August 21, 2003

VIDEO
It’s tough to get a positive review out of me for any Mollywood movie, especially if it’s the typical masala fare. But Hungama is a truly hilarious movie and the best comedy I’ve seen come out of Mollywood since Writer/Director Priyadarshan’s own Hera Pheri (which you must watch if you haven’t already seen it) that was released three years earlier.

As it began, I thought it was yet another remake of that old Tony Curtis/Debbie Reynolds chestnut The Rat Race where a single guy and a single girl are forced to pose as husband and wife so that they can jointly rent the only available and affordable apartment in the big city.

But the movie quickly veered off into something completely different with a vast array of characters leading to some extremely funny situations, which Priyadarshan is intelligent enough to never really turn into slapstick. The generally capable cast is led by the brilliant Paresh Rawal and also includes Akshaye Khanna, Aftab Shivdasani and newcomer Rimi Sen. Rent this movie for some guaranteed fun.— Khusro Mumtaz

 

OR
Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke), the master of Japanese animation who is revered by Disney animators, Spirited Away is a wonderful, wonderful movie. It is somewhat of a cross between Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard Of Oz, but is genuinely original in its own right.

10-year-old Chihiro finds herself trapped in a magical realm but before she can escape she must learn some lessons in courage, love and selflessness before she can escape and free her parents too. Along the way she meets some fantastical characters, none of whom turn out to be quite what they appear to be at first.

The detailed animation is just brilliant and so is the imagination of Miyazaki — this richly layered fantasy (which has some pointed arrows to shoot at our greedy, commercialized and consumption-oriented world) is a must-see for all, adults and children alike. Deservedly, Spirited Away won the Best Animated Movie Oscar for 2002. Just watch it — you won’t regret it. — K.M.

 

OR
You would expect better from Chen Kaige, the director of Yellow Earth and Farewell, My Concubine. But the Chinese director makes a poor choice for his English-language debut with Killing Me Softly. This so-called erotic thriller provides minor eroticism and zero thrills. The answer to the mystery — if you could call it such — is apparent pretty quickly into the movie and the cast, which includes Heather Graham, Ralph Fiennes and Natascha McElhone, sleepwalks its way through the proceedings. This is pretty much a TV movie-of-the-week apart from the sex scenes. So unless you want to check out Graham and Fiennes in the buff (again!), it’s best to avoid this one. —K.M.

 

SINGLE
Russia was put on the music map in a big way with the international sensation created by teen pop duo t.A.T.u. and their smash single All The Things She Said from their debut album 200 km/h In The Wrong Lane. Now Lena Katina and Julie Volkova are back with follow up track Not Gonna Get Us. While this song lacks the je ne sais quoi of their previous release, as well as the memorable urgent, pulsing tone, Not Gonna Get Us is still a great single. Anthemic in quality and fun in spirit, the song works well in the car and in the clubs.

Its tough chick attitude is fresher than the sounds of poster child of teenage angst Kelly Osbourne but lacks the maturity of “Punk Queen” Pink. Ironically, the song itself is pure romance. “Starting from here, let’s make a promise/You and me, let’s just be honest/We’re gonna run, nothing can stop us,” sing the girls. “Nothing can stop this, not now I love you.”

This single is essentially a modern day version of the Tommy James & the Shondells’ smash I Think We’re Alone Now, but the rough, edgy cut and the earnest, anthemic chants slickly divert attention from the simplistic and sweet romantic core of the single.

With their school uniform style clothing and individual attitude, t.A.T.u. is not only exciting and innovative, but a band that shows every sign of making a permanent mark on the music industry as their name suggests.— T. U. Dawood

 

OR
The hottest thing to hit weddings this season is Aika Dajiba by Vaishali Samant. An infectious tune, it has heart as well as a killer groove. Even after the first listen, you’ll want to replay this Marathi and Hindi pop single.

Not only is this new tapori track on constant play, but it has brought the very talented Samant back into the spotlight. Unlike similar artists, she has always kept a relatively low profile. Even when she was the Dhagala Lagli girl, she never experienced the media frenzy of artists like Adnan Sami. However, her music always spoke for itself.

With the release of her latest album, also titled Aika Dajiba, Samant shows her constancy and her versatile talent. Unfortunately, not much else on the CD compares to Aika Dajiba, but that single track is strong enough to keep all eyes on this steamy singer. — T.U.D.

 

ALBUM
Bounce is the first Bon Jovi CD to make me cry. Their poignant and touching early hits especially Livin’ On A Prayer may have touched my soul, but the tracks on this latest disc affected my stomach instead. Overly contrived, soulless singles — especially saccharine lead release All About Lovin’ You — are extremely disappointing.

The band themselves have said this is a 9/11 album and Undivided, in particular, reminds us of those events: “That was my brother lost in the rubble/That was my sister lost in the crush/That was our mothers, those were our children/That was our fathers, that was each of us,” sings lead singer Jon Bon Jovi in the opening. However, once again, this single is less than memorable.

Other tracks are equally mediocre, especially the whiny Misunderstood and the unnecessary You Had Me at Hello. The latter will make it difficult for you to ever watch Jerry McGuire again.

Bounce’s banal sounds and boring lyrics are all neon signs of a band desperately in need of help, or at least inspiration. Unfortunately, P. Diddy doesn’t do rock and Sanctuary is too alternative, so someone else will have to come to the Jersey boys’ rescue. Hopefully, soon. Bounce is certainly no New Jersey or Slippery When Wet. Instead, it’s likely to just bounce off the charts.— T.U.D.

 

WEBSITE
Those who are interested in astronomy and information related to the planet earth must visit www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov. The purpose of this website is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where people can obtain new satellite images and scientific information about our home planet. The site focuses on the earth’s climate and environmental change. In the ‘Data Images’ section you can see all the global-scale measurements displayed by the earth Observatory and the months for which they are available.

You can explore the world and untangle the mysteries of climate and environmental change in the ‘Features’ section. The ‘News’ section is a great source for the latest news on Earth science research, NASA news announcements, summaries of headline news, listings of new published research, and more that are updated each week.

In the ‘Reference’ section you can access reference materials on everything found within the earth Observatory. Also you can learn about the terminology and concepts which are presented on the site. The ‘Missions’ section presents information on current and planned NASA’s Earth observing missions.

You can learn about the art and science of space-based Remote Sensing in the ‘Experiments’ section. A full-text search engine is also given on the site. You can also subscribe to the Earth Observatory. In particular this is a useful site for public media and educators.— S.M. Aamir

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)