'Little Manhatten'

Love story of an 11 year old ! I was skeptical at first thinking this was one of those movies with the kiddie-stuff. But it wasn't to be so. This may be one of the best romantic movies ever, coz it is in one word 'believable'. With ultimate dialogues (especially those in the head !) and even better situations (the first time holding-hands-under-the-table scene), this movie surely rocked...

Scrubs - the best comedy series ever?

For a long time I was under the impression that 'Friends' was the best series ever on air. But then I came across 'Scrubs'. If not better, it does come up to that level, thanks to its lovable characters, witty humor, loads of sarcasm and the best soundtrack ever! Moreover, it goes a step over being just a comedy series by having its moments of emotion, something which 'Friends' lacked (even if there were some, I just hadn't connected with them). And then there is something new to learn with each episode,there is always a conclusion at the end, with the impetus being on the fact that 'Life is not perfect, enjoy it while you can' ...

True Stories

Last week I've been lucky enough to have chosen good movies to watch. Some of them (incidently, most are based on true stories), I think, deserve a mention here.

City of God: The story of lawlessness in the city reminded me of mafia-based bollywood movies at times. But there was something gripping in this movie (even though it wasn't in English). It was much more realistic than many other movies based on the same theme. The violence, the blood shed, the emotions, the music and a great climax, all blend together to create a great movie. Deserves a 9 out of 10.
No Man's Land: Again a movie that isn't in English. And it sure deserved the Oscar over Lagaan. Coz while I would give this flick an 8.5 or 9, Lagaan would not even get a 7. It is a war movie that focusses not on special effects or high budget cinematography, but on the characters who are caught in a situation and on showing how they would behave under pressure. All in all, remarkable stuff.
October Sky: Now this movie does not have a lot new to tell and it is quite predictible, but still there is something about it which makes it an amazing (and actually, an emotional) watch. Coz you know a movie is good, when you develop a sort of loathing for some of its (negative-shade) characters (the father in this case). I'll give it an 8/10.
Chocolat: An innovative story which implicitly points towards the message that one must be open to new ideas and not be fixated to defined protocols. Worth 8/10.
Apart from these some mediocre (but worth a watch at least once) stuff include The Breakfast Club and 10 Items or Less.

The Virgin Suicides

Hmmm.....this movie sure had me gripped for its entire runtime (should I say another great recommendation from Sush!!), and it surely was due to its great direction and story, welll...perhaps also due to Kirsten Dunst and the other sisters, but that is a different matter altogether. The theme is haunting at times, when the girls are kept under a house-arrest by their over-protective mother. It seemed so inhuman to do so. I am ready to shoot Mrs. Lisbon as soon as I meet her face-to-face. Perhaps the perfect ending would have been for Mrs. Lisbon to commit suicide herself ( I was actually surprised she didn't !!) but I guess that would have been too bollywood-like. Never mind the ending, I believe the movie had another nasty villain-like character: Trip (Dunst's boyfriend). He was so afraid of the situation ( a night-out on the football field) that he left her to handle it on her own...now how insensitive was that !! Anyways, the movie has left a lot to be decided by the viewers, why did the girls call on the boys the night they decided to end their life...why did it all happen when they had finally established a connection with the outside world (the phone calls and stuff). And the puzzle pieces need a lot of time to be fitted together before these questions are answered. Perhaps I wasn't that influenced by the movie that I look into these pieces, however it still deserves an 8.5 out of 10 for the originality of the story and the character played by Kirsten (she looked absolutely stunning throughout !!)