Javier is hot! Good for the summer, but not to bring home as a husband. If you do, you’ve got to have Cruz’s cojones!

Fun flick, all in all! This is how to get your kicks– the vicarious way, that is!

Got a summer to spare? Spend it in Barcelona! Woody Allen’s still got in goin’ on, btw, although the humor’s dry but not so dry.

Philip Roth’s work is best read and not viewed, because an interpretation of it to the silver screen just doesn’t cut it. And as big a fan of Roth’s that I am, ‘The Dying Animal’ (on which this movie is based) wasn’t particularly one of my favorites, so I didn’t care much for the storyline anyway, but if you wish to appreciate some good acting in lovely lighting then you won’t be disappointed.

Ben Kingsley is tight through and through (including his abs!), as is P. Cruz (including all *her* lovely body parts!), but the problem for me is that the story isn’t tight enough. A love based on the sudden realization of one’s mortality doesn’t strike me as altogether sincere, and the inability to commit to a relationship (and damn the 30+ year age difference) makes me wonder if what he feels for her is really love or the love of the notion of holding on to the beauty of youth. Unfortunately, it seems as though Consuela was also in love more with her beautiful body than with the professor she claims to have loved.  And Kepesh’s views on marriage and fidelity as aired out to his colleagues and son gives one the feeling that this too might just be a passing fancy.

On the whole, this isn’t a great love story; isn’t even a great story, but its a well-made movie, and the acting is very good.

The old adage, ‘the book is better’ holds true for ‘The Kiterunner,’ yet another book turned into movie, although the least of my criticisms would be that it strayed from the original script—because it didn’t really, and perhaps therein lies its flaws. Stylistically, it lacks the finesse of a slick drama that tugs at the heart’s strings from the very first scene. Instead, the dialogue seems dry, and the adult actors lack conviction. The children on the other hand, make up for these drawbacks, and the one line, For you, a thousand times over has as much a haunting tone to it when said by both Hassan, the hazara boy, and much later by Amir to Hassan’s son.

To those for whom the sport of kite-flying is a novelty concept, these scenes would certainly be most enjoyable, and even more so to those who have enjoyed this sport themselves. I myself have the fondest memories of having flown many a kite from my rooftop in my childhood home each year toward the end of winter/early spring on bright sunny afternoons. Although traditionally a sport for young boys, my father in his infinite love for his only child, albeit a girl, remained quite oblivious to this obvious fact even as he taught me the many intricacies of launching the kite, biding my time before letting it lift higher and higher–only to let it fall back to fool another nearby kite–and then to stealthily swoop under it to let the manja do the trick in cutting down the competitor! Oh, the memories… In my case, I didn’t always have someone to run down the kite, and instead let the neighborhood boys get it for themselves; still the thrill of victory was no less sweet or diminished.

But coming back to the movie, the larger themes of loyalty, betrayal and redemption at last are faithfully played out—if only the delivery didn’t lack that inexplicable je ne sais quoi quality, it might have had the desired effect of total devastation—the kind that leaves you warm all over and weak in the knees even as your heart is breaking. Yet despite depriving us of this sensation, it is still worth a watch, and if nothing else, is a good window into the world of the despicable Taliban in modern Afghanistan (now there’s an oxymoron if I ever saw one!).

–Friday, January 18, 2008

TWBB: the much talked-about and hyped-about movie that’s been screaming Oscar from Day One. So, here’s my two cents on what I thought:

It’s the acting prowess of Daniel Day-Lewis that left me dumbstruck–everything from the way he rounded his vowels and the cadence of his oratorial-style speech to his masterful portrayal of a scheming oilman buying up tracts of land out West. What didn’t impress me was the story itself–there was no DRAMA to speak of, nothing that took me by surprise.  There was no hook and no twist to the story. There’s no woman (or significant other) in Daniel Plainview’s life; his life is characterized more than anything by a pathetic loneliness; and his attempts at making relationships that matter– whether with individuals or institutions– are farcical and futile. The back-and-forthing with the Church is nothing earth-shattering; each party goes through the motions as and when necessary in order to profit from the association.

So, yes, Oscar-worthy for his acting, but that’s about it; and if I’m the only one who’s not completely bowled over with the movie for anything beyond its title and Mr. Day-Lewis’ acting, then so be it.

(As an extreme sidebar, perhaps I should mention that Mr. Day-Lewis’ chiseled old-world good looks– mustache and all–bear an uncanny resemblance to my husband, and that’s worth taking a second look at, weak story notwithstanding!