The Skip List

This isn't a movie review but a growing list of movies that you can skip and not watch unless you have no other choice.

• "The Resident" starring Hilary Swank

This one is supposed to be a thriller about a tenant and her nightmare experience at the hands of her voyeuristic landlord. The movie may have fallen flat on me because I expected better from Swank and expected the movie to thrill me. But, it was predictable throughout and offered no chills. Skip it!

• "Dabaang" starring Salman Khan

Don't bite my head off for putting this on the list. I don't enjoy action movies but my other half enjoyed this movie and found the dialogues witty too. I'll say that Salman looks very fit in his cop outfit. This movie will be loved by his die-hard fans and also the ones who understand hindi comedy better than I do.

• "The Kids are Alright" starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo

Well, it got a few nominations and awards but I'm saying "skip it" if you don't want to watch Mark Ruffalo playing a love-sick, discarded lover. In the movie, the kids of lesbian parents want to meet their biological father and they do. But, after he has an affair with their mother, everyone leaves him out in the cold. It's not how I picture Mark Ruffalo. As you can see, I am not an objective movie critic.

The Black Swan

This suspense drama rightfully won Natalie her Golden Globe award. I'm sure she'll win the Oscar's, as well. Natalie is an amazing actress and she was right for the part of this ballerina who overly stresses over her debut as the principle ballerina in her company. Even someone who knows nothing about classical dance can appreciate the "swan lake" ballet at the end of the movie. Her character's transformation from "white swan" to "black swan" in the ballet is dramatic and telling of the character's own transformation from being frail to unconstrained and bold. Vincent Cassel plays the overpowering ballet director and his role was crucial to the film too.

I don't think I have seen too many movies of Natalie Portman. The one's I have watched are "Star Wars" and "Where the Heart is".  I wouldn't recommend "Star Wars" to anyone but a sci-fi fan. "Where the Heart is" is a good drama that you'll remember Natalie for.


Beautiful, isn't she?

Killers

"Killers" is an all-in-one action/romance/comedy but, this combination did not appeal to me. Killing cannot be comedic. Also, I could predict what the movie held in suspense but I won't reveal for your sake. However, you can still watch it if you like Katherine Heigl and if you are a fan of Ashton Kutcher. The host of Punk'd is adorable.

Other movies of Ashton's that I like better are "The Guardian", "A Lot Like Love", "Valentine's Day". I've watched "A Lot Like Love" a few times on cable and it never tired me. "The Guardian" has Kevin Costner too, who manages to make hearts flutter regardless of his age.

Another unlikely but interesting movie from Ashton is "Personal Effects" that has one of my favorite actresses, Michelle Pfeiffer. Yes, it's about a relationship between an older woman and a younger man but there's a lot more to the story. I'm eagerly waiting to see "No Strings Attached" starring Ashton and Natalie Portman. It's running in theatres now.

Look at him!

Life As We Know It

Everybody dreams of having a happy family. Such a happy family comprises of two loving partners (din't want to restrict this to a man-woman combo) and 1, 2 or 3 children (I have seldom heard people mention a number larger than this). The happy-family concept also seldom or possibly never includes in-laws lurking in the background or foreground. ;) I'm not kidding but I just wanted to say something cliched about in-laws.
Anyway, I'm rewriting this blog because I've watched the movie (fully) many times and again today and I haven't stopped enjoying it. So, it deserves to be re-reviewed. 
This is a romantic comedy and its the kind I always love to watch. The story was slightly different while following the same pattern of man-woman-meet, fall-in-love, some-misunderstanding and together-forever. I love the lead actors (Katherine Heigl & Josh Duhamel) and they share a great chemistry in the movie. Josh is a handsome, all-american dude and who wouldn't consider having a family with him. He wears a confused but endearing look for most part of the movie. He's awesome, girls. 

The story is about two single people who are required to take care of their friend's baby after the unfortunate parents die in a car accident. Parenting is hard and that's what these two realize. But, it also makes them love and want to be a family. Apart from the lead actors who are a handsome duo, there are other characters who also make the movie enjoyable. The social worker. The neighbors. You'll just appreciate all of them.
I also watched "Love and Other Drugs" after "Life As We Know It" but that one didn't do it for me. It followed the same theme but the woman had a chronic illness. Not happy!

Band Baaja Barath

I love romantic comedies. You can't expect anything new from this genre of movies, but that's what you want. You know what you'll get. What makes them interesting and watchable again, are the lead actors, if they can convincingly enact the magical chemistry between two people, called love.


Band Baaja Barath is a refreshing movie sans SRK and others from the Karan Johar clan. These new, young actors play their parts well and with 'masti'. I like 'Dum' and 'Ainvayi' songs.  which are good dance numbers. Anushka's been a good actress right from her first film. Ranbir Singh is an interesting actor who dances well, has a lot of energy and got the brat-boy look and his lines out very nicely, for this movie. Yash Chopra is going to cash in on the success of this pair by following up with another movie very soon. Can't wait!


Check out a high quality video of the songs at youtube. I know a 3-year old who'll watch this with me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV2fOLL-24Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY1CgwcwhW4

Fair Game

I watched this movie for Sean Penn and Naomi Watt who make an interesting cast of actors.

It's a great story (adapted from real-life) about a CIA covert agent whose identity is revealed and her actions are questioned when controversy stirs up over a high-profile operation at Iraq. Her principled husband stands up for her as she committed no fraud but she prefers to keep her dignity and silence intact. 

You'll want to applaud the agent for her determined silence when media and politicians and even the agency rattles against her. She could have bickered too and lashed out against the agency but she was a patriotic agent by choice and training and it had become a huge part of her real persona.

Other political thrillers you could watch are "Nothing But The Truth", "The Contender". They are all about honorable women who wouldn't compromise on their principles when things get rough.