Movie marathon!

It's been a movie watching spree once again. I guess watching the Golden Globes Award Ceremony the other night encouraged me to download  these wonderful movies!

First, Despicable Me. This is an animated movie and the main role is played by Steve Carell. Just love watching Steve. He's good. Well, the story is of a Supervillian who plans to use 3 orphan girls in his evil scheme only to find that their innocent love is profoundly changing him! It's a cute movie. I loved it. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (Golden Globe).

Next, it was the Little Fockers. This is the sequel to Meet the Parents & Meet the Fockers. Jack begins to have health issues and so decides to appoint Greg as the new head of the family, the "Godfocker". Then Jack begins to have doubts and Greg has to prove his capability in looking after the family. Personally I prefered the earlier movies.

Next in line was the most talked about movie that I totally wanted to see The Social Network.  It won the Golden Globe Award for the Best Motion Picture - Drama. It also won the Golden Globe Awards for the Best Director, Best Screenplay & Best Scoreboard. This is about the founding of the ever growing most popular networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits. The movie is totally gripping. Brilliantly made. Loved it.

Grown Ups a buddy comedy starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade & Rob Schneider was next. A story of 5 childhood friends who meet years later at their Coach's funeral. Cute & funny. Pretty entertaining. The rented lake house looked gorgeous! I would love to holiday in one of those lakeside cottages someday if I could......go for a walk, have a picnic, go swimming, go boating....it would be wonderful!

More are being downloaded! :)

Before Sunset

Just got to watch Before Sunset which was on tv. It's the sequel to the film Before Sunrise which was about a young man, Jesse (played by Ethan Hawke) and a woman, Celine (played by Julie Delpey) who meets on a train in Europe and ends up spending a romantic evening in Vienna. Now nine years later, Jesse is doing a Book Tour and comes to Paris where he encounters Celine again. Time is a constrain and in the short time they have, they try to catch up with what had happened in their lives since that night in Vienna.

Celine, "Memories are wonderful things if you do not have to deal with the past." Awesome.....just love this dialogue.

The end of the films makes one wonder whether Jesse stays or leaves.....

A confession

I have a confession to make....brought on by the fact that I am perceived to be "hard to approach" by the guys.

I have suffered at the hands of that chubby little diaper-wearing fellow named Cupid in the past....with his stupid arrows. But, then life goes on....with or without.

Yes, I am wary but I can be easily charmed. I am not wearing a bullet-proof or should I say an arrow-proof vest....and I don't ever intend to wear one in the future! If I ever get struck by Cupid's arrow intentionally or by accident again, I hope the arrow this time is special. A special arrow which would make me sing...okay hum...can't sing for nuts!...dance... hmmm....again, I am not good in this though I love dancing....and make me smile for no reason!

I hope for Spring to come and Zhivago to meet up with Lara (Dr.Zhivago). I hope for Rick to say once more "Here's looking at you, kid" to Ilsa (Casablanca). I hope for Joe Bradley to meet Princess Ann again and take up from where they left (Roman Holiday).

There, I confessed....I confessed to being hopelessly romantic!

Guilty as charged!

"Quantum of Solace"

This morning as I was reading the Top Stories on CNN.... "Producers reveal title of new James Bond" caught my eye. Wow! Another Bond movie and a Daniel Craig starrer!

Filming has begun and it's a sequel to "Casino Royale" beginning an hour after the films ends with Bond devastated after his betrayal by true love Vesper Lynd. Will Bond find solace in the arms of the two Bond girls played by Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Artenton? Bond may be diverted but then again, he may not! We'll just have to wait for the answers. The movie is due to be released later this year and the title chosen by the Producers is "Quantum of Solace". The title is taken from a story by Bond creator Ian Fleming that appears in "For your eyes only".

Fleming defined quantum of solace as "that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have, you might as well give up."

Quantum of solace, roughly a measure of comfort......an integral part for a relationship to flourish which if lacking, might as well call it off! Just what I have always been saying!

Late ino the night.....

A love caught in the fire of Revolution.
In a land of guns and ice, there is the great sound of battle and the greater silence of lovers

Late into the night.......I stayed wide awake with Doctor Zhivago.

Doctor Zhivago is a beautiful and moving film by David Lean based on a novel by the same name by Boris Pasternak. This is the story of a man and his mistress who together try to insulate their private lives from the chaos of the Russian Revolution. It is wistfully sad accentuating the beauty of life amidst the most bitter tragedy.

The film stars Omar Sharif as Doctor Zhivago, the Protagonist. Julie Christie plays Larissa Antipova (Lara) the mistress while Geraldine Chaplin plays Tonya, Zhivago's wife.

The film's theme music is hauntingly beautiful. It makes you wish for the Spring to come.....for all would be ok then.....perhaps?

On a lighter note, of the 105 Lara Poems by Doctor Zhivago , two of the best has been translated from Russian to English. They are beautiful....and I can not decide which is the best!

Lara No. 5

Lara
Lara Lara my Lara
Lara Lara Lara Lara
Lara
Lara Lara Lara
Lara!

Lara No. 79

Lara Lara Lara Lara
Lara my Lara my Lara
Lara Lara
Lara Lara Lara
Lara Lara Lara my Lara
Lara!
Lara! Lara!

The Devil Wears Prada.....but I wear Zara!

Looking into my staple wardrobe.........which in my case would be for my daily office wear ...........and the only ones for which I shop regularly..... having been living in this part of the world, the Middle East with minimum of socializing (at least where I am concerned).....I can see that apart from my lingerie and a few odd pieces from here & there, all of my clothes seem to have been bought from Zara.

I find Zara offering quality clothing which is priced pretty reasonable and are of the latest international trends. Zara can afford this as they have factories/ sources all over the world and so the lead time for production is really short which means the latest trends from all over the world can be in their stores within 2-3 weeks!

ZARA BASIC - The trousers fits me real well......of course I do have to alter the length a bit....moi being petite, otherwise the fit is perfect especially on the butt! The tops too are really chic! I love the Baby-doll tops in Zara (various colors/prints/fabrics) which is a fabulous trend from the runway that works so well for all of us non-models! Baby-dolls, with their forgiving fit and romantic feel are the smart choice for the kind of summer weather this part of the world. Flirty, flowy and feminine, they are a perfect staple for work, weekend or travel.......not to mention to camouflage the unforgiving bulges acquired from rich unadulterated food and sedentary lifestyle! The Trouser-Jacket suit is also perfect for office wear! With just minor alterations....the length.......Voila! Je suis très chic!

Speaking of the Devil last night....I was reminded of The Devil who Wears Prada.......and then it struck me..........but I wear Zara!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The weekend has been a marathon of watching various soaps & movies on TV & DVD....in English as well as in Hindi. What stood out of course was Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. This is the story of a woman on her own making her way in the big city. It's quirky, funny, serious, sophisticated & entertaining.

We meet Holly Golightly played by Audrey Hepburn driving up in a taxi on New York's 5th Avenue in the early morning hours, dressed to the nines, sipping coffee, nibbling a danish and window shopping at Tiffany's under the opening credits. She looked gorgeous!
When Holly says,

"I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is, but I know what it's like. It's like Tiffany's." or "You don't have to worry. I've taken care of myself for a long time."

This could be Moi saying it!

Audrey strumming her guitar and singing on the fire escape...beautiful lyrics....I could identify with...

Moon River, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going I'm going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.
We're after the same rainbow's end--
waiting 'round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me.

The ending.........I always love to see a happy ending. The rain drenched Cat and the famous kiss-in-the-rain ending............didn't fail me!

Sentimental Fool

I have been crying away.........this weekend......all by myself. I just couldn't help.......the tears came rolling down my cheeks. No, nothing happened to me...........I'm perfectly fine and nobody said anything to me. Then what brought on the tears? Well, it was the two Bollywood Movies that I saw, starring Shahrukh Khan.

Chak De India - The film is about Kabir Khan played by Shahrukh, Captain of the Indian Hockey Team who misses the penalty shootout in the Finals against Pakistan & thus lost the match. I guess being a Muslim & the winning Team being Pakistan (India & Pakistan Rivalry which everyone knows), Kabir was labeled a Traitor. Then after 7 years (the magic number!), he comes back as a Coach of the Women's Hockey Team....a team assembled from different parts of India. There's loads of conflicts........different States so different class, caste, ethnicity but Kabir inculcates to think of the country first & to have the Team Spirit. They go to Australia where the World Cup Tournament was being played being the defending Champions. After a humiliating defeat in the first match against Australia, the Indian Team goes on to win the others settling their differences along the way...with each game.. and reach the Final. Once again the Indian Team faces the Australian and it's in the penalty shootout that India wins the match. The victorious team returns home to a rousing welcome and Kabir is lauded as a Hero.

Chalte Chalte -This is a story about Raj (Shahrukh) & Priya (Rani Mukherji) who meets & falls in love. However Priya is to get engaged and now had to decide which way to go. Love triumphs & Raj & Priya gets married then struggle against adversity. They quarrel, separate, then reconcile. Hmmm the difficuties of marriage....but all's well that ends well!

Call me a Sentimental Fool........but then that's me.

The Pursuit of Happyness

I just got to watch the film by this title on the DVD.........based on Christopher Gardner’s true, rags to riches story. It was quite touching and the story is real inspiring........what one can achieve if one is determined.

The movie stars Will Smith playing Gardner & his real life son Jaden as Gardner's son. The film tells us of the many challenges that Will faces while caring for his son as a Single Parent while pursuing an Internship with a Stock Brokerage Firm.

And yes, it’s so true… Happiness is what we can only pursue…we can never have it.....it’s made of fleeting moments...........and we should enjoy these moments.