July 24, 2003

VIDEO
The Pianist is a powerful yet understated movie about the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrian Brody), a world class pianist who survived the Nazi pogrom in Poland through luck and the help of a number of people along the way. While there have been a number of movies about the Holocaust this one differs from them in that rather than trumpet the heroism of an individual or a group it points out the mercurial and senseless nature of war (and, perhaps, the universe itself). There are good Poles and bad Poles, good Jews and bad Jews (though, of course, they are the most to suffer), and good Germans and bad Germans and people on both sides of the war exhibit little acts of courage and humanity as well as cowardice and depravity. Director Roman Polanski refuses to romanticise any part of the movie (unlike Steven Spielberg in Schindler’s List) and his work becomes more effective for it. Polanski and Brody won Oscars for their efforts but I can’t help wondering if a movie just as well directed and acted would have won any awards if it had been about the Palestinian experience. —Khusro Mumtaz

 

OR
Fans of The Matrix should check out The Animatrix, a collection of nine short animated films. While not necessary (perhaps even superfluous) there is such a thing as too much information, after all) to understanding the Matrix movies, it does give you some more background and information about the universe created by the Wachowski brothers. Sharp-eyed viewers might also be able to spot a couple of stories which tie into The Matrix: Reloaded albeit tangentially. The shorts all have different animation styles (Japanese anime, European, as well as CGI) and some are more interesting than others but none of them are really boring. For myself, I particularly enjoyed The Final Flight Of The Osiris, The Program, and A Detective Story. However, The Second Reconnaissance Parts I and II were a little disappointing, not in the animation but in that the history we get of how the machines took over and the matrix began seemed derivative. Overall, The Animatrix is meant more for hard-core Matrix fans or animation aficionados.—K.M.

 

OR
Khawahish isn’t too badly made or too badly acted (leading lady Mallika Sherawat is better than leading man Himanshu Malik) but the world didn’t need yet another remake of Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw’s Love Story. What’s different is that there are a couple of smooching scenes in the movie to up the titillation factor but that’s about all. As the movie approached its end I was thankful that they had at least spared us that absurd line from the original “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” (yeah? since when?). But no such luck, they had just saved it for the final scenes.— K.M.

 

WEBSITE
As the makers of the site www.bored.com put it, this is the site to go to when you have nothing better to do. For all the bored people around, this site feature links to some of the cute sites, which will keep you engaged for quite some time. But these are just time killers. The first link of bathroom life is a huge source of humour. Chicken jokes answers funny questions like “Why did the chicken cross the road”? You have hundreds of videos of people doing stupid stuff: pranks, accidents, funny animals, crazy stunts, etc. You can also read movie reviews from 15 newspapers and magazines all summarized on one page. In Guinness Records link you can watch videos of people doing amazing things, read about record holders, or try to break a record yourself. An online prank is the most interesting link to check out. There are also dozens of online test that you can take for free: personality, IQ, emotional states, career, stress, lifestyle, dating, and many others. The eCrush section offers many ways to improve your love life: find out if someone you know has a crush on you! Moreover from the long list of kill boredom tips you can find horoscopes, quotations, jokes, Hollywood information and so forth. Words of caution: only visit when you are bored.— Azeem Haider

 

SINGLE
When Panjabi MC (27-year-old Rajinder Rai) released Mundian to Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys) three years ago, it became an international hit. However, now that American rapper Jay-Z has remixed it and brought it across the Atlantic, it has suddenly made Indian pop-Bhangra-Rap mixes the hottest thing in music. Similar to Trust Hurts Addictive — which was the #1 choice for mendhis this past winter — Mundian is an exciting mix of East and West; very current and very hot.

Heating up clubs and on constant replay on radio airwaves, the remix combines the original bhangra base with Jay-Z’s signature rap. The result: irresistible. A pure party song, Mundian is driven by a relentless sitar rhythm that segues smoothly into the Knight Rider theme. The lyrics are pure Punjabi and very conservative. They warn a coming-of-age 16-year-old girl to “be careful of the boys/You’ve only just grown up” and to “look after your youth/This time won’t come again.” Jay-Z’s rap, however, is not for the G-rated. “Move your body like a snake, mama,” he urges. Instead of clashing, the double meaning works as a perfect foil on the track. As the two languages harmonize and enchant, it’s not surprising that Mundian has already started a new trend in music. — T. U. Dawood

 

OR
“It” girl Ashanti is still rollin’ up the charts with her latest single Rock With U. She made history last year when she was featured in all three of the top singles on the charts (Fat Joe’s What’s Luv, Ja Rule’s Always On Time and her debut single Foolish). More impressively, however, was the fact that the 21-year-old wrote all the tracks on her debut album. Her latest single Rock With U, however, is a departure from her signature slick, sharp hip-hop-R&B combo sound, as the Murder Inc. protege branches into pure R&B here. Rock With U is sexy, sweet and simply sensational.

Ashanti plays girl-next-door this time around, with a summery video in which she frolics on the beach in the spirit of Madonna’s Cherish and Janet Jackson’s Love Will Never Do Without You. The diva softens her look, hides behind the scenes her gangsta hip-hop Murder Inc. mix-masters and includes a male model love interest in their place.

“Can you rock with me? Non-stop with me?” she asks, her voice pure silk, “Can you take it to the top with me/I just wanna love you babe/Always thinking of you babe.” After her long-list of haunting ballads bemoaning the angst of relationships, it’s refreshing to see the singer-songwriter simply enjoy love and life on this single. With her diversifying sound and immense talent, Ashanti is around to stay. —T. U. D

 

ALBUM
Ever since Weezer released their brilliant Happy Days video to their track Buddy Holly, they’ve been a band to watch out for. However, much anticipation surrounding their work cooled when they took five years off after 1996’s Pinkerton CD. Now, though, they seem to be on a roll and more prolific than ever. Just 12 months after The Green Album, the Los Angeles group has released Maladroit. Much stronger than the earlier disc, this CD shows off the band at its best. Contrary its tongue-in-cheek name, Maladroit is really very good featuring garage-punk sounds (Fall Together), vintage guitar riffs (recalling Eddie Van Halen) and Strokes-sounding tracks (Burndt Jamb).

As a fourth album, its strength solidifies the group’s place in the hearts of fans and defies cynics who thought them a one-hit wonder years ago. Although there are no knock-out hits like Buddy Holly on Maladroit, the CD allows the band to invert and gently mock rock stereotypes in their unique fashion. Weezer may never quite return to their earlier glory, but their sound is as essential as it is different. — T. U. D

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