Re: Rushdie's Enchantress

On Thu, Jan 15, 2009 at 8:49 PM, Shiv Pabba <pabbashivkumar@gmail.com> wrote:

I read this otherwise tedious book over a very long month, especially using the eerie repose of the wee hours.  The overindulgence in fantasy was taxing the spirits, but Rushdie's style holds.  In this novel he delves into the Mughal past right upto Akbar's rule to relate to relate to the barren thoughtless violent age in which we live.  Here Akbar is presented as a man of imagination, a visionary ruler, a philosopher, a man of culture, and a dreamer who, along among all the great minds he surrounds himself with, opens up to the weird charms of a foreigner claiming kin with him from the side of his great aunt, Qara Koz, the Lady Dark Eyes!!!  (contd)

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

TWO WEEKS

TWO WEEKS (Seen on 10-1-2009)
Four grown children come home to be with their dying mother.  For two weeks they are all thrown together with all their differences, and their strained relationships.  But the blood bonds tentatively surface eventually and gives us many poignant moments.  The mother is played superbly by the two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field.  The writer/director of the movie are Steve Stockman and Dr. Ira Byock. 
The film wrings your heart. Tony and Kasturi bought this dvd in a Wal Mart sale without knowing that it will be so good.  The movie does make one cry.


--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

Children of Wax (Seen on Star Movies on 9-1-2009)
This is about a serial killer of Turkish children who sparks off a bitter fight-death between the "neo-Nazis" and Turkish setters in a German town. The serial killer is finally nabbed by the Turkish-German cop.
The film has good production values. At least it keeps you riveted.
But I wouldn't rate it highly.

Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War (Seen on Jan 7)
"In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson is a womanizing US congressional representative from Texas who seemed to be in the minor leagues, except for the fact that he is a member of two major foreign policy and covert-ops committees. However, prodded by his major conservative supporter, Joanne Herring, Wilson learns about the plight of the people are suffering in the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. With the help of the maverick CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, Wilson dedicates his canny political efforts to supply the Afghan mujahideen with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. However, Charlie Wilson eventually learns that while military victory can had, there are other consequences and prices to that fight that are ignored to everyone's sorrow. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) "

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

DEJA VU

DEJA VU (seen on Jan 6, 2009)

Deja Vu (2006)  watched by me on Jan 6

"In Algiers, New Orleans, after the explosion of a ferry transporting the sailors from the USS Nimitz and their families with 543 casualties, the lonely AFT agent Doug Carlin is assigned to investigate the terrorist attack. Without any lead, he is informed by Sheriff Reed about a corpse of a woman that was found one hour before the explosion, but burnt with the same explosive. He is invited by FBI Agent Pryzwarra to join the surveillance team leaded by Jack McCready in the investigations, using a time window and Einstein-Rosen bridge through seven satellites to look back four and half days in time. He discloses the identity of the mysterious dead woman called Claire Kuchever and decides to follow her last moments trying to find the criminal. Along the surveillance, Doug falls in love for Claire and tries to change destiny, saving her life. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

AMERICAN GANGSTER

AMERICAN GANGSTER (seen on Jan6, 2009)

Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. As a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his position. It is also the story of a dedicated and honest policeman, Richie Roberts, who heads up a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government. Based on a true story. Written by garykmcd

In 1968, the loyal driver, bouncer and collector Frank Lucas witnesses the death of his boss and mentor Bumpy Johnson and finds that Harlem lost its leadership. Frank decides to import heroin direct from the source in Bangkok, establishing a logistic of transportation using the US military airplanes from Vietnam to USA. The quality of his product associated to the trade mark "Blue Magic" and the lower prices bring Frank Lucas to the position of number one distributor of heroin in USA. Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

My comments:

At first we thought we will not be able to sit through this long movie, but in the it tuned out to be gripping and interesting. Good movie.

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

DEATH SENTENCE (DEC 7, 2009)

Produced Ashok Amritraj, this film couldn't have been different, in the sense that it appealed to lay Indian tastes.  A story of revenge, full of violence and of family sentiments.  Based on Brian Garfield's novel

"The story revolves around Nick Hume, a loving husband and father of two sons, Brendan and Luke. After a hockey game, Nick and his oldest son Brendan are driving home and flash their headlights at two passing cars with their headlights off. They then make a quick stop at a gas station to get some fuel. While Brendan is getting a smoothie inside, the two cars they passed earlier, containing gang members about to rob the gas station, arrive. The station owner reaches for his gun, but is spotted by one of the gang members and shot to death. It is then revealed that a new gang member named Joe must prove himself to "become a man", so he slits Brendan's throat with a machete. Nick attempts to ambush the thugs, and manages to tackle Joe, who was making his escape out of the gas station. Nick pulls off Joe's mask and sees his face, but the murderer escapes and is hit, albeit not killed, by a car. Nick rushes Brendan to the hospital, but he later dies from major blood loss. Nick later discovers that, if the case goes to court at all, Joe will only get a maximum of a few years in jail for his crime, so he forces the police to drop the case, deeming it a waste of time. Joe, now a free man, becomes the target of Nick's revenge and is eventually stabbed by the enraged father. The gang, led by Joe's older brother Billy, wants revenge for the murder of one of their own. The gang attempts to, and almost succeeds in killing Nick, but he is able to escape while killing one in the process. The police, aware of what is happening, do not take Nick into custody, but grant him protection. The officers watching over the house of the Humes are killed, and the gang members make their way inside, where they shoot Nick, his wife Helen, and his other son Luke. Nick survives, and learns that Luke did too. After paying a short visit to his son, who is in a coma, Nick escapes from the hospital to go after the remaining gang members. He pays a visit to a person named Bones, a gun shop owner and buys a .357 Magnum revolver, a Colt .45 pistol, and a double barrel shotgun. It is revealed that Bones is the father of Billy and Joe, but Bones allows Nick to carry on with his plans anyway. When Bones attempts to warn Billy of Nick's plans, he is shot and killed by his own son. Later, when Billy arrives at the gang's meeting place, dubbed the Office, it turns out Nick is already there, and has killed some of the gang members. A fire fight breaks out, but ends when Nick and Billy both run out of bullets. They sit next to each other and Billy tells Nick to realize the murderer he has become. Nick then pulls another gun from his jacket and asks Billy if he's ready. Billy responds with a sigh. The next shot shows Nick walking out of the building, implying that he just killed Billy. When Nick arrives at his house, he turns on the TV to watch the videos of his family. The police arrive and tell him that his son started moving, and that he'll probably make it through. Nick shows a sign of relief and looks back to the TV. It shows Luke, Helen, Nick and Brendan singing on the couch."

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

THE VISITOR (DEC 7, 2009)

Of the 8 Netflix movies (TALK TO HER, GONE BABY GONE, FREEDOMLAND, THE VISITOR, DEATH SENTENCE, AMERICAN GANGSTER, DEJA VU, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR) that Tony brought from the US during the visit home, this turns out to be the best and impressive.
A deeply moving drama built around longtime character actor Richard Jenkins, The Visitor is a simmering drama about a college professor and recent widower, Walter Vale (Jenkins), who discovers a pair of illegal aliens who were the victims of a real-estate scam living in his New York apartment. After the mix-up is resolved, Vale invites the couple--a young, Syrian musician named Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend (Danai Gurira)--to stay with him. An unlikely friendship develops between the retiring, quiet Vale and the vibrant Tarek, and the former begins to loosen up and respond to Tarek's drumming lessons as if something in him waiting to be liberated has finally been unleashed. All goes well until Tarek is hauled in by immigration authorities and threatened with deportation. His mother, Mouna (Hiam Abbass), turns up and stays with Vale, sparking a renewed if subdued interest in courtship. However, the wheels of injustice in immigration crush all manner of hopes in post-9/11 America. Vale soon realizes that he has unexpected anger over Tarek's plight, and the positive changes to his personal life that emerged from a deep involvement with his friend and Mouna might be the only legacy he takes from this experience. Writer-director Thomas McCarthy has created a wonderfully measured story about change and renewal and put it all on the shoulders of Jenkins, a largely unheralded but masterful performer whose time for

--
Prof. P. Shiv Kumar (Retd)
11-25-89 MG Rd
Warangal 506002
Cell: 9703268800
Landline: 0870-2447111

Talk to Her

I got this film because it is by the Spanish director, Pedro Almadovar whose films (All About Mother, and another I do'nt remember now) have left a lasting impression on us... It's about the power of love. A male nurse who attends on the woman in coma loves her and keeps talking to her although she cannot hear him. He persists in this, tells her about the erotic silent movies he has seen for her. When the woman in coma is found to be pregnant they send him to jail where he waits in vain to know what happened to her. When no one helps him with news of her, he assumes she died and he also commits suicide. But she actually recovers from coma, having delivered a dead foetus. But the point of the film, it seems to me, is that it was his loving talk that has helped her regain consciousness and health.

Gone Baby Gone

This film too is about a missing child (like Freedomland), but the treatment is totally different. Here the private detective engaged to investigate uncovers several shocking facts about the mother of the missing child, about the brother who colluded with a investigating police officer to kidnap the child to get hold of the huge drug money from the hapless mother. But things go awry and the private investigator is, for a time, left to conclude that the child had died. Eventually, however, he discovers the complicity of the mother's brother, the police officer as well as of the otherwise honest and good Police officer who actually adopts the kidnapped girl thinking that he has rescued the girl from her drug-addict of a mother. The good police officer pleads with the private detective to let the girl be with him because it is good for the girl's future, but the detective makes the hard decision of uniting the 'lost' child with her addict-mother, in the process sending two of the participants involved to jail and one to his death. The decision of the private detective to reunite the child with her undependable mother also results in the loss of his dear girl friend who disagrees with his decision and walks out on him. At moments the movie sounds like an Indian movie where fierce arguments about the ethics of the issue are exchanged. We liked the movie on the whole though.

Freedomland

I had read Richard Price's novel on which the film was based and was a bit disappointed with the movie. I didn't, of course, expect the movie to do better. For one, the film has completely left out the narrator-character, the journalist whose perspective often help us formulate our responses to the event. And it was interesting, her perspective. Her reservations and ridicule of the super-efficiency of the Karen's volunteer group was interesting in itself. Now, the film version is perhaps less effective to this extent. But on the whole the issue of racial profiling that automatically conditions the thinking of the white psyche and the lacerated reaction on the part of the blacks has been successfully brought out, if less powerfully than the book.