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July 14, 2005
Eight Days a Week
FILM
Yakeen is another one of those lifted-from-Hollywood flicks which are competently made but there’s no real reason to watch them if you’ve seen the original. Here writer Vikram Bhatt (no stranger to plagiarism, being the director of movies like Raaz and Kasoor) and director Girish Dhamija lift Wolfgang Petersen’s 1991 thriller Shattered, which starred Tom Berenger and Greta Scachi.
Arjun Rampal plays an amnesiac recovering from a horrific car accident. His doting wife Priyanka Chopra nurses him back to health. But as flashes of memory return to our hero he realizes that his marriage may not have been as idyllic as his wife makes it out to be and that she’s hiding some secrets from him. So he sets out to solve the mystery with the aid of a private detective (Saurabh Shukla) and friend (Kim Sharma).
For those of you who may not have seen the original, the almost scene-for-scene lifted plot does have some neat twists and turns. Rampal is a little better than his usual wooden self, Priyanka is Priyanka (for whatever that’s worth) and Dhamija does a capable job behind the camera. But if you have seen Shattered then, really, what’s the point? The songs are also completely immemorable. — Khusro Mumtaz
OR
The animated movie Madagascar tells the tale of four animals –– Alex, the lion (voice of Ben Stiller); Marty, the zebra (voice of Chris Rock); Melvin, the giraffe (voice of David Schwimmer); Gloria, the hippopotamus (voice of Jada Pinkett-Smith) from the New York zoo –– who find themselves stranded on a remote island far from the comforts of the zoo they consider home. Unequipped to deal with life in the wild their lives become even more complicated when they come across a group of lemur-like animals and their leader, King Julien (voice of Sasha Baron Cohen).
Madagascar is a short (86 minutes), frenetic and occasionally funny movie with a couple of big laughs (the lemur “rave” is a riot). The most interesting bit has to do with Alex unconsciously reverting to his carnivorous genetic disposition when faced with hunger pangs. But, overall, the movie could have done with some funnier jokes and a bit more heart. The children may enjoy it though. — K.M.
CLASSIC FILM
Some movies are made with the Oscars in mind. You know the kind –– (preferably true) stories of courage overcoming great adversity and emerging triumphant. Along with being crowd-pleasers they also have an air of (self)-importance about them. They celebrate the human spirit but also provide sobering thoughts. Mix with important director and important star and you generally have a front-runner for the Oscars. Director Ron Howard and star Russell Crowe brought you just this kind of movie with their Oscar-winning bio-pic A Beautiful Mind. Now they’ve teamed up again for Cinderella Man, a bio-pic about depression era boxer Jim Braddock whose riches-to-rags-to-riches would be completely unbelievable if it wasn’t true.
The real wonder of it all is how Crowe and Howard make you put aside your cynicism and buy into the story they are telling. Crowe is playing a genuinely nice person and he actually makes you believe that such a decent man can exist without making him cloying and irritating. That takes great acting skill and Crowe pulls it off. Howard also wisely doesn’t oversell his story and doesn’t go for the easy route of constantly playing with your heartstrings. The boxing scenes are also expertly shot and Paul Giamatti turns in an excellent supporting turn as Joe Gould, Braddock’s trainer and friend. Rene Zellweger plays Braddock’s wife and while she’s a welcome presence in the movie just about anybody could have played the role of the dutiful, suffering spouse. In any case, this is a rousing, involving, emotionally satisfying movie. Watch it to see if it gets multiple nominations come Oscar time. — K.M.
SINGLE
Some songs are hot. Others are simply steaming. Don’t Cha by the Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes falls in the sizzling latter category with its alluring lyrics and sexy video. The cocky chorus has lead singer Nicole Kea confidently challenging: Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?/Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?/Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me?/Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me?/Don’t cha? Don’t cha?...
However, this is no anthem for naughty girls. In the spirit of the late great Aaliyah’s If Your Girl Only Knew, this single is actually big on monogamy. Yes, really. The bridge makes this very clear: Fight the feeling (fight the feeling)/Leave it alone (leave it alone)/Cause if it aint love/It just aint enough to leave a happy home/Let’s keep it friendly (let’s keep it friendly)
As Kea’s voice ebbs and flows, so do the musical themes. One minute Kea is sweet and soft –– every guy’s fantasy, the next sexy and provocative as she slams the man in question, confronting him on his passion for her but advising him to suppress it out of love for his girlfriend.
The song was previously recorded by Tori Alamaze but the Pussycat Dolls version is much more effective, particularly when combined with Busta Rhymes introduction and background soupin’. Like all great summer anthems, it is made for the dance floors, beaches and riding around in your car with the top down. Don’t Cha will have you chanting along in no time. —T. U. Dawood
ALBUM
Superheroes are very much in vogue. The fabulous film Batman Begins slam-ducked at the box office and now the so-so Fanastic Four is hoping to ride on the coat-tails of that success.
While the latter movie can’t hold a candle to the former film, its accompanying Fantastic Four – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Various Artists is far superior to the Batman Begins OST.
With a savvy mix of hip-hop, soul, pop and yes, rock, the Fantastic Four OST features 20 tracks and is well worth a listen. Definitely check out soul sensation Joss Stone’s Whatever Happened to the Heroes? which nicely combines rock and soul with Stone’s timeless voice. Other strong tracks on the OST include the rockin’ I’ll Take You Down by T.F.F., the touching Die For you by newbie Megan McCaulley, the hip-hop-rock number Kirikirimai by Japanese band Orange Range and Everything Burns by Anastacia featuring guitarist Ben Moody (formerly of Evanesce).
The latter track in particular is getting a lot of hype because it is the theme song of the movie. Powerfully composed, the single effectively heightens the suspense in the film and makes full use of Anastacia’s incredible voice.
Other popular groups who have songs on the OST include Ryan Cabrera, Simple Plan and Sum 41. With 20 tracks on the disc, there is a broad range of song styles and enough great music to make this OST well worth checking out. —T. U. D.
SUMMER SCHOOL
The British Council began a three-week programme, Hornby Summer School Pakistan from 12-29th July named ‘Issues and Challenges’. It offers participants to form a network across South and Central Asian regions during the course for teachers. —A.S.
LAUNCH
Dr Sabiha Mansoor’s book ‘Language Planning in Higher Education’ is being launched on July 15 at 6pm at the Aga Khan Auditorium by Oxford University Press.
SHOWS
Mehfil-e-Ghazal, music show, Koocha-e-Saqafat and dandia music is taking place at the Arts Council on July 15,16,17 and 19 respectively.
COURSE
Registration for basic Orton-Gillingham course starts from 15th to 24th July at Literacy, Education, Assessment and Diagnosis for Scholastic Success (LEADSS). This certification course prepares teachers to deal with language-based difficulties. Contact 4310821/2 or 0333-3038262 at LEADSS.
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