The Last Valley

A powerful movie with powerful performances in a story set during the Thirty Years War. The last bastion of peace in the continent catches up with the evil ones - terrorists fighting for the cause of religion. An enduring theme.

Probably a bit biaised on how good the movie is because its got Michael Caine in it. Supported by Omar Sharief.

An epic story directed on an epic scale by James Clavell.

Rating: * * *

Superman Returns

Masquerading a chick flick as an super hero flick is pure evil. I blame this squarely on the TV series, Smallville. It turned Superman into snivelling love struck moron and that disease has made it onto the big screen too. But maybe he was always that way. No wonder Batman always tried to shove green kryptonite up his ass every chance he got. I wish he had stayed back in Krypton...

Rating: *
Note: Image courtesy of Apropos Comics

One Night in Mongkok

Was finally able to get hold of a version of this movie that had english sub-titles. Its a crime thriller set in Mongkok, apparently Asia's most densely populated area. A good watch - well made, cinematographically.

Rating: * * +

Travelers and Magicians

This is Bhutan's first film to make it into the international market. It shows a breathtaking peek into the Druk Yul, Land of the Thunder Dragon, which is how Bhutan is referred to by its natives. The movie juxtaposes the journey of a civil servant in "real" life and that of a young man in a fairy tale, both in search of a better tomorrow. The story is simple but yet profound in its impact and message.

Rating: * * *

Lady in the Water

Go watch it. With no sixth sense, unbreakable hangovers.

However, M N Shyamlan seems to have the same problem as his Tamil brudder, Kamal Hasan - over self-indulgence as the years go by.

And the Idiots are featured in the movie. Chris Doyle in charge of Cinematography.

Rating: * *

Lolita

I unexpectedly stumbled upon this on TCM, some 20 minutes into the movie. The 'Info' button said it was Stanley Kubrick's black, humourous take on Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel 'Lolita'. Of course, I had heard about the novel and the movie - but the Jeremy Irons one, which I had seen bits of. Didn't realise there was a Stanley Kubrick version. Must admit that I had no clue about the story-line, or how path-breaking the novel was, nor the differences between the Kubrick and the Jeremy Irons version.

As I watched I wasnt really sure if it was based on the original novel or a spoof - as it was hilarious. There was no overtness of the whole sexual theme of what I had considered was the whole deal of the story, from what I remembered from the recent version. The dialogues were hilarious and so were the characterisations - the black-humourous impact of Stanley Kubrick, I suppose. I realise that its a very complicated movie and much masturbation has gone into interpreting the novel.

Great performances - the best dialogues are with Peter Sellers (playing the other pedophile in the movie, Clare Quilty). An interesting & interestingly made movie.

There is an interesting review, with details (and dialogues) of the opening scene of the movie here.

Rating: * * *