Here are some movies on my ‘Recommended watch list’ of random movies I have recently seen. These are not of any specific genre. These just happen to be some favourites among the lot I’ve watched in the last few weeks. Thought it might be worth a mention.

1. The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (2008) – As the tagline of the movie says it is “A timeless story of innocence lost and humanity found.” An absolutely heart breaking story shown at the backdrop of World War II, depicted the cruel and inhuman life, imposed on a little Jewish boy in a concentration Camp. The story is told as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bruno who is the 8-year-old son of a Nazi Officer and his on the other side of the barbed wire fence. This unusual and innocent friendship between the two boys leads to unexpected and tragic circumstances in the end. I cried buckets and went through a half a box of Kleenex! One of the most heart-wrenching movies I have ever watched.

2.I Love You, Man (2009) – Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) who has no friends had to get out there and look for a Best Man for his wedding. This involved a series of interesting man-dates and the whole thing has its consequences. It’s definitely a light hearted story and I enjoyed it much.

3. Julie & Julia (2009) – This movie tells the true stories of two women, writer Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and blogger Julie Powell (Amy A dams), who are from different generations and whose lives are separated by time & space. However, both women shared an incredible passion for cooking through which their lives were connected in a ‘buttery’ bond. They discovered themselves and found solace and comfort through this passion.

By the way, it’s a must watch for foodies. Trough out the entire movie, I sat salivating and craving for all sorts of buttery, cheesy, creamy yum stuff! (P.S. Meryl Streep did an incredible job of playing Julia Child)

4. The Ugly Truth (2009) – “Sex is the only glue in a relationship, men can’t change, and they only respond to women’s looks”… Believe it or not, this is the ugly truth & that’s what this movie is all about. Television show producer, Abby Richter believes in the perfect guy and has a list of criteria she is looking for in a man. Rude and bigoted correspondent Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) is the exact opposite who only believes in the ugly truth. When they are both forced to work together on a show what happens next is quite interesting & entertaining at the same time…

5.The Duchess (2008) – In this 18th century movie, Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightly) becomes the Duchess of Devonshire with her marriage to the Duke, when she was 17. She soon finds herself in a loveless marriage with a husband who only cared for a male heir. The husband not only ignores her but also betrays her by starting an affair with her closest friend which devastates the duchess who ends up falling passionately in love with another man.

This is one of those era movies (like The Other Boleyn’s Girl) where the men of power and position are uncaring, unloving philanderers who mistreats their women. I quite enjoyed Keira’s acting although the story was a bit frustrating at times.

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However, broken hard drive or otherwise, I will win this battle against Murphy. Thanks to broadband internet, currently I’m working on my movie collection. For efficiency purposes so as to refrain from owning a major collection of crap movies, I thought I should first sit and compile a list of movies that I’d like to own.

Here’s only one of the genre’s, I’d like to call it the romantic movies list (the ones who beg to differ, may very well call it the cheesy movies or such). This isn’t a comprehensive list, they are the ones I sat and pulled out of my head as romantic movies worth watching, which according to many are actually a ‘good watch’.

In case I might save time and trouble for some hopeless romantic’s in their venture to seek the best, I thought this might be of some help! Here are 50 out of my list of romantic movies worth watching. The thrillers, action movies, horror flicks….hmmm…..perhaps save it for another time?

1. 50 First Dates (2004)
2. A Walk to Remember (2002)
3. An Affair to Remember (1957)
4. Autumn in New York (2000
5. Before Sunrise (1995)
6. Before Sunset (2004)
7. Braveheart (1995)
8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
9. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
10. Casablanca (1943)
11. Chasing Liberty (2004)
12. Dirty Dancing (1987)
13. Ever After (1998)
14. First Daughter (2004)
15. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
16. Gone With The Wind (1941)
17. How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003)
18. If Only (2004)
19. Just Like Heaven (2005)
20. Maid in Manhattan (2002)
21. Message In a Bottle (1999)
22. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
23. Never Been Kissed (1999)
24. Note Book (2004)
25. Notting Hill (1999)
26. P.S. I Love You (2007)
27. Pearl Harbour (2001)
28. Pretty Woman (1990)
29. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
30. Romeo and Juliet (1996)
31. Runaway Bride (1999)
32. Save the Last Dance (2001)
33. Serendipity (2001)
34. Sex and the City the Movie (2008)
35. She’s All That (1999)
36. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
37. Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
38. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
39. Sweet November (2001)
40. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
41. The Reader (2008)
42. The Way We Were (2003)
43. The Wedding Date(2005)
44. The Wedding Planner (2001)
45. The Wedding Singer (1998)
46. Titanic (1997)
47. Tristan and Isolde (2006)
48. When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
49. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
50. You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Go ahead, enjoy your idle evening after work…who knows, they might just hit the right note

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Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, whose life is about to change with the answer to just one question on the Indian version of the television show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”

As millions of people await the big moment, Jamal is only a question away from winning a whopping 20 million rupees! However suspicions due to the slim chances of a street kid’s ability to answer all the questions correctly against all odds, police arrest Jamal for questioning.

He was put through physical torture which forced him to prove his innocence by telling story of his life’s journey & how the various events and vicious encounters in his life lead him to learn the things he did. Through his story, Jamal reveals how he could do better than the others on the show who were brighter, better educated and with more opportunities to learn.

Being orphaned at an early age, Jamal grew up with a brother, Salim who was his only family. Shoved into poverty and a life of constant struggle against life’s hardships, Jamal found inspiration and motivation through his passion and love for his childhood friend from the slums, a girl named Latika.

The later stages of his adulthood were mostly shaped by his feelings for the girl, which ultimately lead to his presence on the show. How did he do it? Is it possible that he knew all the answers? Was he cheating? Or was it just meant to be?

It is a movie that will titillate your inner receptiveness towards the hundreds of poverty stricken kids on the streets and make you wonder what their stories could possibly be? I know that I will never look at a blind child beggar singing to make a few rupees on the side streets of India, the same way I did before. As I watched the movie, I cried for all the times I ignored the little children who came and annoyed me during the 5 years I lived in India. Though I did help them many times, I know I could have done a lot more to help them, in ways that would hardly make a difference to the kind of life I lead.

In that sense, Slumdog Millionaire not only shows insight into how life teaches you the things you know, but also touches the idea of the indifference that most of us feel towards the hardships we witness in front of our eyes, which doesn’t affect us personally…

All in all, Slumdog millionaire was a brilliant movie and it deserves all the hype it’s getting!

Photo: http://www.zimbio.com

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Just like the Hindi movie Chak De India I posted about recently, Amir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par was not the mainstream Bollywood movie that leaves you just with the warm fuzzy feeling after the movie. It gives you more! I watched Taare Zameen Par last night and cried myself to dehydration! It was by far one of the most sensitive, enlightening and silently powerful movies I’ve ever seen. My tears weren’t caused by just what I saw in the movie. It was also the sentiments the movie brought with it. Having seen the sufferings of children in many parts of the world especially during my travels in India, this movie really struck a chord deep within. It reminded me of how ignorant we are of the way our actions may compromise the destiny of innocent beings, who may have no control whatsoever over the things that define them.

Taare Zameen Par was not merely entertaining but also enlightening. It was a sensitive story brought live to the audience brilliantly. After it has won several awards in India, Taare Zameen Par has now been selected as India’s entry for the Oscar 2009 in the best foreign film category.

Taare Zameen Par is produced and directed by Amir Khan and he also acts in the movie though the main focus of the story is on an eight year old dyslexic kid. Here’s a short version of the story as recited in Taare Zameen Par’s official website.

“Ishaan Awasthi [Darsheel Safary] is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class.

When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to ‘be disciplined’. Things are no different at his new school and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.

One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh [Aamir Khan], who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of ‘how things are done’ by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan.

Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.”

Taare Zameen Par forces us to understand a child’s mind and gives us a strong message not to compromise the unique and untapped talent of each child in our pursuit of academic excellence and what we think is better for the child.

It is definitely a must watch which will make you re-think the way you look at life and what it expects of you… and well done Amir Khan for the enlightenment you brought to many!

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This may come a bit late but I only watched the movie last night and let me tell you Chak De India has without doubt redefined the Indian Cinema and the label attached to it of being cheesy, dreamy and merely feel-good! This was one among the very few Indian movies which did not grab the attention of the audience with dance, music, skin or scenery. Instead Chak De India thrilled the viewers with nothing more than talent, expertise, commitment and perseverance!

Kabir Khan, the former captain of Indian Hockey team, was forced to leave his home with his mother, unable to bear the humiliation and hurt due to accusations of match-fixing with Pakistani players. Seven years later, he returned to Hockey, not as a player but as a coach to the Indian woman’s hockey team.

The team was hardly even a team with any hope of ever competing in the international arena. It had no focus, commitment or capability. Players were divided by all sorts of social and personal issues. Ego clashes, background differences and senior junior divisions kept them from anything close to a team spirit.

Yet, Kabir Khan made the impossible, possible with sheer hard work and perseverance. He created a true ‘team’ playing for India rather than individual players representing diverse states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

In the end, he succeeded his Mission and how he does it is better watched than be told! All in all, it was a great watch and I was proud to see this change!

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