Peter And Vandy: To Stay In Or Out?

Out of boredom on a Sunday afternoon, I came upon a movie that was saved in the communal PC's hard drive at home. It was not something I have heard of, but there was nothing interesting in the said PC, so I went ahead with this one.

It is actually about the ups and downs of the romantic relationship of two ordinary people. During the first parts of the film, it is easy to get all confused and frustrated about how it is all arranged. It is very much like 500 Days Of Summer, where the entire flick is not presented in a chronological order. It jumps from one scene to another, making it quite confusing for those who find too taxing to think (which includes me). However, I'm a sucker for romantic films, and I had the feeling that this one has a good story behind it, so I proceeded to watch the entire film and see what it wants to point out.

Basically, the film tackles the things that most relationships go through. The entire process involves a long journey. At start, the two people develop and realize an attraction between each other. It seems that they share the same interest and have the same views on certain matters. This eventually becomes a basis for the desire to be with each other at all times. In the film, the couple eventually decided to live with each other. This is where the struggles start to show up. The two people start to realize their differences and how hard it is to get along with someone who does not share one's ideas, beliefs and practices. Even the very simple act of making PB&J sandwich becomes a source of arguments and conflicts. As time goes by, these two souls who were so in-love with each other, who thought that they have found their soul's other half, start to drift apart. They did break up.

That was not the end though. Throughout the course of movie, it was shown that after the winter, when they had the hardest point of their relationship, they were still together. After breaking up, it felt as if there was really nothing wrong with each other. It was nobody's fault. With that realization, they were able to talk things out and get back in each others' arms.

Personally, I think the film simply points out the hard part of being in a relationship. It shows how two people can be so different. However, it also points out that despite all the differences, these two people can still be together. All it takes is the desire to be together. If they have that, they can work on making their lives better together than any other way.

Vandy: Peter, everything that happened with us happened for a reason. This is who we are together. We're just gonna stay the same way. It's not gonna be any different.
Peter: Yeah, I know. I understand what you are saying. I understand you. This is what I want. You are the person I want to be with. Do you feel the same way?

The Hangover: Where Friendship Is Tested

At first glance, the movie Hangover might seem like all other funny, senseless flicks that abound in the very, very huge tube these days. However, I do find something sentimental and thought-provoking about it.

This is another unplanned movie night. I was just checking my mails at home when my brother pointed out that I should watch the movie saved in the home PC's desktop, so he can delete it already. Since I was a couple of hours early at home that night, I obliged for some laughs before I hit the sack.

I did get some laugh from it. In addition to that, I was amazed at the great friendship between the guys in the film. Maybe it's because guys do not usually show their loyalty and talk about their bond as much as girls do. It's just touching how they showed their care for each other. It is, more or less, normal for guys to act immature and completely like kids at times, but when the serious stuff comes around, it is nice that they are able to stand up together and really help and pull each other out of the trouble that they got themselves into. There were moments when tempers went ablaze, terrible words were uttered, and punches were thrown here and there, but in the end though, they were concerned about each other's welfare. Phil, despite his constant easygoing personality, kept on telling Stu what a bad idea it was to think about marrying his controlling live-in partner. The guys also did everything they could and dealt with tigers, casinos, Mike Tyson and even a Chinese gangster (who looks gay, by the way) just to save their friend and have him ready for his wedding.

This just makes me realize one thing about guys. They do stick to each other and stand up for each other, even though they do not talk a lot about it. This might be a good thing in general, but for the girlfriends, this might prove to be a problem. Guys can lie together to protect each other, even when the clear evidence of their misdeeds are already there.

PS. I said they can, not that they all do :)

Brother Bear: Animated Drama

It was not on the top of the list of movies I wanted to watch simply because it was an animated one. At my age, animation appears irrelevant because of how large the worries and how serious the problems are. However, I thank BOREDOM with all my heart for one Sunday afternoon when we were uberly-bored with everything the local TV stations could offer, my brothers and I had no other choice but the Brother Bear movie saved in my laptop.

Kenai's character was at first irritating. He was a very good way to describe how younger siblings are, especially the bunso in the family. There is the immaturity, the tendency to act without taking time to think, almost always emotionally-drive. In the process, he got his brother killed and himself turned into a bear. It is during his days as a bear that he learns about the lessons in life. It is also as a bear that he is able to fulfill his totem, which is the bear of love.

The flow of the story might seem simple, but I was still caught off-guard with some of the plots. For one, I did not think Kenai would successfully kill the bear that stole the salmon. After all, she already got away in the same fall that killed Kenai's older brother. I was also unable to piece together that Koda, the young bear that Kenai the bear befriended later in the story was actually the child of the bear that he (Kenai) killed. The part where this was revealed really left me in tears (and my brothers laughing at me).

Overall, it is a good one. It is a movie that I would recommend to moms for their little ones to watch. However, it is easy for kids to get lost in the frenzy of animation and all its cuteness. Hence, it is best for the parents to watch this with their kids, so the oldies can explain about it to the young ones and create impressions in their growing minds.

Great Expectations: The Unknowns In Life

When things are bound to come around, it seems to be a part of a human being's system to expect. Whether it is a bad or a good thing one expects out of the entire event, situation or the presence of something, it is all up to the specific individual. At times though, we get all bounded by our emotions, always hoping for the good stuff.

Great Expectations, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke as the main protagonists, is largely based on the novel of the great Charles Dickens. Although I have not read the book, since I'm not really fond of classics, I would say this has a good storyline. However, the characters might not have been more righteously portrayed by any other characters. Paltrow have always had the beauty that seduces without saying a word, and Hawke came with the innocence that the male character in the story possesses.

Although this is the kind of film that makes me a cry a bit less, the plot is really fun to unravel. It is so heartwarming to see a guy who is truly and deeply in love with a girl that it makes him mad to see her and be with her. It breaks my heart into two knowing that such a rare piece in the entire male human population has to be played with. The feminist in me, however, rejoices in the great way the female protagonist plays her part. She is an empowered woman who knows what her beauty and alluring presence can do to the man, and she uses both to her advantage. After all, she has been taught about the harmful ways of the sunlight and what playing under the sun can do to her. In the end though, love strikes the most important chord. It gives the man whatever he needs to make himself worthy of the lady, and the lady eventually realizes the beauty of being out in the sun with the man, who was once the boy who got her to go out and play out in the open and enjoy the sunlight.

I have always thought that books are better than movies because I've sincerely enjoyed reading certain stories more than when I watch them on the large screen. However, there are always exceptions to every rule, and this specific adaptation of the book of the same title is one of them. Thumbs up!

The 3 Idiots That Almost Made My Sunday

Aal Izz Well. This is what Rancho says while tapping his heart slowly when trouble is around. According to this witty character, played by the Aamir Khan, the heart can be quite a coward, and when the heart is afraid, the rest of the person ends up unable to fulfill the things that it can actually do. Based on his story about the blind man who shouts Aal izz well every night in his village, all it takes is to deceive the heart a little bit, not to hurt it or just to lie to it but to give it the courage to face the hardships and believe that things are really possible.

The movie might actually sound like just another funny stint from India. Well, that is how it sounded to me until I found out that Aamir Khan is on it. After all, Lagaan, which I watched in college for a dear professor's class, is the movie that first introduced me to the wonders of Eastern talent in the reel world.

Just like Lagaan, the movie is easy and fun to watch. The story is simple and a little to common for me. However, it is the presentation of the ideas that make it highly interesting. I've seen a lot of plots that focus on making the viewers see how important it is to be true to oneself and stand up against a rotten system. Although this one shows just that, the details make it more fun to indulge in. Probably the best thing about this plot is how it attacks varied points all at the same time. It revolves around love, which incorporates romantic love, love for the family as well as strong and friendship. At the same time, it tackles the limitations a student ends up with when in some learning institutions, where being bookish is considered to be most dignified. I absolutely love the part where Rancho has to define the word BOOK in almost 50 words to point out to his professor how impractical it is to always stick with the definition on the book when everything can be explained in much more simple terms.

The film also showed the real side of India. Indian flicks tend to be all colorful and full of music, dancing and smiling gorgeous faces. This usually puts people to a confusion after hearing about the problems in the Indian society. Although this component of the common Indian films was not absent in 3 Idiots, the film also showed how hard it is to be poor in their country. My sister was even complaining about how Raju's sister is not going to be married unless her family can provide a car for the dowry.

We were not really able to finish the entire film. Our downloaded copy was cut short right in the middle. At this point, my siblings and I who enjoyed watching the film together one lazy late Sunday afternoon are still guessing on how the movie is going to end. We are yet to download a complete copy. For now, we remain on a waiting stage and are patiently reciting Aal izz well.