Movies in Summer 2005

Here is my take on the movies I saw during summer 2005.

Hollywood: This has been a shocking summer from Hollywood. Unlike most summers I was gaping at the movie listings most every week. There would be nothing appealing enough for me to go to the theater. But here are the some that I did watch.

Mr & Mrs Smith: This film opened with great hoopla with Pitt and Jolie's personal life being the forefront. A out and out fluff movie but was entertaining while you were watching. They shared great chemistry, had some good one liners, and some well executed action sequences. You have to make sure that you put to sleep your logical and rational side of the brain while you are watching it.

Batman Returns: I was bored for the first half hour of the movie, and then it was just bearable. Great acting by Morgan Freeman, Micheal Caine, and Liam Neeson. Though their roles didn't do justice to their acting abilites. Katie Holmes needs to learn to smile and talk with a straight mouth. But mainly I thought Christian Bale didn't have enough screen presence to carry the movie on his shoulders.

My Two best films of the Summer:
The Interpretor: A great action/suspense/thriller. This is what Hollywood is good at. For a change they had a good story on it. It does try to bring out some issues about the apathy of the western world towards the suffering of African countries. Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman shine in their roles. There is a subtle moral in the movie without it being preachy.

The Constant Gardener: A British diplomat's wife is murdered in Africa. He goes on a quest to discover the truth about his wife. Ralph Fienes is great as usual. He has a very British quality about him that makes him come across as a very intelligent actor. The thing that makes this movie very real is that most of it was shoot in a slum in Kenya. The widespread poverty and suffering comes across as very real. No set
can do justice in being as hard hitting as the real thing. The acting is top notch. The story is also very believeable and potrayed realisticly. The last half hour kind of drags a little but there are enough twists to keep you entertained.

Bollywood: I was kind of pleasantly surprized by what Bollywood churned out this summer.

Parineeta: This tops my list of the summer. A very well made movie. You have to see Devdas again to really know how good Parineeta is. You can acutually empathize with the main characters. Their relationship comes across as naturally and not put on like it did in Devdas. Again since it is shot mostly in Calcutta, you get the Calcutta feel. Had some good music to top it off.

Sarkar: A very good adaptation of the GodFather. You know why Ram Gopal Verma is the king of his genre. For a change they give credit to Mario Puzo. Abishiek is the revelation, because you expect Amitabh to be good. The heroines don't have much to do but fit their roles.

Paheli: A visually rich film. A good attempt for hindi film to be different but the film doesn't have enough to keep engrossed.

TV shows: Since there was an acute lack of films to watch this summer I saw four seasons of Alias today. For those not into it, it is the female version of James Bond . Jennifer Garner is your Jane Bond, she is the one who saves the guys. It is mindless show which you can watch with your brain turned off. A good show to see if you just want to vegetate and relax.