Monday, June 20, 2005
Madagascar and Parineeta
I ended up watching two movies - Madagascar and Parineeta - on Saturday. I really liked Parineeta; Madagascar was just okay.
Madagascar was not as funny as I had expected. It was about animals in the zoo in Central Park. The zebra wanted to experience life in the wild, while its friends, the lion, hippo and giraffe, wanted to stay in the zoo. I didn't agree with the premise of the movie that life for animals is better in zoos. I didn't like the depiction of life in the wild as ruthless and violent. What about the open spaces, fresh air, interaction with species of the same kind? The jokes and characters were all clichéd and predictable. Even one joke was a repeat from a "Sex and The City" episode; something to the effect, "What do you get in Connecticut… Lyme disease.” Maybe it's a common joke in NY which I'm not privy to. The animation was lovely though. The penguins acting like spies and their quest to reach Antartica was funny. Although, for no apparent reason, they didn't like it once they reach their destination. I suppose I shouldn't be analyzing the movie in such depth. It just didn't compare to some of the recent animated movies I've seen like Ice Age, Finding Nemo and Incredibles.
On the other hand, Parineeta was totally worth the watch even if I had to drive 40 miles one way and stay up late for a 11 pm show. I forced a friend who is not into Bollywood movies to go watch it with me. It was either the movie or Saki Bombing and she chose the lesser evil. She got converted after watching the movie. We've both been listening to the music all day. I didn't like the beginning and the end of the movie as much, but pretty much loved the rest of it. My favorite parts included the scene in which Lolitha admits to Shekhar that she didn't go to Moulin Rouge to Shekhar, Rekha in Moulin Rouge, the way Lolitha teases Shekhar, and the scene in which he wakes up sweaty, dreaming about Lolitha with Girish. I was able to predict the end; the story was simple that way. Diya Mirza was kind of irritating to me. I didn't understand the point of her dialogue - "Once I get married to Shekhar, I will kill him." The miscommunication towards the end also annoyed me. Overall it was a good movie. I like movies in which the woman is shown strong and responsible, not just a feather head. I’m sure someone from Calcutta would enjoy the movie a lot more.
I also saw 2 good previews - Paheli and Matribhoomi. We'll see how these turn out.
Madagascar was not as funny as I had expected. It was about animals in the zoo in Central Park. The zebra wanted to experience life in the wild, while its friends, the lion, hippo and giraffe, wanted to stay in the zoo. I didn't agree with the premise of the movie that life for animals is better in zoos. I didn't like the depiction of life in the wild as ruthless and violent. What about the open spaces, fresh air, interaction with species of the same kind? The jokes and characters were all clichéd and predictable. Even one joke was a repeat from a "Sex and The City" episode; something to the effect, "What do you get in Connecticut… Lyme disease.” Maybe it's a common joke in NY which I'm not privy to. The animation was lovely though. The penguins acting like spies and their quest to reach Antartica was funny. Although, for no apparent reason, they didn't like it once they reach their destination. I suppose I shouldn't be analyzing the movie in such depth. It just didn't compare to some of the recent animated movies I've seen like Ice Age, Finding Nemo and Incredibles.
On the other hand, Parineeta was totally worth the watch even if I had to drive 40 miles one way and stay up late for a 11 pm show. I forced a friend who is not into Bollywood movies to go watch it with me. It was either the movie or Saki Bombing and she chose the lesser evil. She got converted after watching the movie. We've both been listening to the music all day. I didn't like the beginning and the end of the movie as much, but pretty much loved the rest of it. My favorite parts included the scene in which Lolitha admits to Shekhar that she didn't go to Moulin Rouge to Shekhar, Rekha in Moulin Rouge, the way Lolitha teases Shekhar, and the scene in which he wakes up sweaty, dreaming about Lolitha with Girish. I was able to predict the end; the story was simple that way. Diya Mirza was kind of irritating to me. I didn't understand the point of her dialogue - "Once I get married to Shekhar, I will kill him." The miscommunication towards the end also annoyed me. Overall it was a good movie. I like movies in which the woman is shown strong and responsible, not just a feather head. I’m sure someone from Calcutta would enjoy the movie a lot more.
I also saw 2 good previews - Paheli and Matribhoomi. We'll see how these turn out.
// posted by anshu @ 12:05 AM 
