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Movies are the next best thing to dreaming.
Nope, that’s not a famous quote by some one consequential. Well, it could turn out to be one soon enough when my charm reaches its much deserved peak of fame.
Till then, I guess we’ll just live with quoting these words of acquired wisdom in the trusted anonymity of conversations on these pages.
And speaking of more ‘wisdom under the pretext of an indulgent one sided monologue’, how ever bad the latest spate of blockbusters must be doing at the box office, One never needs to pay up huge monies for one’s taste of fantasy. Simply cozy up with cushions, dim the lights a bit, get yourself a warm cup of coffee with something to nibble and catch one of these movies to spend the most amazing weekend, home alone!
Priceless(2006)
This is one Priceless movie watching experience!
Aptly, name this gem is a French film and whoever said French movies are all about deep reflection and layered meanings, too tedious and too dry, well watch this!
Irene meets Jean; they fall in love and live happily ever after. Not quite, I must say.
The pretty lady in question is actually a manipulative escort, who lives off at the expense of rich older men and uses mercilessly the poor head over heels in love bartender to get what she wants. Only of course to eventually realize, that what she wants is to be loved and that’s when they drive off into the horizon on a scooterette! Shot at exotic locale (which refreshed memories of Monaco and Monte Carlo) this movie is as delightful as a French puff pastry – a truly priceless 2 hours of heartfelt smiles and sighs!
Watch the effervescent Audrey Tautou, trample over hearts and teach the tricks of the trade to the shy Gad Elmaleh only to run to him when she’s just about to lose it all & catch the most amazing on screen adventure of a kiss (I am told won the best kiss award that year at a lot of international fests – catch it here).
Tip of the day: A regular on World Movies!
Before Sunrise( 1995)
Soulmates for a night - Before Sunrise
One of those very rare movies , which keep you wondering what happened after the titles began to role? Jesse and Celine meet up on the Euro-rail. He is an american tourist dealing with a recent heart break travelling to Vienna on his last day in Europe , and is flying out the next morning.She is a young student , on her way to Paris where she studies. They hit it off and on an impulse he persuades her to get off at Vienna for a night that turns out to be the most romantic journey of their lives. They talk and explore the city and connect in a way that they never did with any one before . Fighting the urge to not commit to a long distance relationship that both of them feel would kill what they shared and an attraction that they just cant deny , they eventually part ways with a promise to meet exactly 6 months from the day they met , this time at Paris.
Watch this and you’ll know what it means when you ‘really connect’ with a person. You talk with out inhibitions , share ideas and dreams and open up in the most endearing ways. No mush , no melodrama , pure conversations – This is definitely my idea of romance.
Tip : Watch Before Sunset (2005) that was made exactly 9 yrs after the first movie that captures their meeting again. nope , they dont meet after 6 months(aww…) but they do meet .. after 9 yrs. Heart wrenching , isnt it? Catch my favourite scene when they have a ‘fake phone conversation with friends’ here
Clueless(1995)
When you have everything , what really are you looking for?
Who says classics are boring? You can take an Emma and spin it on its head and here you have the most contemporary adaptation placed right here in your high school. Cher , is rich , pretty and popular. There’s nothing really she can’t talk herself out of . Other than staying at the top of the social ‘high-school’ who’s who list , her immediate worries in life are playing matchmaker , indulging in the retail therapy and rescuing the down-trodden in terms of trends!
Josh , her step brother calls her selfish & superficial. She tries to prove otherwise by evangelising the social life of Tai , the new kid on the block in a purely unselfish act. But soon all hell breaks loose , she flunks her driving test , is losing out on popularity charts to her latest ‘project’ and is confused about her feeling for her Mr Right , Josh! All ends well , when she gains back her popularity , friends and love and giving us the cutest poor little rich girl of the screen ever. Lots of fizz and attitude , this movie’s like soda pop – lifts up your spirit and leaves a sweet after taste. Watch it for Alicia Silverstone , and you ‘ll know where the movie gets its sparkle from.
Amelie (2001)
Meet your neighbourhood Robin Hood - Amelie !
If you feel romantic movies are sweet, this one’s a French Patisserie. Amelie’s been a lonely girl since childhood and as a young woman she’s shy and introvert. After a sudden realisation one fine day that she’s perhaps wasting her life , she takes upon herself the task of bringing joy and happiness to everyone around her. As she goes about on her secret mission of fulfilling dreams of her father , neighbours , co-workers at the cafe where she works and this lonesome stranger she comes across – she makes the biggest mistake which blows off her cover- She falls in love. Watch this fairytale that give every spy movie a run for its money as you watch the impossibly pretty Audrey Tautou plan the most amazing set ups playing match maker ,wish fulfiller and revenge seeker for all those around her. As reality meets fantasy , you cant help thinking to your self , if only we could come across some one like her . Sigh!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona(2008)
Alrite , this one’s quite a twisted affair. But what makes this movie , so damn neat is its non adherence to norms. Vicky and Cristina are as different as chalk and cheese. Vicky is practical and traditionalist , knows what she wants and has planned her entire life around . Christina , on the other hand is free spirited and bohemian , and perhaps knows what she doesnt want , and is okay with trying to finding the answer to this question all her life.
On their trip to Barcelona , they chance upon Juan a painter with quite an eccentric view of love. What starts off as a casual meeting becomes a complex tale of unfulfilled love & deep passion that both of them share with not only Juan but also his ex wife Maria Elena with whom he has an off and on relationship. At the end of it all , both the women , end up where they started . Each more assured than ever of their belief in life – their view of love and the way they wish to live.
Tip : Watch this one , for the most amazing views of barcelona , rediscover the beauty of the spanish language and a fresh take on love , if you’ve ever been confused , this one makes you feel – its all right!
“I talk because I feel ,
I talk to you , because i want you to know how i feel “
Notes to Myself , Hugh Prather.
There arent too many books that stay with you without sounding preachy , or let you pick them up and read a few pages and let go and yet be more than ‘pleasure reading’ .
There arent too many books that let you discover something refreshing everytime you re-read them and make you wonder if you could have written them too..
I call this book my bible. coz i read it everyday.
I call it the perfect gift and i have gifted it to every ‘friend’ i ve made .
strangely , I could have written the book myself.. but what Hugh Prather did was let me discover this passion to write .. within me !
I don’t suppose I can quite get over ‘love actually’ :)
There are movies. And then there are movies that you can watch a zillion times.
The opening lines can make any cynical a little weak in the knees.
And which ever story you might end up liking the best, every character seems so real –
she could be the person who just walked by or he could be the person you went to college with. You know what I mean?
Who would think the homely petite house keeper aureliea (incidentally that’s my favorite track of the movie) and the healing-a – broken – heart lonesome author are caricatures out of a larger than life screen play. Aren’t they like you or me? Wishing not for anything more than companionship?
And who hasn’t been like the quiet-brooding boy next door hopelessly in love with your best buddy’s girl (the breath-taking Keira knightly) and totally clueless about the fact that your distance isn’t your way of saying “I don’t like you much “on the contrary its “a self preservation thing”!
That surely competes for the top – slot on my favourite track.
One talks about learning to express yourself and that too in a new language. Another talks about living on each day, silently, relving the fact that love even though it was never returned, the big L did touch you … and go once.
Who hasn’t felt taken for granted? Or felt a harmless attraction at the cost of a straining a ‘perfect relationship’ and survived only to feel a heavy – on – the – heart guilt.
Don’t we all ‘think’ we can do anything -learning how to play…ahem ahem drums to catch the attention of the coolest-girl in the school or knock on every possible door to look for ‘fatty’ your endearing house-help , quite forgetting that you happen to be the president!
I watch the movie, whenever I am a little lonely and my spirits are running out of steam. The opening titles are all that I need to hear and see to start believing in all good things in life.
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at any airport or railway station ….General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed … but I don’t see that .seems to me that love is everywhere … Often its not particularly dignified or newsworthy but its always there..
Fathers & sons, mothers & daughters, husbands & wives boyfriends, girlfriends… old friends…
If you look for it, I have a sneaky feeling you will find that love actually is all around”
Went through the latest cosmo edition this Sunday.
A copy of their latest shopping edition had landed on my desk this week – and I picked it up coz of various reasons – none of them being that am a cosmo – girl!
I rarely miss the travel plus , but that was my first contact with something so glam – there should be a law against it !
As I settled down with a warm cup of coffee and Alanis crooning ‘head over feet’ – I gorged the 230 Pages dedicated to the noble (?) cause of ‘shopping and more’ at the FIVE cities I love – Pune , Delhi , Mumbai , Jaipur and Chandigarh .
Needless to say, I couldn’t help but compare the catalogued places to shop-eat-make merry with my mental notes and that’s when I wrote about it !( inspiration comes easy in this part of the world)
It was a nice walk down the memory lane , as I flipped through the pages and looked for cues to revisit those moments that I ve at some point of time spent there!
Purple Rice (Chd) , Ta-blu(Jpr) , Big Chill(Del) , Salt water grill(Mum) – some sumptuous brunches and cozy dinners . Some serious damage to my bank account at Anokhi , Fabindia – could I ever get tired of buying yet more kurtas from there?
Though I’ll be an emotional fool when I say I missed not catching a Zamus in Pune , Café Rock in jaipur or a Pind Baluchi in Delhi , but then again – how many of the gazillions of places to eat could we really feature in so many pages?
But a miss out of Oxford in the books section in Delhi would be a serious one – and so would be some typos ( one Can not call Kayani’s in Pune – Kalyani !)
But what is really holding me back from stacking this one up in my collectibles is the fact that more than serious reading pleasure , it ‘s stark commercial undertones leave me unsettled. When I really have to flip through pages and pages of paid advertising to really look for something that more than meets the eye , is that really worthwhile?
Its almost like – Just when you are out on your feet, exploring a new city – checking out the magical display windows , the patterns and the colours all adding up to a lovely day shopping out …..and there it is – a huge bill board or a hoarding. Its to put it crudely – the TVC that we all hate so much right before the crucial last over’s getting bowled in the tie breaker between India and Pakistan – if you know what I mean!
The pics, the charming layouts, the divine pearl-of-wisdom all seem fine but then I guess gone are the days of some serious fun-reading. Agreed that it’s the monies that are driving the issues that hit the stands for the very able cosmo team as it would in any other commercial set up (being a marketing professional myself).
Just one question, where do we really draw a line to defend the power of the written word?
Well that’s the first of the many reviews that I plan to write about any thing and everything
Tell me how it was? No hard-selling this is.
