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.