February 10, 2005

FILM

Based on the play by Allan Knee and directed by Marc Foster (Monster’s Ball), Finding Neverland tells the story behind the creation of James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and how Barrie (Johnny Depp) was inspired by a widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four young boys to write his timeless fantasy. Foster and company are intent on glossing over the more controversial elements of Barrie’s life (he took nude photographs of young boys and by some accounts his marriage was never consummated) as they are aiming squarely for Oscar honours. The Academy generally likes what Neverland is offering them –– a tale with literary antecedents and well-known British actors (Julie Christie among them) to add some class and a story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and imagination over the adversities and cruelties of life. The movie also has Johnny Depp playing yet another one of his eccentric characters. However, here his Barrie is relatively toned down and rightly so keeping in mind the polite tone of the film in general and any over-the-top acting by Depp would have struck a discordant note.

But, despite the obvious manipulative nature of the script and its treatment, it’s surprising how effective the movie turns out to be by the end. You do feel the loss that some of the characters feel at the passing of a loved one and you are moved by the pure joy of creativity and imagination that can delight young and old alike and which the movie is able to bring across to the viewers. Not surprisingly then that the Academy has rewarded Finding Neverland with eight Oscar nominations, including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.—Khusro Mumtaz


OR

The brothers Paul and Chris Weitz co-wrote and co-directed American Pie and the thoroughly enjoyable About A Boy, starring Hugh Grant. Now Paul Weitz has ventured off on his own to write and direct In Good Company (though Chris Weitz is still on hand as producer) a comedy-drama which wants to take a cynical look at the ruthless corporate culture engendered by the multi-national/ multimedia corporate juggernauts that are all the rage these days. Dennis Quaid plays a 50-something husband and father and sales head of a sports magazine who suddenly finds himself demoted when his company gets taken over by a multimedia conglomerate and a 26 wunderkind (played by Topher Grace of TV’s The 70s Show) comes in as his new boss. But whereas Quaid is the perfect family man Grace’s personal life is almost non-existent. His wife (Selma Blair in a small role) has left him and he has nothing going for him outside his job. No wonder then that he latches on to Quaid and his family as a surrogate one for himself. Trouble is that he also finds himself getting attracted to Quaid’s daughter (Scarlett Johansson) which complicates matters.

There’s a lot of good material to work with here helped quite a bit by some good performances from most of the cast (even Marg Helgenberger manages to do quite a bit with her small role as Quaid’s wife) and Grace is particularly effective in what could be a break-out role for him. But whereas About A Boy struck the right balance between cynicism and romanticism, In Good Company errs slightly on the side of the latter. Things work out a little too neatly in the end and generally life isn’t so kind. Still the movie can be pretty good company for a couple of hours.—K.M.


CLASSIC FILM

The Colour Of Paradise (1999) is a short (less than 90 minutes) but beautifully rendered movie by director Majid Majidi whose Children of Heaven was the first Iranian movie to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language movie. Colour tells the tale of blind Mohammad (Mohsen Ramezani) whose widowed father (Hossein Mahjoub) thinks him a burden that could spoil his chances of being remarried. The father’s plan is to hand over Mohammad to a blind carpenter to learn the trade as an apprentice but Mohammad’s grandmother (Salime Feizi) and his two sisters want him to stay with the family.

Majidi does a brilliant job of bringing us both the visual beauty of rural Iran (so many shots are deceptively simple but are framed as lovely paintings) as well as the sensory world of sound and touch that Mohammad lives in and is backed up excellently by his cast. The Colour Of Paradise (Rang-e-Khuda is the original Persian title) is a wonderfully compassionate and stunningly shot movie that is a must-see. In Persian with English subtitles. Available on DVD in Pakistan.—K.M.


ALBUM

Dhol Beat International and DJ Impact are back with a slick, hip and smokin’ new release titled Absolut Bhangra. Their previous CDs include the best-selling, highly addictive Dance Radio Asia 1 & 2 and early in their career, the team won the North American Punjabi Conference DJ and Dhol competitions. Absolut Bhangra is even more exciting and well-made than their past work. It is filled with 44 tracks of sensational remixes and super-slick editing of tracks by artists such as Dr. Zeus, Sanj, Jeeti, Mehsopuria, Tigerstyle, Sahara, Aman Hayer, Rishi Rich, Manak E, Panjabi MC and Sukshinder Shinda.

Tracks to look out for include Hor Glassy, Dhol Vajda 2004, Sanj’s Das Ja and Made in Punjab, as well as Rangla Punjab, Dhol Punjabian Da, Captain Bhangra Da, and Jeeti’s Aaja Soniye.

What makes the biggest impact on these remixes is the slicing and blending. DJ Impact is so super-smooth with his intros and exits that the tracks blend into one another so that the CD feels like one huge megamix rather than individual tracks! Top-notch blending elevates any album or club night onto a different plane and is actually very tough to do and even in some of the more popular clubs abroad, very hard to find. Absolut Bhangra is definitely an absolute must-buy!—T. U. D


SINGLE

The combination of Nelly and Christina Aguilera is simply inspired. On their duet Tilt Ya Head Back off his Sweat CD, the pair works it over a sample of the Curtis Mayfield classic Superfly. Aguilera does her best Marilyn Monroe and Nelly alternates between his slick, sophisticated look and his ghetto hip-hop groove. He hit it gold when he paired with Kelly Rowland on Dilemma last year, and similarly the pairing with Aguilera is simply smokin’. The Diva’s pipes are spot on and Nelly sounds very hot here.

The video flips back and forth from a very retro 1920s Flappers look to a modern day street feel. They start by taking turns with the vocals. She sings It’s just so easy to see (to see)/You came here looking for me (but uh uh)/But I don’t do that type of thing all the time, yeah/(You want me to). He chants Now situations, girl/They often change/Sometimes for the good/Sometimes for the bad, but who’s to blame? Then both they and their vocals start getting closer …When the pair start groovin’ then the video really starts to steam and the cops come to break up the party. One can’t help associating Nelly’s thug persona in the video (he’s arrested in the video) and Aguilera’s starlet role with the J-Lo Puff Daddy scandal.—T. U. Dawood


MIME

An introduction to the silent, non-verbal art of pantomine, ‘Art of Mime’ is a beginner’s workshop. Basic techniques on how to develop and play small scenes by the participants, and to project themselves as whiteface, illusion mimes is being taught by Sabina Gralla from 8th, 10th, 17th, 22nd and 24th February.—A.S.




WEBSITE

A perfect site for weight watchers is www.work outsforyou.com, and for those who like to shed those unwanted bulges from their body. The site is all about fitness plans. Visitors can also get sample exercise demos.—B.A.

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