An 'Up'lifting movie

There is no way but Up ! from here. Pixar has once again proved that they are one of the best film makers of today. Not just the best 'animated' film makers. If you could get over the pre conceptions about 3D animation being for kids, you will be treated to one of the most touching films of this year - Up!


Carl promised the love of his life, his would be wife that he will take her to Paradise falls - a place of natural beauty untouched by man and move their camp house there. As the business of living life takes its toll, the dream is always pushed for later - until its too late.

And that is just the first ten minutes - pure gold. From kids to old couple, the movie beautifully captures their love, their anguish (they cant have kids) and the simple joys life.

For me, the idea of tying balloons to the house and floating away to the place of your dreams, to leave the mundane life behind is far too exciting and almost too real a metafor.

All of us have a Paradise falls, somewhere we want to go someday. And there is always someone  we want to share it with. And its always too late.

But in the end, love finds happiness and adventure in the most boring things in life. As Carl found out and hopefully, all of us will.

Now Thats What I Call a Productive Weekend !

On more weekend is over. I had planned, as I do every friday, to do something useful and productive with my weekend. Studying was out of question; I had this vague and weak urging in my mind to clean up my room and cupboard but then thought better of it. But then you dont get that much time to waste anyway if you wake up at noon during weekends. Ok so back to my topic - I just managed to watch five movies during the weekend. I dont know ( and I dont think ) that its a record, but it was a first for me. If anyone cares, these are the ones which I sat through:

• Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring
• Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers
• Notorious
• The Ladykillers
• 12 Angry Men

It seems improbable but I actually liked all of them. 12 Angry Men especially; it is an old movie, in monochrome, yet so beautifully taken. The whole movie happens inside a single room, but yet it a riveting story well told. Must watch for any movie buff. Notorious is from Hitchcock, I dont think I should add more. Infact I wish I could give a short synospsis about each movie, but true to the title of my blog, I wont. I would rather have the nice folks at RT do it.

Thats it then, if anybody manged to watch 6 or more movies in a weekend, do let me know. And if anyone want to suggest any more gems like '12 Angry Men', please do.

Till next weekend when I would be sailing to the World's End..

Spartans !! Tonite We Dine.. in Hell !!!

I dont exactly remember the date, but it was atleast one month back. I was rummaging through rotten tomatoes ( actually browsing through www.rottentomatoes.com , which by the way is one of the best movie sites you'll find ) that I came across a reference to a movie titled "300". I remember it was mentioned as 'highly anticipated'. Well, it was the first time I was hearing about the movie, and I was not about to take their word for it. Besides, "300" felt like an odd title for a movie. Now, if they couldnt find a decent name for it, how good the movie can be.

Ofcourse I was, as most of the time, dead wrong. Right now, I cant think of a better title for this movie. Before I get on with it, take a look at this:

Now all the people in the world can be divided into two: Those who liked the pic, and those who dont. A more familiar classification would be boys, and girls, in that order.

Now that I have my tartget audience in sight, let me put it straight and simple:
This movie kicks the butt of any epic action movie ever made, except maybe Gladiator. But then I cant even start to compare those two. Gladiator was gritty, realistic, sentimental. But this one is an out and out entertainer. The plot is unrealistic, the battle scenes are choreographed in slow motion. If you dont know any better, this film is a frame by frame copy of Frank Miller's graphic novel by the same name. Frank -who ?? Maybe 300 is not for you.

This movie is.. well, different. Here -check out some more (Thx, RT, for not suing me ):

The movie was hyped up like anything all these days, and at the time of writing this, its already released in US, and the 300 soldiers are ruthlessly annililating all other movies which were unfortunate enough to be runnung at the same time.

In case you need it, this is a plot synopsis:
Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller's (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

Thats just the official version. Basically they just needed a reason to make 300 good looking men ( with super cool abs) fight wave after wave of enemies. Its almost like a video game.I know that I am sounding a little foolish as I havent watched the movie yet. But I do have the HD trailer with me. Both of them. There's something cool about ancient Spartan warriors fighting while heavy metal music plays in the background.

Heres the link where you can download the trailers :

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/300/trailers.php
(get the last one - the original trailer, i feel its the best)

Have fun watching it.. be sure to turn up your volume to the ".. are you nuts ??!!" level before you play it.


See ya in Hell !!!
I cant wait to watch it in theatre and then write a post about how good it is !!
/insert devilish glee