Category Archives: Movies

Movies watched or wanting to watch.

5 minutes that can ruin 1.5 (or 3) hours

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I don’t know all the inner workings of the movie studio business and I’m SURE there are all unavoidable reasons why this happens but I’ve watched two movies recently that would have been really great if…Green ZoneA Hollywood movie, with Matt Damon would easily fall into the catagory of another movie about Iraq, but ’cause Matt Damons a pretty decent actor his pacing, style and the overall plot line is pretty good which makes the movie totally enjoyable. EXCEPT FOR – (spoiler alert) – the last 5 minutes where Matt Damon’s character creates a Hollywood ending by ‘telling the truth about WMD’s’ in a handy ‘these evil politicians are lying to you’ report to all the top news organizations (on the screen you actually see CNN, NYTimes, WallStreet Journal).

Boo!Now imagine a this is a better ending – Damon has it out with evil politician – then gives a cold stare to ‘didn’t look into the truth’ reporter, evil politician storms into room where puppet Karzai character is having it out with other Iraqi politicians – cut to Matt Damon heading out into the fields to continue battle. THE END.

RaajneetiThis one is a bollywood film which I watched in the theaters recently. So it’s a complicated, twisty turn plot which is a mix between The Godfather (1, 2 & 3) and like real-life Bhutto-Ghandi family. Anyways, it’s a MOVIE and a decently good one at that. But again, for a movie that tries to be all hard hitting in your face political truths – why the sap fest ending?Are we REALLY supposed to believe that the father (whose only adopted son) the main character Samar (aka Al Pachino from Godfather) has killed is gonna beg to be allowed to continue to be driver of the very person who killed his son? (Or is it a typically subversive narrative – if you are poor you are nothing, you must accept what happens to you in this life and pray to be born a higher, richer being in the next).

And exactly WHY does the Samar character – who is angel turned devil in the name of family – get to be the ONLY person who gets of scott free? He is happily going back to America to continue his studies and life the life he always planned while everyone else is left to shoulder the burden. (What makes the Godfather ultimately satisfying is that he loses everyone he loves – you know pays for his sins and all.) Yeah I know he loses his girlfriend / unborn baby, but the actor doesn’t really convince that the cared about them all that much.A better ending? He get’s into the car with the driver and as they approach the sunset, it blows up. THE END. :)

My Name is Khan

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I wonder if in film school they teach a class for writing a Bollywood script.

Hollywood has its genres – romantic comedy, action – but indian movies have just one style BOLLYWOOD. Okay, I might sound like I’m being a downer but actually the movies coming out now are bollywood are great. The cinematography is really amazing both in terms of location, set and in interesting editing techniques. The music is, as always, great.We also demand a lot out of the bollywood plot line – we want to love, laugh, CRY, feel passion, hate and it should end with us feeling happy and satisfied with the emotional journey when we leave the cinema.Anyways, My Name is Khan delivers on all of the above and its a good satisfying cathartic movie. I LOVE Kajol. She is such an amazing actress and even though I find Shahruh Khan such a loveable actor he just isn’t even on the same leauge as her.Probably the only bad thing is that Kajol is so good she should be in serious movies. And that’s one thing that can’t happen in a Bollywood movie – you just can’t get too serious. You can’t have characters that are ambigious, multiple view point or a really a complex analysis of a situation.Or at least not yet. But eventually Bollywood movie watching audiences will get more savvy and sophisticated and demand even more.I’m eating a Haneefia burger now with cottage cheese. So excited!

A week of sickness

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Been sick for almost a week. Aside would tossing and turning at night in fits of fever sweat and shivering sickness also means watching a lot of movies since I didn’t have much energy to see / do anything else. I don’t have malaria, but I tell you the P.dot virus is stronger than the Canadian kind because I haven’t been so sick in a long while.Here is a round up of the movies I watched:

Inglourious Basterds

So the thing I hate about Tarantino movies is his gratuitous violence (yes I know its Tarantino) and his apparent glee are showing women being violently brutalized. But ASIDE from that, I did like Inglourious Basterds. The mise en scene (thank you film studies 101) is beautiful and the plot line has choppy pacing that is great.Also, I’m not Jewish (obviously) but I can only image the deep rage Jews must feel (deep inside, festering, uncontrollable) about what the Nazi’s did to their people.  (Kind of like what most people of Muslim heritage feel when they see hooded prisoners, secret jails etc.) So the end action of the movie offers a great cathartic relief, as if you spend two hours fighting with the past and for once you’ve won.According to Wikipedia, all the movie posters / websites had to be changed for Germany since all Nazi iconography is illegal to use. Did not know that…I’m not sure if that good, or bad because it offers and easy way to not have to deal with your own past.

Madagascar 1 & 2

I can’t stop talking about the penguins in Madagascar – they are too cute. As a result, I liked Madagascar  2 better since the penguins get more screen time. My favorite scene is when the penguins are negotiating ‘with the commie bastards’ the monkeys, who want maternity leave.

Madagascar Penguins

Madagascar Penguins


Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince

I can’t believe Professor Dumbledore dies!!!By my surprise you would know that I didn’t read any of the potter books. They are tomes / tomes I tell you and I don’t have that kind of time or strength for fictional books. I think this episode was meh for the most part except – I do like that I could actually follow what was going on without getting super confused by the back story (i.e. who is the good guy, who’s the bad guy…) I am kindda getting sick of the whole ‘gosh darnnit – we 3 kids are always getting into trouble bit’ but I’m loving the sophisticated cinematography as the series progresses.

Coco Channel + Tropic of Thunder

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Watched the movie Coco Channel, no not the one with Audrey Tautou.From a movie perspective, it was the almost laughable cheesy. I really hated the narrative structure – the reminiscent flashbacks and the weird black transitions used.I did some research on Coco’s life. Apparently, some of the history is a bit glossed over; she had one sister and several brothers.Although the movie focuses on her life with “Boy” Chapel (and partially “Etienne” ) fast forward to her “later years” and ife in the second world war is also filled with a lot of intrigue and scandal.I also watched Tropic of Thunder and its a plot narrative – ahem and editing – and art direction – its a wayyyy better movie. I really loved the fake movie trailers in the beginning which are approved for ‘audiences’.Tropic Thunder – Fake Trailers!! – Watch more free videos

Fear and loathing in…

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… Karachi.

To start; I watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on Saturday night. It’s been – oh I would say – at least 7-8 years since I first watched the movie.

Aside from MAYBE catching bits of it on TV (is that really likely?) I hadn’t seen it since. Definitely a different mind state from the first run – where I found the movie totally incomprehensible – this time some things really connected.  I think I could appreciated the drunken, debauched, grossly sickening drug fueled adventure without having to bother about moralism (really me?) or rationalizing why that haven’t O-ded yet and was able to really wallow in both Depp and del Toro’s mind-blowing performance.

Dr. Gonzo Needs No Help

Dr. Gonzo Needs No Help

Also, since I recently read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test I second degree mourned with the ‘wave speach’.. (What a time! Would I have been part of it if I was alive then? Sad Truth… most definitely probably not.)

And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark — that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.Source: Wiki-love

Which brings me back to fear and loathing in Karachi. (Kind of).The city is in high alert. All visible public places are to be avoided including… Cinemas, Markets, Restaurants, Hotels, Streets, Parks.. and yes ESPECIALLY schools. Its only a matter of time until a suicide bomb goes off and terror, terror  is everywhere. I am here, right now. What should I be doing?… I think its a good day to go shopping; the stores will be crowd free.

Karachi street.

Karachi streets - needs help.