Dirty Dancing

Year:1987

Genre: Romantic

Director: Emile Ardonlino

Cast: Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey

Rating: Very Good

The main plot of the movie is the romance between the lead characters, Baby and Johnny. Baby and her family arrive at a resort for their vacation. There she gets acquainted with the staff and gets an opportunity to watch 'dirty dancing'. She is a thrilled by the moves and the dances. Johnny is the lead dancer in the entertainment group at the resort. When his dance partner is not able to participate in an Annual Dance show where they dance every year, Baby becomes his dance partner.

Johnny trains Baby, from a person who can make moves to a good dancer. They practice the Mambo and the portrayal of how Baby learns the moves are quite nice. Though they even practice the 'lifts', they don't do it at the show as Baby gets nervous. Later they fall in love and the rest of the movie shows how her father does not like the relation and how he finally agrees to it. The last dance sequence in the movie was awesome and so was the 'lift' scene.

A sweet little story that keeps lingering on even after you watch movie.

The Lake House

Year: 2006

Genre: Romance and Fantasy

Direction: Alejandro Agresti

Cast: Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves

Rating: Excellent

The Lake House is a romantic movie and has a little complicated or rather unusual plot. It centers around two people who live two years apart from each other, falling in love.

Kate moves out of a lake house and leaves a letter for the next tenant to forward her mails to her new address. Alex receives the letter but is surprised as to his knowledge the house was vacant for several years. Kate mentions about paw prints leading to the house which was already there when she moved in, while, to Alex's surprise, there are no paw prints when he moves in and happens while he is staying there. Later, Kate tells him that she is in 2006 and Alex in 2004. The mailbox in front of the house is where they drop letters for each other. A lot of events happen further which makes them develop feelings for each other though they have not yet spoken or seen each. Things go further and Alex sees Kate in his present, which is actually the past for Kate.

Furthur, the movie reveals more interesting incidents which keep connecting them in the past and future. The movie is very romantic and keeps you completely hooked. Most of the elements in the movie are also very beautiful and romantic, like the maple tree, the house, mailbox, and so on.

The ending kind of seemed a bit confusing and complex. Reason - they finally meet at the same time frame. But I really loved the movie. Hope you also do.

Its Twilight Now

Yeah, it is the Twilight mania for me now. I can't put down the book without wanting to take it up and start reading again. I don't want to go to sleep, instead lie down and read and read and read. I just want to finish of my cooking and other chores so that I can just indulge in the pleasure of reading. Its real fun now. Seems like I have got back that pace of reading I used to have back in my college days. And as the thickness of the pages on the left hand side, while reading, increases, I am more motivated to keep reading.

I plan to write a review about the series. I have already completed the first two of the series - Twilight and New Moon. Started on with Eclipse. It is a pretty thick book and the last one - Breaking Dawn is even thicker.

Okay no more time to write. Need to catch up with my reading now.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Year: 2005

Genre: Drama

Direction: Rob Marshall

Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Ken Watanabe, and Michelle Yeoh

Rating: Good

This is a serious, yet touching and memorable movie. Now, how I came about to watch this movie -My colleague gave me the book to read. It was not with any great interest that I started reading the book. And even after I started reading, there was nothing too exciting that kept me reading, yet there was some curiosity that made me continue. I would not say that the book is a great literary piece of work. It seems written in simple language without any great elements involved. But yes, the story is a peculiar one.

Chiyo, belongs to a very poor fisherman family, where her mother is on her death bed. She has an elder sister too. The girls are sold to a wealthy man, who inturn sells them again. Chiyo is sold to a Geisha house. For the first few years of her life, she cries, tries to run away, is harassed by another Geisha, and suffers a lot of pain. But eventually we see, how she keeps her will-power and goes on to become one of the most popular Geisha in Gion.

The journey is amazing. In the book, the journey doesn't seem that interesting as there are many incidents happening in between. But the movie has the flow and the visualization is wonderful.

The movie has quite a lot of breathtakingly wonderful shots. The shots are such that you seem to notice nothing but the beauty in it. Be it the shot where little Chiyo runs through the Orange gateways to put the coins which the Chairman gave, or the cherry blossom, or even the flowing water with the bleeding colours of the clothes.

The book was written by Arthur Golden, published in 1997, and is fictional. The movie was based on the book and directed by Rob Marshall in 2005.

Tangled

Year: 2010

Genre: Animation

Direction: Nathan Greno and Byron Howard

Voice: Mandy Moore, Donna Murphy, and Zachary Levi

Rating: Excellent

Have you watched Tangled? No, please go and watch it. A complete entertainer. Based on the fairy tale of Rapunzel, the movie is put in a rather entertaining and comical way. It is an animated movie and kids would love it completely. Not only kids, even adults would, if you have a liking for fairy tales or animated movies. I am a complete lover of fairy tales and thus went for the movie. I was very excited right from the start till the end.

The movie is directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. I am not sure of the actual cast or anyone who worked behind the screens for making the movie a great one. Rapunzel as well as Flynn Ryder were interesting. But what interested me the most were the characters, Pascal, the pet chameleon and Maximus, the royal horse. Pascal was really adorable and sweet. Maximus stole the limelight with his mannerisms and wit.

The movie is a musical and a total entertainer. You wouldn't even realize when the movie gets over. I just wanted to see it over and over again. It was a lovely watch. I loved how the lanterns were raised into the sky, how Rapunzel managed her hair and performed stunts with it.

Go watch it! :-)

Saagar

Have you watched this movie? It is a movie of the 80s. I saw it probably when I was very small. But the songs and the Kamal Hassan's character immediately attracted me to the movie. Since then I have been a big fan of the songs of the movie, especially Saagar Jaise Aankhon...

Today, probably after a lot of years, I am watching it again, as it is coming on television. Even after 25 years the movie and songs seem fresh. Except for Dimple Kapadia, who looks a bit old for her role in the movie, I love everything else about Saagar.

And if you haven't watched this movie by any chance, it is a triangular love story, where Rishi Kapoor and Dimple are in love with each other and Kamal in love in Dimple without her knowledge. Rishi and Dimple have nothing in common apart for their love for each other. Both come from different classes of the society and family backgrounds. The second half of the movie deals with these problems.

Whether you like the movie or not, you will definitely love the songs.

Madrasapattinam

A wonderful movie; beautifully pictured and well scripted. Above all I loved the characters and the entire story. One might find striking similarities to the Bollywood movie Lagaan in the song sequences and costumes. There are some striking resemblances in the plot to the Hollywood movie Titanic as well. Even though there exists these comparable factors, the movie is unique in its style and flow.

The cast includes Arya, Amy Jackson, and Cochin Haneefa in the leading roles. Arya's looks portraying the hero from the early 19th century is convincing enough and so are all other character's makeup and mannerisms. The director, A.L. Vijay has done a wonderful job. The putting together of the old Madrasapattanam and today's Chennai is marvelous. The music is by G.V. Prakash Kumar. There are melodies and spirited songs in the movie. The theme music is beautiful and plays in the background throughout many sequences. The movie is the soft love story of a rural illiterate man and a British girl, during the British rule in India. It shows the steady progress of how they like each other, communicate, sacrifice, and live and die in love. The director has been successful in blending together history and an interesting love story in equal proportions. Had it been in different ratios, the aftereffect would not have been this wonderful.

The Feast of Roses

As the name suggests, the novel is indeed a literary feast to the reader. It is a sequel to The Twentieth Wife which I havent read unfortunately. The story is all about love, jealousy, power, and decline. It is a woman's story, the story of Noor Jahan and Jahangir. Noor Jahan means 'light of the world' while Jahangir is 'emperor of the world'.

The novel begins by expressing the love the central characters have for each other. Initially they are Salim and Mehrunissa of the Mughal period. In due course of time, they receive their titles - Jahangir and Noor Jahan. Though it portrays the love both of them share, it is a female oriented story. Mehrunissa is the loving, caring, as well as shrewd queen of the Mughal empire. For Jahangir, Mehrunissa, his twentieth wife is his true love. Before her first marriage, both were attracted to each other. Ultimately, Jahangir slays her Mughal husband, which marks the beginning of their married life and a whole new love story. The extreme affection both share can be viewed in the gestures and displays of love both make.

We view Mehrunissa as a wonderful mother when with her daughter, and as a shrewd stepmother and queen when ruling the empire. She is portrayed as a woman with extreme capabilities for capturing love and hatred. She is different from the woman of her period when she appears along with her husband in his court room and actually rules the empire. Mehrunissa steps out from the world of the inner chambers of the palace to the court and ruling chambers. She proves herself to be the favourite wife of Jahangir as well as the most powerful woman in the empire. Finally we see the fall of Mehrunissa when Jahangir dies and the empire is conquered by his eldest son. Mehrunissa spends the rest of her life in the darkness of the palace.

The author, Indu Sundaresan, takes us through the riches and glories of the Mughal period. The buildings, people, costumes, life style, and everything is explained with the minutest detail. And well you must be wondering why the title - The Feast of Roses. There is an instance where Jahangir displays his love for his queen. The way through which Mehrunissa is to walk is decorated with rose petals. Wondering what is so special about that? Each petal is kept at a certain distance from the other and is kept inverted over which is placed a drop of rosewater. The drop shines when the sunlight falls on it and the path sparkles. The whole place is filled with the fragrance of rose water and roses. Mehrunissa walks over the petals. The beauty of the whole arrangement, only to be lost by the swishing and swooshing of her skirt. Hours of effort, just for her to walk on. Well does that sound interesting? Indeed, it is and you must agree to it.

Jaane Tu... ya jaane na

Cast : Imran Khan (Debut), Genelia
Direction : Abbas Tyrewala (Debut)
Music : A.R.Rahman

I was indeed quite eager to watch this movie. The promos were good and there were a few good songs also in the movie. At last I watched the movie two days back. Well, to start, I will start with the entire cast. The film marks the debut of Imran Khan, and he was okay in the movie. I won't say that he did a commendable job. May be his character provided him only that much scope. About Genelia, she has again marked herself as the best in her usual bubbly, outgoing, short-tempered, and extreme character. And the best part, the gang of friends. Don't know whether they have any previous acting backgrounds, but they did a praiseworthy job. The freshness of the gang did the magic perhaps. Even Ratna Pathak was superb. And above all these, the Naseerudin Shah, inside the framed picture was the best.

The movie was an entertainer for the complete two and a half hours. Though not all the songs were good, the two songs - Kabhi kabhi and Pappu can't dance were extremely wonderful. The director has proved his capability with no doubt. Each frame has uniqueness and freshness. Though the story was the same old friends to lovers, it was packed wonderfully in a new bottle with an excellent fragrance. Well, thats what I have to say about it. Not a must-watch, but indeed a good watch.

Anthem of Humanity

Just a piece of writing I love, by Khalil Gibran

It was but yesterday
we met in a dream
you have sung to me in my aloneness,
and I of your longings
have built a tower in the sky

But now our sleep has fled
and our dream is over,
and it is no longer dawn.

The noontide is upon us
and our half waking
has turned to fuller day
and we must part

If in the twilight of memory
we should meet once more
we shall speak again together
and you shall sing to me
a deeper song

And if our hands should meet
in another dream
we shall build
another tower in the sky

I came across this poem when I was reading Jaishree Misra's 'Ancient Promises'. May be the theme went well with the novel's plot. But somehow, I like the piece of poetry very much. I jotted the lines in my book and kept them treasured for long also. Usually I never read poems, but somehow this one interests me a lot.