After a long sabbatical...

So, after almost 2 years I'm back to the  blog sphere. Out of the blue, I realised that I missed writing movie reviews and decided to get back to it.

To make the blog much more consistent and easier to manage I've decided that I'm going to focus on movie reviews, at least most of the time.

Well, I'll be back with a proper post soon.  Till then...

I Want to Buy a Zoo!

Yes, I am back and this time for good (I hope). And, yes you read the title right.

    That's exactly what came to my mind after watching 'We Bought a Zoo'. Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, this film (based on a true story) is one that everyone should watch, especially animal lovers. I for one, have always been an animal lover (specifically lions) and this movie as the name suggests, spends substantial amount of time showcasing animals and it's just beautiful beyond words.

   The story is pretty simple. A single father, Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) raising two kids after the death of his beloved wife just a few months back, decides to buy a zoo as a way of 'moving on' and pretty much because his 5-year old daughter, Rosie adores the place. His 14-year old son, Dylan (Colin Ford, who looked ridiculously like Matt Damon in his younger days) though, like any other teenager, feels frustrated being forced to move out of his home and away from his friends.

 Now, the best part of the movie is the emotional scenes between the father and son and also, the occasional conversations between Matt Damon and one of the tigers (reminds me of my dog). The quarrels in the beginning and the slow yet a little dramatic type of situations which eventually leads to the understanding and stronger relationship between the father and son were commendable.

 There is a particular scene in which Dylan overhears his father telling his fellow zoo keeper, Kelly that Dylan has the same eye and expressions like his late wife and that's why he always tries to avoid looking at Dylan's eyes. Following this, Dylan angrily expresses that he is unhappy and rebellious because the father spends more time with the Rosie and that he hates him. This turns out to a huge quarrel which ends with both of them shouting at each other, 'Help me, damn it!'. And as cliche as it sounds, both the father and son later on end up becoming closer and strengthen their bond.

  The scene that made me decide that I am going to love this movie was the beautiful shot of the lion. I am a huge lion lover (don't try figuring out why) and any movie with a lion in it would make my experience watching the movie a few notches better. So, if you love animals make sure you catch this movie as they have quite a number of animals right from Grizzly bear, tiger, lion, just name any that you can find in a zoo!

  Besides the emotional relationship of the father and son, the second half also focuses on how Benjamin, his kids and the zoo keepers struggle to re-open the zoo and keep it going.Of course, there's a small track of romance between Benjamin and Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) but I wasn't really bothered to be honest.

   As far as performance goes, Matt Damon and the kids managed to make an impact.Overall, the movie moves a little slowly but those who appreciate genuine story telling and have a thing for wild animals should definitely make it a point to watch this film.

   That's it for the time being, and let me just say that it really makes me feel good to be back blogging :)

Black : The Color of Light

Please don't be intimidated by the title. I am not going to talk about something philosophical here. 

As I said in my previous post, I wanted to write up about something interesting and what more interesting than a movie, right?! I know that a lot of you might be shocked but yes, I had never watched Black before and I managed to watch it tonight. And, I had to write about it, immediately. 

Before I move on to my so-called 'review', Black is a 2005 Hindi film starring Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachan. So, it's basically a story about a deaf and mute girl, Michelle McNalle and how she struggles to become an independent,strong woman with the help of her teacher, Mr.Sahai whom she calls 'Tee'.

Michelle's mother, Mrs.McNally is told that she is deaf and mute at the age of 2 and ever since then, the family struggles to keep their family going. The way the parents suffer because of a lack of understanding on how to raise a child like Michelle is saddening. One particular scene early on in the movie that moved me was the moment when Mr.McNally informs his wife that their daughter is deaf and mute.Mrs.McNally immediately turns towards her baby and starts making different gestures,clapping her hands but realises that what her husband told her was indeed true. Michelle was not reacting to anything that she was doing.

When Mr.McNally gives up on the daughter, in comes the magician,Mr.Sahai, a teacher for the deaf and blind.He transforms the spoil brat Michelle, into a decent young woman who is strong and independent. Together their ultimate goal was to see Michelle graduate.

The rest of the story is about how she graduates after a very long time and how Michelle helps Mr.Sahai during his old age.

Before watching the movie, I was skeptical about Rani Mukerji's performance. As I am going to reveal here, I was never a fan of hers and never really liked the characters she played in most of her movies. So, to say that she did an incredible job in this movie means a lot.

 

Another person not to be left out is the girl who played the young Michelle McNally, Ayesha Kapoor. She was simply amazing as a child who was suffering through her entire childhood not knowing how to live her life.

Amitabh Bachan is the biggest prove and example on why senior actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan should play roles that suit their age.Big B has done an awfully beautiful job for which he truly deserves that National Award he won for this movie. He has proven time and again that it's not the image of playing a hero that matters in the business, it's about the character and it's significance that matters ultimately.No one else could have replaced him in that role.

To sum it all up, there's nothing extra-ordinary in the story. But, the screenplay which portrays the way Michelle struggles and her fiery spirit, more importantly the strength and believe that Mr.Sahai has in her is what makes this movie special. Plus, the one message that the movie keeps on  showing us is that nothing is ever impossible.

For those who have not watched this movie, please do yourself a favor and go watch it. It's truly an inspirational movie and one that can be watched more than once.

Black is not only darkness and suffocation. It is the color of achievement. The color of knowledge

With that quote from the movie,  I shall wrap up this post. Good night, peeps!

I am Back!!! (for the umteenth time)

Yes, the last time I posted was in February and it's been quite long since then.
To be honest, I have been quite active on twitter (http://twitter.com/sree12eve) and busy with university.

My exams are going on now and I have one paper left and then I will be free at least for another one month.

So, I have decided that I should start blogging again (not that a million of you are waiting to read my blog).

Anyways, I will be back as soon as possible with something interesting. Till then, good bye peeps!

Grey's Anatomy 7.13

I am a huge huge Grey's Anatomy fan. I love the show for a lot of reasons, but that's for another post! Anyways, Grey's airs every Thursday (Friday in M'sia) in the US and people outside US usually get to watch it after around 6 hours on websites that offer streaming of the show.

I used to watch it on friday afternoons, but the power of internet is such that for the past few months I have been watching it live. I love talking about this show and discussing it but not many of my friends really follow this show. So, to vent my feelings about the stories in this show, I thought that I would post mini-reviews sort of a thing after every other episode.

So, now regarding today's episode; it's titled "Don't Deceive Me". Callie Torres is preggers with Mark Sloan's baby and quite surprisingly, her 'lesbian lover', Arizona agreed to stay with her and help raise the baby. Meanwhile, things didn't go so well with Lexie. I mean, it's quite natural to get pissed if your boyfriend sleeps with his BFF when you were not exactly together, and then when you get back with him, he lets you know that Callie is carrying his baby.

That's exactly how you go from being like THIS:


to THIS:



within 45 minutes!

Mark was undeniably happy when he heard that Callie was having his baby and he decided that he will be there with Callie and support her through this. He even went to the extent and proposed marriage but thank God Callie threw that idea away making Mark realize that he can't really marry Callie because guess what, he's in love with Lexie! And then he manages to cringe thinking about how he's gonna break the news to Lexie. But, I do get why he brought up marriage, he probably thought that that was the right thing to do in regards to the baby, but whatever.

I was basically devastated.Being a huge shipper of this couple, Mark & Lexie. As much as I don't want them to break up, I totally get why Lexie reacted the way she did. While cooking dinner, Mark told Lexie the dreaded news.

"How the hell did you get me in this position TWICE"

was all Lexie had to say to Mark.Halway through last season, Mark's grandson whom he voluntarily wanted to raise up (without discussing it with Lexie) broke them up because Lexie wasn't ready to be a mother/grandmother.It took almost one whole season for this two characters to get back on track.Plus they were together for only 2 episodes, and all hell broke loose and ripped them apart! What a great way to crush millions of fans and shippers, don't you think!

I am extremely emotional right now, because for the past 2 season, I have been patiently waiting for a beautiful storyline for Mark/Lexie. They are two amazing, not to mention gorgeous characters that are totally made for each other. And, the thought of them being apart is hurting me. No, I am not kidding. It's seriously hurting me inside. I know, I would never have believed that I would be so invested in a TV show like this,but what can I say? I am just keeping my fingers crossed that both of them will get back together asap.

AR Rahman = Amazingness

I have been online the whole time this whole week. Anyways, found this beautiful video and it's Naan Varuvene by AR Rahman. Watch it and feel the amazingness of AR Rahman. :)

Stuck in My Head!

It's been quite some time since I posted anything related to music, and this is just the right time.
As the title suggests, for the past couple of months, there have been a number of songs that got stuck in my head. I am not complaining, but seriously, who would want songs playing in their head when they are in the middle of answering their finals.

Anyways, let's just get straight to the list.

• Cry Cry from Jhoota Hi Sahi - This one's by AR Rahman. I wasn't too impressed with our "Oscar Hero" 's composition for Enthiran ( they were good but not mindblowing) but I must say that he's back. I love those slow, soul-catching songs that he comes up with and this song is up there with the likes of Kabhi Kabhi Aditi (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na) and Masakkali (Delhi 6).
• Yathe Yathe, Ayyayayo & Otha Sollala from Aadukalam - These 3 songs are from the same movie, composed by GV Prakash. Yathe Yathe and Ayyayayo are simply beautiful, melodious and haunting (to a certain degree). They are by far one of the best works of GVP, in my opinion. Otha Sollala is more of a kuthu type of song that might not be everyone's cup of tea but I enjoy it thoroughly!
• Bathing at Cannes & Nenjil Nenjil from Engeyum Kaathal - Harris Jeyaraj just does it every time. I can't recall any movie of his without at least one beautiful song. Bathing at Cannes is a beautiful rap song.Ya, I never thought I would say this, but it is a beautiful rap song, with our very own Malaysian, Emcee Jesz. Nenjil Nenjil is typical Harris Jeyaraj music, but some or rather makes me wanna listen to it again and again.
• Ennamo Yedho from Ko - Harris Jeyaraj with Emcee Jesz again. But trust me, this is not a rap song. Atleast not a typical one.
  

For those music-lovers out there, check these songs out and let me know if you like them too.