The Magic of Belle Isle

The moment the movie opens, I felt like Ahh, this is the place I want to go for vacation and settle down. Set at a lakeshore, a very rustic charming house in a cosy neighborhood where everybody knows everybody, Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen spin their magic. The 9 year old daughter has played the role flawlessly and the entire movie has it aww moments. I wonder if there really are any adults who do interact with kids like this. Perhaps I missed them my young age ! I saw this movie four times with my hubby who is a huge fan of Morgan Freeman. Be it The Shawshank Redemption or Along came a Spider or even Bruce Almighty, when Morgan Freeman is in the movie, its a sure shot winner.

If you are looking for a feel good movie then this is the one.

InLovewithMovies. DHOOM 3

It was friday evening, beginning of my kids winter vacation in year 2013. As usual I was surfing the net trying to figure what we could do for the evening. To my pleasant surprise, a theater near us was showing DHOOM 3. In Michigan, there are a few cinema halls that do premiere Indian movie shows, AMC Southfield and one in Ypsilanti. So we went for this Aamir Khan's double role film starring Katrina Kaif and Abhishek Bacchan and Uday Chopra. Honestly, I am really not sure why Directors are even casting the Bacchan and Chopra Jr (Guess stage is still family dominated by lineage and family produced movies !). So, if you try to defocus their roles, Aamir Khan deserves a Shout out ! Every film he makes is such a crowd pleaser. Just crazy weird entertainment, new character, new image, different dialect, brilliant acting. The story had many hiccups but  Vijay Krishna Achaarya created a good suspense around the Intermission time. And Aamir Khan and Katrina  really worked hard to get into their circus roles. And kids and I watched some of their youtube videos that went viral. We were pretty impressed. Anyways, my daughter is a big fan of both Aamir and Katrina and we finally bought her a CD to watch at home. All the way back home from the movies in the car and for a few weeks our house saang 'Malaang Malaang' untill the crescendo got into my head. Anyways, there are hardly any songs nowadays that are hummable or even worth recalling. Bhojpuri and Disco lounge songs do not stimulate me. So I guess kids nowadays  really have fewer opportunities to listen to great compositions in bollywood hindi songs. Gone are the days of Shanker Jaikishen, Kalyanji-Anandji, Madan Mohan, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Naushad Ali. Our kids get to hear hindi music at home so although they dont know these composers by name they know good bollywood music. Alright thats my take on hindi music :-) And on Bollywood Hindi Trilogy movies, I would say Dhoom 3 was a once a watch type movie. I liked the plot of Dhoom 2 better. But if you are an Aamir fan, do go watch this one if you missed it out.
 

Hitchcock Time

The Man Who Knew Too Much

My favourite Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and remade in 1956 with Doris Day and James Stewart. The Original starred Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre. I like both versions, the original one has the shoot out scene that’s missing in the newer version.

Impressive 75 minute film. The plot of the story is catchy, a couple, the Banks meet a spy, while vacationing in Switzerland, who whispers a secret of a diplomat’s assassination at London’s Albert Hall to the wife. Now assassins must prevent them from revealing what they know. So they kidnap the couple's kid as a pawn.

Hitchcock rose to fame as a worldwide household name after the release of this film. The song "Whatever will be, will be, Que sera sera" sung by Doris Day is worth listening to. My all time favourite of hers is "The Way We were" check this link to hear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBXMjXD4VGc

Doris Day began her career as a band singer and sang for Columbia Records with more than 650 recordings to her beautiful voice. She was leading actress giving box office hits for more than 15 years and did 39 films from 1948 to 1968.

James Stewart was often paired with leading ladies the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Margaret Sullavan and of course Doris Day. There are so many Stewart movies I have seen but shall share those some other time.

The climax of the movie has beautiful music composed by Australian composer Arthur Benjamin- Cantata, the Storm Clouds- click on this youtube link to listen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-BR0DPO48U

An awesome suspense film. A must watch.

The Greatest Comic Actor on Skates

The Greatest Comic Actor on Skates!

The Rink

-Directed by Charlie Chaplin and Edward Brewer

So many actors try to showcase their comic side but the one and only one actor who can have your sides aching is Charlie Chaplin.

In The Rink, he plays the role of a waiter who goes to the skating rink during his lunch break and all hell breaks loose! He has been effortlessly hilarious on Skates! I mean how can anybody be comic on skates? But he has done a brilliant job, one of his best silent B& W movies.

Comic Simplicity at its best J

The man with the bushy eyebrows, the bully, and the comic foil to Charlie’s antics is none other than Eric Campbell, who was literally a towering giant at 6 feet 5 inches!!! Charlie Chaplin saw him at a play called Broadway in New York and immediately invited him to sign on their series of comic movies in Hollywood. Unfortunately, Eric met with a car accident that killed him otherwise we would have seen many more scenes of him chasing Charlie through escalators, bending lamp posts to right angles and pulverizing poor Charlie to pieces.

The movie is available for free at Internet Archive or click onto this link

https://archive.org/details/CharlieChaplinsTheRink

ENJOY ! Fun Unlimited J

Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen

-Directed by Antonie Fuqua starring Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler

For days my husband wanted us to see this movie and we did yesterday night but inspite of the strong star cast, I was highly disappointed with this movie. It had so much of violence that it left a dusty bitter taste in my mouth. Perhaps it reminded me that such attacks can actually happen and news flashes of attacks in Mumbai India, 26^th November 2011 flashed before me.

Any citizen of any nationality is vulnerable to such a threat and be it security head of even the US of A, every country’s national security can be breached.

This movie was a parallel to Die Hard, where Bruce Willis as an all rugged American hero takes on the villains single handedly in the Nakatomi building.

Gerard Butler does well in soft romantic movies at least for me, I loved him in P.S. I love you and Bounty Hunter. It left me wondering why Morgan Freeman signed up for this movie as all he had were very few lines especially that, “ Get me a coffee with half and half, three sugars not in Styrofoam cup but a real mug” was not highly impressive !

As usual Asians are villains as they are born to be nothing but bad evil people with destructive genes!! When can movie Directors show some real stuff, a wake up call  is highly recommended and see the world as it is!

The action stunts in this movie were awesome and even the sets they created of the white house and Capitol building were exact. Many movies always show the huge towering monuments crashing after an earthquake or Tsunamis but this movie shows the Washington monument crack up. Many helicopters and planes crash and the white house is burnt up.

It made me very sad to see this destruction although the movie ends with Alls well that Ends well, I spent a very sleepless night.

The 36 Chambers of Shaolin

The 36 Chambers of Shaolin

-Directed by Liu-Chia Liang for Shaw Brothers Studio. Another of his famous direction is Drunken Master II starring Jackie Chan. 

One of THE martial arts movie that is a favourite with all die hard Kung Fu fans. Surely everyone as a kid has followed the kicks and punches and made Nanchucks at home to follow San Te, the character portrayed by Gordan Liu in this classic martial arts movie.

The movie opens up to the harsh treatment of common people by the Manchu Govt. and rebels standing up for their own rights. San Te, is shown as a strong, fearless boy who has the spunk to fight an evil and arrogant Landlords dominance. The story develops as his family and friends are killed and he escapes in a vegetable basket to the nearby Shaolin Monastery.
Later on, he trains in all of the 35 chambers of Shaolin, shining brilliantly as the strongest of the students to complete all chambers in the shortest time possible. The movie has beautifully depicted the kind of commitment and tough training required of Shaolin students in the monastery.

When San Te is allowed to leave Shaolin, he returns back to his village to help the people in fighting the Manchu regime by learning martial arts.

Check YouTube Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZSJQ_Q_XaA


Gordan Liu’s own parents didn’t want him to learn Kung Fu as they thought people with such skills were arrogant and ungentle. But he was determined to pursue his passion. There are many different types of Kung Fu styles and due to his friend's suggestion Gordan decided to train in the hardest and toughest of Kung- Fu styles called as Hung Gar. So he enrolled in Lau Cham Martial Arts School and rose to stardom by signing 3 year contract with the director Liu Chia Liang.

Recently, Gordan Liu has worked in a Bollywood movie, Chandni Chowk to China (Akshay Kumar Starrar), where he potrays the villain, Hojo.

Check out the Trailer-Chandni Chowk to China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnPo5HkyAg

 



  

Romancin' the Rain

Singin’ in the Rain

Directed by Gene Kelly, this musical comedy movie released in 1952, starred Debbie Reynolds (as Kathy), Kelly (as Don Lockwood), Jean Hagen (as Lina Lamont) and Donald O’Connor (as Cosmo). This movie shows the transition of Silent movies into talking movies. Debbie was not a dancer when she filmed this movie and Kelly was harsh to her about her performance. Fred Astaire helped her to learn the dance moves. Later she is quoted saying that her feet were bleeding after practising for the dance song, “Good Morning” with Kelly and O’Connor and that the movie Singin’ in the Rain and childbirth were the two hardest things in her life!!

I wonder if Donald really got hurt while doing the song, “Make em laugh” and his wall jumps seemed so acrobatic. I encourage my kids not to attempt these stunts even under supervision! Check out YouTube link.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SND3v0i9uhE

Jean is bang on her role as Lina Lamont a dim-wit actress, her nasal twang when she says, “I can’t stand him”, and “Do you think I am dumb or something”, had me cracking up throughout the movie. When the sound clip slips and the voice over is changed, the “No No No and Yes Yes Yes”, scene is hilarious. My younger brother and I loved watching this movie and we kept imitating it over and over again as kids.

Check out the YouTube links.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMzV96LV6Cc

The song Singin in the Rain was choreographed by Gene Kelly himself and this dance sequence has been used and reused by so many dancer composers all over the world. The song “Tip tip tip baarish suru hogayi”, from movie Afsana Pyar ka (Aamir Khan Starrer) just is a rip off from the song Singin’ in the Rain.

 View Gene splashing puddles in this link.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

But nothing can ever come close to Gene splashing in the puddles and absolutely enjoying getting drenched in the rain which actually feels like he is drenched so much in Love. Even his move of swinging around the Lamp post as has copied by many dance composers in Bollywood movies.

The cinematographer, Harold Rosson did an awesome job on this song sequence that has such a beautiful flow to it like water cascading down a fall. It is a must watch for people who love the Rain. Check out YouTube Link.

Bollywood actor and Director, Raj Kapoor, also used a rain song sequence in his movie, “Shree 420” (1955) where he romances actress Nargis in the famous song,” Pyaar hua Ikarar hua”, a beautiful redition by Lata Mangeshkar and music composed by Shankar-Jaikishen. Check out YouTube Link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMNh-FGHPss

To me personally, all these rain drenched songs signify the warm feeling that gushes over you when you first fall in love!