bollocks of none. Yes, that’s what I call him. He deserves to be called the “Father of Claire”, coz we can clearly see where Claire gets her irritating genes from. Nathan argues with Angela, and accuses her of being REBEL who hacked into their “database” and leaked the footage. Angela instead whispers something into Nathan’s ears. Only these two know what joke they shared, but I am NOT BOTHERED. Nathan does realise that his original plan has failed miserably, and his control over the operation has been shifted to that other dude. So basically, Nathan is now reduced to just another flying dude in suits. But well, I would like to have that power, but we’ll discuss that some other day.

Final Thoughts: Just a few questions.
Is there any chance that this show can be revived? I AM NOT BOTHERED. The puppeteer entered in the last scene of the Episode and asked Claire to help him, coz the REBEL said so. Now, the Rebel surely seems like a guy who can stay anonymous from Mobile Networks and hack into Computer networks. Last seen, I remember Jessica/Niki’s son- MIKA had the power to talk to machines.

So, is MIKA the REBEL? WHATEVA!!!!

Will Sylar kill his Dad, and will that involve HRG in the Flashback scene?

What did Angela whisper into Nathan’s ears?

Will Matt Parkman fart or will he explode?

Where are Hiro and Duracell-Ando?

Heroes: Villains disappointed all of us a lot. The characters were going haywire, and the time lines were getting jumbled up. Clearly, it felt like the writers were on strike. While the entire battle of Pinehearst vs. Primatech and Company is over ( I guess ), we saw one of the strongest characters/villains of the entire series: yes, Papa Petrelli ( Arthur ) and he was killed. Sylar went to the goodie-goodie side and then came back to being even darker and with the filthiest dialogue. Claire became more and more irritating and useless. Angela was left in a coma. Suresh, Tracy, and the bunch that just do not matter kept us all on the brim of errupting like Ted ( Volume 1: Genesis). With just an hour of the new volume: Fugitives, I can already get a good vibe about it. It is where everyone is together  and focussed and working towards/against one single thing – Nathan Petrelli’s pathetic and egoistic war against the ‘Others’. I am happy though, to see everyone in the same time line, same room. Let us have a quick round-up of what we can expect from this Volume of Heroes – FUGITIVES. And we’ll do it character wise, one by one. 

Peter Petrelli: He has always been one of the key characters of the series, kinda like Rogue meets Superman. Peter has gone through a lot. Exploded, Battled amnesia, travelled through time, been sucked all of his powers, rescued by Sylar, betrayed by elder brother. Phew! Now that he has some ‘power’ injected  we are not fully aware of his capabilities. But we did see him fly and also, in this first episode of Volume 4, we see him absorb power from Tracy and Mohinder. What this means is that he could have his original power restored. However, he had to physically touch them to get their powers, unlike before when he could get the powers by being in the vicinity. So, this could mean, that Mutation or getting ‘Power’ from the ‘Formula’ has its limitations and is not as powerful/effective as an original power. 
Further, the entire fight against his moron elder bro Nathan is what makes me take sides with Peter. He is definitely the one to watch out this Season.

Hiro Nakamura: He is one of the cutest characters on TV since Teletubbies. But Hiro has been facing some major problems in characterization. The story just went so absurd when he started travelling through time, time and again. The “Catalyst” arc was totally unwanted and now that Hiro has no time and space bending powers, he is forced to stay in the same place. However, his best friend Ando was injected with the power of being a “Super-Charger”. This means he can boost anyone’s abilities, much like a Super-SideKick. Does this mean that, the Formula would bring out the powers which is pretty much inherent in someone’s natural character? I remember Daphne saying once, that she always wanted to run and hence, got the power (presumably from Arthur Petrelli). Coming back to Hiro, he has a GPS tracker installed in his body and Ando’s. What remains to be seen is that if Hiro can still remain as one of the key characters of Heroes without his powers and power-grin!!

HRG (Noah Bennet) and Mohinder Suresh: These two are the one of the most unwanted characters of Heroes fighting a neck to neck race with Ali Larter’s Jessica/Nikki/Tracy and Claire Bear. Mohinder was first the Indian genius doing his research on genetic mutation and stuff, talking about chromosomes and enzymes. Then he meet Maya and all hell broke loose. He tried his defective formula and evolved into the unhygienic monster. But all of a sudden, the Solar Eclipse happened ( which btw, has a deeper significance in the Heroes mythology, conidering the title sequence has it, and every time a solar eclipse happens, a major event takes place; Takezo Kensei and all that) and Suresh lost his power and again got it back. But his skin marks didn’t go. But in the current volume, we can see he has perfectly clear skin and he is back to driving cabs. Also, he has retained the powers and so he has the strength of Hulk sans the slimyness of Shrek. 

On the other hand, HRG aka Noah aka Mr.Bennet is outright cocky. He has got no powers at all, and he believes way too much in the power of his little electric charger gun. In the words of Russell Peters, “Where the F@#k did he find the Balls to..” fight the fierce mutants like Sylar just with the help of that shitty little thing. He is one of the most boring characters as well, and to watch him saying “Claire-Bear” makes me giddy. Just KILL him I say!

Angela-Claire: Angela Petrelli was portrayed as one of the master minds in the previous Volume. Then she was sent to coma by Arthur (sorta revenge for poisoning him), and then she managed to wake up and then she just got all the more annoying. I have some real problem with the way she talks. Even if no mutant touched her, I think she would die of her old-age problems like arthritis or something. 

Claire: She is one of the most useless characters since the volume Generations and Villains. The first Volume-Genesis was all about ‘Save the Cheerleader’ and Sylar getting the healing power from Claire. Hence, it all made sense. But now, Claire is the one who can heal herself and that is it. Pretty much like Wolverine but no metallic-claws or metal skeletal system. So everything about her is human- she can’t run faster, or jump longer distances, and she even experiences pain, but well she can heal. How the hell is that exciting at all? Oh yeah, her blood can be of help to other folks. So she should be given the premium membership of the Mutant Blood Bank. Apart from that, just keep her away. Yeah of course, Nathan and Noah have a soft corner for her (she being their daughter), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she can be of any help. And the bad thing is that she CANNOT be killed. Darn!!

Nathan’s global security policy, Tracy’s chance at leaving the show, and what is up with Sylar will all be answered in the next post on Heroes. I shall call it – Heroes Fugitives- the Sequel Post. Until then, watch this space. 

I can still remember the spine chilling grrl that came out of the mouth of Oswald Cobblepot. The white-skinned flippers, the gaze and teeth which had a “dark green toxic liquid” layer on them. That was 10 years ago, when I watched a glimpse of Batman Returns, and could not complete watching it because of reasons I cannot remember now. And even before that, a very young me was completely frightened by the horror of a smiling man. A face whose smile did not bring a sense of joy, but instantly meant evil. Such was the power of the Joker, that when I saw the newsreader girl fall on the floor and watch her face turn into a white smile, I went ahead and switched off the TV. And till date, I had not completely watched Batman-the first two. I can hear many wtfs in the background, but that’s true. And having survived through the worst two (which is the topic of the next post on OKS), a good amount of well written Batman Beyond series and of course Nolan’s darker,better and most mature treatment of Batman in Batman Begins, I really wanted to go back and finish my task of watching Tim Burton’s Batmans. This had been a pending job for me more than a movie watching thing, and I knew it wouldn’t be a better timing than watch it NOW, when the Dark Knight releases next week on July the 18th. So to officially begin with the week long celebrations for the welcome of the Dark Knight, Ladies n Gents, I give you: Batman -The First Two.

Screenshots after the Jump.

Batman – I would call it the yardstick by which all the other Batman movies to follow, would be measured. This was enormous in every sense. A visually arresting epic of the lonesome hero who lives in his castle with his butler. He has huge apprehensions of giving away his identity to his lady love, and then on the other hand, is tormented by the workings of the crime gang-war in Gotham city. On one hand, we have Jack Nicholson in one of the roles in which he will always be remembered-Jack Napier aka the JOKER. The laugh with skin stretched to the extreme, and the eyes to match- we have someone going up against probably, Sir Hopkins’ Dr.Lecter. Such was the impact of watching the Joker unleashing his acts onscreen. And then, on the other hand, we had the tormented Bruce Wayne trying to move on from his childhood nightmare only to be pulled back. Batman had it all- Gotham city built to the last inch, the onscreen chemistry between Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger, and of course the horrors of the Grin. Some people would mention Prince’s soundtrack to that list, but I wouldn’t. And somehow, all my memories of having read Bob Kane’s creation on paper all these years, and having watched Batman in many forms- from the animated series, to Batman Beyond to the recent Batman Begins, I would still say that Tim Burton’s Batman is very satisfying in creating a nightmarish environment of Gotham city where crime is easily the king and the hero struggles to keep everything in place. It would be completely wrong if I were to comment on the quality of the action scenes, the Batmobile and the special effects now that we are living in a world post the Matrix. As the first cinematic adaptation of Batman, I say this one succeeds in bringing the insanity and humor along with the diabolic elements of the Joker, strikes a balance between the lonely Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight but does leave out Commisioner Gordon’s character and even makes Alfred to play matchmaker to Bruce and Viki. But yeah, I still love it.

Batman Returns-I personally felt Tim Burton goes a bit indulgent with this one . With the music, the characterization and the setting. Mr.Burton surely does have a thing for theatrical setting and operatic music and has enveloped this one completely with it. Take a look at the Gotham city that he has created. Inch deep in snow and all foggy, it is very claustrophobic in here, and certainly not how I would have liked it to be. I know Penguin calls for a polar environment to be created, but for Pete’s sake I still can’t believe 25 people attending a Mayor’s public speech-every time. Not to forget people reading out the headlines aloud on the streets, no one repeating another, all from different publications. Isn’t that a bit of Batman on Broadway? The crime scene created by the gang of Penguin (not the flock) seems so much Acrobatics galore!! Next problem is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. I know you’re gonna flash that finger to me now. But hold on until you read this. Why on earth, don’t we get to see the explanation to Selina’s schizophrenia? Why is it all left out in the open that she would rather roll than walk and have anything against the Batman? Though anyday, I will pick Pfeiffer’s Catwoman to be one of the sexiest villains of cinema, this was an unexplored territory in the cinema why the Catwoman chose the side of the Penguin. Which brings us to the best part-Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin. Portrayed completely different from the comics, Danny Devito excels in every single frame and as the bald head, dressed in a Victorian underwear, with white flippers and joined fingers, a beaky nose, and a dark green liquid flowing as he spoke, the Penguin was the highlight of this movie. I would perhaps go to the length of saying that Danny Devito’s penguin exceeds the maniac that the Joker of the first movie was. This one goes ahead and chews off your nose, walks like a beast or a penguin(whatever), and speaks to himself. He is what he calls himself- “I am not a Man, I am an animal, I am the Penguin”. With revenge in his heart, and a distorted plan on his mind, the Penguin is why this movie works. And for most of the part, he is the HERO of the movie and Michael Keaton gets completely overshadowed by the grotesque of Danny Devito’s Penguin. This is what covers up all flaws in the plot and even elevates the movie to the level it is considered now to be on.

If you were to ask me to pick one, it would be easy to say. I choose Batman as the winner. But if you ask me to pick the favorite villain between the two, it’s got to be Danny Devito’s Penguin. It is scarier than all distortions included for the vision of Scarecrow. And for your reference and viewing pleasure, I have included a few screenshots of both movies. And please do tell me , if you liked my review of these two. See you at the next post- Batman: The Worst Two

Screenshots of Batman

Screenshots of Batman Returns

Sweded!

If you love the movies, you better watch Be Kind Rewind.I am completely swept, Sweded and absolutely blown away. And if I may say, this is what movies should be in the first place. Let’s leave the reviewing part for a while, and take this moment to praise the creative genius that Mr. Michel Gondry is. He has given us one of the most heart wrenching romantic movies of all time (Eternal Sunshine..) and here, he has set out to do a light hearted movie, casted Jack Black and Mos Def in the lead, which even has an uncanny premise to it. Almost silly you might presume. But what happens next is best described as Brilliant with a capital B. And I really don’t care what the ratings are, what the critics say. In a year where the movies are divided into two segments chronologically- Summer Blockbusters and Thanksgiving season, there comes a movie which retells the tale and brings the moral upfront- that movies were all about the heart more than the moolah. And mind you, it IS inspirational in ways more than a million.The plot is pretty much present in a lot of websites already, and so wouldn’t at all qualify as a spoiler if I mention it here. Neither would it matter, because you really HAVE to watch this one to get what I say. Now listen carefully James!

Elroy Fletcher runs a video store which faces a demolition notice. In hope to get back in business he sets out to spy on the business of DVD rental chains while he leaves the store under the supervision of Mike (Mos Def). In a power plant mishap, Mike’s friend Jerry (Jack Black) gets magnetised (don’t think it’s silly, it IS SILLY, but yeah what the heck). He leaves all the VHS tapes in the store blank, and when the store’s (which is named Be Kind Rewind) most loyal customer-Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) asks for a tape of Ghostbusters, to ensure that she doesn’t complain to Fletcher, Mike and Jerry decide on making a version of Ghostbusters of their own. And so the journey begins. Yeah I know, the initial 30 minutes are a bit mediocre, so you really need to sit through it please, because it has all been built up for the moments you are going to experience next.

Ghostbusters -Sweded, here we come. What’s next? Mike says: I’m Bill Murray, you’re everybody else. Haha!! Ghostbusters version Sweded features hanging books, silver foils, the perfect location of a library, and even a soundtrack

Walking down the street
You see a little Ghost
What you’re gonna do about Ghostbusters

And with help from fellow assistant mechanic, smart photocopies, and final minute dubbing, Ghostbusters is ready in the Bootleg Sweded version. What Jerry n Mike did not know was that they were about to begin their journey of film making and explore/swede movies on demand of their local neighbourhood. YAYYYYY!!! And next level: Jerry refuses to kiss Wilson (required in an intimate scene of Rush Hour 2 sweded) and hence they start hunting for a female lead who is equally creative in all aspects and even has the negotiating powers of a movie producer. And once Jerry gets demagentised, they all need to get back to making some more movies. The list contains 2001:A Space Odyssey, Robocop, Men in Black and on and on and on. The only little complaint here is that the sweding procedure is being skimmed through. I would have loved to watch some more of it. Especially for King Kong and LOTR (both done by Peter Jackson, coincidence). The MIB stuff was really smart and you have to see it to believe. Well, I have included it in the screenshots below. And yes we know that Rush Hour has become a franchise now in a way, but it is not an integral part of our pop culture. Not enough to be sweded at least! I did like the Chinese Bamboo strong enough parody. LOL.

Fletcher returns to find that his video store has become the hub of a community video production which is doing way better business than it ever did. But he still faces a demolition deadline. They have to reach a target revenue of 60,000 USD ,and how do they do it? Make some more movies, fast and short. So they involve the local community to be a part of it. But then copyright infringement and IPR enforcement officials pay a visit and it is payback time. Fletcher has lost everything. His store faces demolition, the sweded movies are run over by a bulldozer as Mike and Jerry watch and they even face a lawsuit. But Jerry doesn’t give up , and they decide to make an original one. One of their own local hero – Jazz pianist Fast Waller. And this is where the movie moves from being just fun to a Big Tribute – to Filmmaking at its crude and unpolished best. Seven Days to shoot a biopic. And the process just narrates the cool factor of making movies, of creating stories that speak, and making people a part of the entire process in many ways.Not so surprisingly, I was instantly reminded of the school plays I had been involved with, mostly in the script part. It inspires and educates you about the passion, dedication and love required to understand this art form and that it is ART to make movies, perhaps way more than an oil paint, and that moving pictures tell better stories and they can make you laugh, cry, smile and experience and express jubilance even when life is tough. That is why movies still exist in a world where we have numerous options of escapism. That is why we Love Movies.

The climax is a bit incomplete because we do not get to know what happens of Be Kind Rewind. But then it would be silly to have a fairy tale happy ending, and hence better kept open. And when movies move me, I can’t help clapping, and even giving a very desi-seetee (whistle blow). This movie deserved three of it!! Just forget all the logic if magnetism can be drained away in pee. Forget Sigourney Weaver.Have a look at JB.Jack Black does what he does best, and minus the irritating overdose of fart jokes (which I love except when it is just way too much ). He reminds me of his other ‘really good’ movie- High Fidelity. This is the High Fidelity of VHS. LOL. Mos Def is just so much fun to watch. But the winning vote goes to Mr.Gondry for giving us a winner which not only entertains us through and through, but even somehow made me rework on my budget to buy a handycam. Youtube here I come!! Till the time I replace Spielberg and Tarantino you enjoy the screenshots.

Screenshots Here.

...........

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)

The journey in the movie has been depicted in a back and forth timeframe. Initially we see Chris in the frozen hills of Alaska and he makes his home in an abandoned bus called ” Magic Bus”. We then get to see Chris, who after donating his savings, burns all of his identification documents and starts calling himself “Alexander Supertramp”. He hitches rides along the way with hippies, rows on a kayak down to Mexico, and even gets beaten by the Railway Patrols. He becomes close to a 16 year old hippie as well. But above all,the most captivating and compelling friendship he makes is with a very gentle and concerned old man, Ron Franz. And yes, Hal Holbrook did deserve to be nominated for the Best Supporting Oscar. The scene in the jeep when after driving for a hundred miles, it is finally time to say goodbye to Chris, he reveals that his family line was dying with him and that he had this desire of adoptin Chris as his grandson. It is done so brilliantly that you could almost feel the pain touch you. Chris says he’ll discuss about it once he gets back from Alaska. And as he leaves, Ron blinks his eyes and a tear rolls down his cheeks. And the Oscar goes to….oh, damn you Anton Chigurh.

But well, the surface has to show all the adventure involved in this travelogue cum docu-drama that was involved in this hitching. The outbacks are spell binding and often leave you speechless. I am not kidding you. See the screenshots for yourself . The cinematography is just BRILLIANT. You sense the call of the wild, the chill of the snow, the heat of the melting ice, and the warmth of the coming spring, all effectively in the captured frames of cinematographer Eric Gautier. The gurgling of the water enchants me and so does the snow caped peaks. I’d rather talk less about these and just let you see them for yourself.

And when it is all done, I am left haunted. HAUNTED by the music of Eddie Vedder and the Ukelele strumming; HAUNTED by the open surroundings; HAUNTED by the beauty of the 16 year old hippie strumming her acoustic guitar; HAUNTED by Carine’s pain in her narrative voice of not having her beloved brother respond to her ,only to discover his death; HAUNTED by the thrill of experiencing ‘The Wild’ and by the adrenaline of stretching out the arms from the top of a peak; and finally HAUNTED by the smile of Ron Franz and his words,

” There is some kind of BIGGER thing we all appreciate, and it sounds that you don’t mind calling HIM God.But, when you forgive , you Love. And when you Love, God’s LIGHT SHINES on YOU”.

Screenshots

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. Amir is convinced to do so as Rahim Khan is the only family member that is left. Surprisingly, Rahim tells him that Hassan is dead, and that Hassan is actually his step-brother. Hassan has a son,Sohrab who is most probably in Taliban captivated Kabul. Amir realises that this is his only chance of atonement and takes up the task of rescuing Sohrab from Kabul. He is assisted by a driver Farid in this mission, which after many difficulties, he eventually succeeds. Sohrab is brought to California to live with Amir and they live happily as a family.

I have read some reviews and yes, perhaps there are certain complaints as to why the movie didn’t explore the atrocities of Taliban as graphically as each and every page of the book. To that, I’d like to mention that it is best when it is left for the viewer’s perception. How can one show more brutality when you have already shown a land where people sell their own body parts, where orphans are being treated as sex-dolls, where women are being pelted with stone to death in a stadium, all in the name of justice and bringing back the law. I think it doesn’t get more graphic, unless the intention is to glorify the gore as many filmmakers intend to do in all the wannabe snuff horror flicks. Another complaint that I have read is about the depiction of the rape of Hassan. I do not think there is enough explanation required to support that it needed to be shown so. Pages describing the pain and stigma that Hassan carries have rightfully condensed into the one scene where Hassan limps and blood spills on the snow.

The music of the movie is a breathe of fresh air. It uplifts your soul as you just get cozy with the opening titles. The Kite Flying contest is a pleasure to watch. Much of it is done with modern day special effects but the sound effects give you the thrill that you’d normally experience in one of those aircraft combat action scene. The cinematography is impeccable. The 1978′s Afghanistan has been created in China, and makes you believe that you are there. The hills, the rocks, the rooftops and the blue sky are radiate colors that you would either like to take a screenshot and paste it as your wallpaper or may be keep staring on. All these change into Warzone Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. And again, the hue setting is just perfect to the last inch. The barren lands and the muddy water holes are as uninviting and creepy as the staring gunmen in the Jeeps. Peshawar’s Afghan Market is also being portrayed with intense detail. The butcher’s shops, the crowded marketplace with taxis and hardly a place to walk and the entrance of the Mosque are breathtaking visuals which you’d like to rewind and watch again. The narration however does leave some potholes. As in, it leaves Amir’s difficulties in getting his book published, and also doesn’t describe his troubled marital life when he and Soraya can’t conceive a baby. The narrative isn’t as crisp and easy , but the story overcomes all these flaws.

But the real hero of the movie is young actor Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada as young Hassan. The twinkle in his eyes and the sincerity in his smile makes you believe in Hassan’s feelings as the tormented Hazara, but who’d not give up on Amir Jan at any cost. His eternal struggle to be loyal to Amir is heart wrenching. If you see the scene where Amir throws a pomegranate at Hassan and says that he is a coward and challenges him to hit him back. Hassan walks up to Amir and picks up a pomegranate himself, only to hit his own face with it. It still makes me stand up and applaud that young actor to have performed that scene. Look at the screenshots below and you have to watch the scene to believe my words.

The next big hero of the movie is Homayoun Ershadi as Baba, Amir’s father. There is a pure Afghani in this actor. He plays the role of the aristocrat Kabuli with intense credibility. But more than that, when he refuses treatment from a Russian doctor, that simple push made it. Young Amir-Zekeria Ebrahimi also does wonders in making me feel so disgusted of a young child’s silly mistakes which eventually makes other people pay for it. For Director Marc Foster I’d say,a brilliant addition to his resume which already contains “Monster’s Ball”, “Finding Neverland” and “Stranger than Fiction”. He has again brought out the best from the child actors as he did in “Finding Neverland”. “The Kite Runner” is surely a tear jerker for me and one which breaks out of the mold of Hollywood War movie clichés. It maintains a figurative way of showing the desolation and hope of the country mixed of course with contradictory elements such as cutting string and blessed artificial legs and serves as a metaphor of a country torn by war and which is still hopeful to be redeemed , just like Amir jan. It ends with Amir Jan running as the Kite Runner for Sohrab, Hassan’s son saying what Hassan used to say for Amir “For you a thousand times”. And we see hope in the eyes of Sohrab, who realises the feeling of acceptance and family. Bravo! WATCH IT.