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July 7, 2005
Eight Days a Week
FILM
Dark, serious, mysterious, atmospheric ––– Batman Begins is exactly what a Batman movie should be. Even though people cite the Tim Burton directed Batman and Batman Returns as good movies they didn’t particularly work for me (though I do have a certain fondness for the latter –– it was a darker movie than the first and Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman in a tight leather costume, cracking a mean whip is kind of hard to resist). Batman, too, often seemed to turn into a secondary character –– the first one in particular was hijacked by Jack Nicholson as the Joker –– and Michael Keaton couldn’t pull off the physical requirements of being Batman. He’s a good actor but he’s no athlete. Also, Batman’s a character that needs to be treated utterly seriously to work and Burton’s films had small bits of camp creep in to them. By the time of the fourth movie, Batman & Robin (the one directed by Joel Schumacher and with George Clooney as Batman), the series had turned into a total camp-fest and deservedly crashed at the box-office. It seemed that the Batman movie franchise had effectively been killed forever.
But seven years after the last movie, director Christopher Nolan (Memento) has come to the rescue. He’s taken some of the best material from the original comic books (Frank Miller and David Mazuchelli’s Batman: Year 1 is a major influence) and, along with writer David Goyer, taken the character back to his dark roots and re-fashioned him from the ground up. The movie shows us how the orphaned billionaire boy Bruce Wayne, driven by guilt and a need for revenge, turns himself into The Batman, the protector of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is as important a character here as Batman, if not more so (in fact, the Batman doesn’t show up till almost half the movie is over), and Nolan has the perfect actor in Christian Bale to portray both facets of the man. Bale can play brooding and conflicted (see American Psycho, for example) and he’s got the physicality to be a convincing Batman as well. Bale and Nolan treat the source material seriously and therefore convince us how a “Batman” could almost exist in the real world.
Bale now completely owns Bruce Wayne and Batman and any actor who follows him in the role has my sympathies. The rest of the movie is also brilliantly cast: Michael Caine as the faithful butler, Alfred; Gary Oldman as the future Police Commissioner Gordon; Liam Neeson as Henry Ducard, Bruce Wayne’s mentor; Cillian Murphy as the very creepy and villainous Scarecrow; and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, the inventor who supplies Bruce Wayne/Batman with his gadgets. Katie Holmes also does a good job as Bruce Wayne’s love interest, Rachel Dawes. The movie’s only flaw may be some of the action and fight scenes which go by in such a blur of speed that one can’t really appreciate them. Apart from that my only other quibble comes from being a fan of the comic books and the movie’s deviation from them but which needn’t bother the casual viewer. Not just for fans of comic book movies, this one is highly recommended for all. —Khusro Mumtaz
OR
Paheli, directed by Amol Palekar and produced by and starring Shahrukh Khan, is definitely off the beaten track. Based on a Rajasthani folk tale and a novel by Vijyadhan Detha, this fantasy tells the story of a bhoot (Khan) that falls in love with a newly married mortal girl (Rani Mukherjee) whose husband (also played by Shahrukh Khan) has left her the day after the wedding, taking off for a five-year business trip. The spirit then steps in to take the husband’s place. Interesting idea and different set-up but, unfortunately, being off-beat doesn’t necessarily translate into must see.
Don’t get me wrong. The movie’s worth checking out for its beautiful cinematography, Shahrukh and Rani’s acting (and Juhi Chawla in a small role is very effective), and great songs. I also liked the fact that the movie, despite being a fairy tale, doesn’t make its characters one-dimensional. The husband, for instance, isn’t your cardboard character bad guy. You actually feel some sympathy for him. And the bride, Laachi is also given depth and the decisions she takes aren’t those of the traditional Indian sati-savitri. The music by M.M. Kareem is also quite fabulous. However, that being said, the movie never really manages to engage us emotionally. It’s more of a film to be admired for certain of its elements on an intellectual level but for it to have really succeeded it needed to move us. That it fails to do.
Sunil Shetty has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him cameo and Amitabh Bachchan also shows up for an unnecessary (and hence irritating) guest role. —K.M.
SINGLE
Mr. Hot ‘n Heere himself Nelly has always had a knack for making duets. Whether it was his chart-topping ballad with Kelly Rowland titled Dilemma or his sexy single with Christina Aguilera Tilt Ya Head Back, he tasted success. Now, he has teamed with country star Tim McGraw for a different kind of duet, one about heartache and sorrow and one so angelic pop that the hard-core rapper could actually lose his street cred.
That being said, it’s a great ballad and very romantic. The two superstars bemoan the loss of their love in the track Over and Over, singing Cause its all in my head/I think about it/over and over again/I can’t keep picturing you with him/And it hurts so bad/(yeah) cause its all in my head/I think about it over and over again/I replay it over and over again/And I can’t take it and I can’t shake it(no)
The vocals are hauntingly soft and the lyrics timeless. The two seemingly different singers synergize well and it’s clear Nelly has far more universal appeal than fans and critics may have previously realized. Although hailing from the South, Nelly has always had country influences in his style, Over and Over allows those interests and a quintessential pop style to come to the forefront in a very unique and successful way. Got to hand it to the rapper for daring to be different. —T. U. Dawood
ALBUM
After an absence from the music scene of over four years, UK Soul-funk wonderboy Jamiroquai and his band return with their highly anticipated sixth album Dynamite. When a known label signed the “skinny white boy with a funny hat” to an unheard of eight album deal 13 years ago, there was quite an uproar in the music industry. However, with success after success, Jay Kay proved his naysayers wrong.
His last album Funk Odyssey went multi-platinum, but Dynamite is explosive enough to outdo its predecessor. Workaholic Jay Kay supposedly spent the last two years writing, recording and editing this new album, hungry and determined to prove he’s still a player. Written and recorded in both Europe and the US, Dynamite is a culmination of various sounds and styles the artist has honed over the years. Now 35, the funk-maestro is better than ever.
First release Feels Like It Should have the band showing off a harder edge and a stronger bass. Other noteworthy songs include the dance machines Give Hate a Chance and Dynamite and the solid summer love ballad Seven Days In Sunny June. Simply a must-have for fans. —T. U. D
TALK SHOW
A 60-minute amusing talk show hosted by Zainab Quyyum, Maachis. She invites two groups of people with totally opposite viewpoints to discuss highly volatile, real-life issues such as mother-in-law, daughter-in-law relationships.
The fireworks that ensue provide comic relief while simultaneously trying to solve problems that might actually be a bone of contention in many homes. Topics discussed include the saas bahu relationship, adoption and the neglect of an adopted child after biological ones, extra marital affairs as well as younger man-older woman relationships. On HUM TV every Sunday from 8.30 to 9.30 pm.
EXHIBITION
Certificate awarding ceremony and Ikebana exhibition of the 66th batch of Ikebana classes, organized by Japan Cultural Centre of the Consulate General of Japan, Karachi and Pakistan-Japan cultural Association, Sindh (PJCA) is taking place on July 8 at 4pm. The venue is the auditorium of Pakistan Federation of Business and Professional Women at Clifton. —A.S.
PROGRAMME
Twenty-first Century Business and Economic Club is hosting a programme in which Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh will give a talk on The Challenge of Reforming Government, on July 7 at 7.45pm at Avari.
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