New Flicks

Life inside the Tube
Imran H. Khan

Movies are a vital ingredient in our lives. From the moment we turn the television on, we are transformed into a world of magic…a world of fantasy. No matter what is showing, be it a Bangla feature films starring the nourished figures of our society; Hindi serials, with their twisted never ending tales of woe, or block-buster features from Hollywood. Although some people are picky about their type of movie, I am quite liberal and here are some titles that I have watched this year that I will definitely watch again.

To start off with a little romance, 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Rob Schneider is a fun-filled romantic blast that will sweep you off your feet. The story cites a girl, Barrymore, who suffers from a short-term memory loss after an accident. She wakes up everyday on the day-before her accident. Adam Sandlar falls head-over-heels for her and, with humour and suspense at every turn, tries to make her fall in love with him again and again.

* Troy tells the action packed story of Prince Paris, Orlando Bloom, of Troy who stole the beautiful Greek woman, Helen, played by Diane Kruger, who is away from her husband. The Greeks begin a bloody siege of Troy led by Brad Pitt. The special effects are so good that the fights seem stunningly real, with sound effects to boot.

* If you are a fan of XXX and The Fast and The Furious, Torque is a must for your Christmas list. Martin Henderson returns to his town to reunite with his girlfriend the gorgeous Monet Mazur. He also comes to set few things straight but finds himself exactly where he had left off: in trouble. With the feds and two biker gangs after him, one headed by Ice Cube, he and his friends must solve the puzzles that have made Henderson the centre of attention. This movie is full of intense actions and special effects that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't forget to breathe from time to time.

* The Passion of The Christ tells the story of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus Christ, played by James Caviezel, on the day of his crucifixion. Mel Gibson does a tremendous job of directing this real life drama, but on a personal note, the film was simply too gory.

* One of the best Family and Fantasy genres of 2k4 has to be Shrek 2. This film starts off where the first one had left us, in the kingdom of Far, Far Away, where Shrek and Fiona return to her homeland. Not everyone is happy to find her married to an ogre and things get shaky. We are finally introduced to a bar called the Poison Apple, where the villains of the fairy tale world hang out. With guest voices from Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas, Shrek 2 is definitely a chart-buster.

* One motion picture that is sure to shake your screens is The Day After Tomorrow. This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects-filled look at what the world would look like if the greenhouse effect and global warming got worst. The outcome: a world-wide catastrophe, including multiple hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and the beginning of the next Ice Age. Even if this is a fiction story, it is really scary to imagine. What if...?

* One the Drama line up, Cold Mountain, based on Charles Frazier's best-selling Civil War novel of the same name, tells the story of Inman, portrayed by Jude Law, a wounded confederate soldier who is on a perilous journey home to his mountain community. He hopes to reunite with his pre-war sweetheart, Nicole Kidman. She and Renee Zellweger, a drifter, struggles to survive in a farm.

* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has totally lived up to its hype. The film starts with Harry in his third year at Hogwarts. He is on the run after an incident where he was unable to control his anger, getting on a bus, he hears about Sirius Black, a renegade wizard who was a Prisoner at Azkaban. What Harry doesn't suspect is that Black escaped to look for... Don't miss this new Adventure.

* Raising Helen kicks off when Helen's sister and brother-in-law die in a car accident; they are survived by three children. Kate Hudson takes on the role Helen, the guardian of the children and tries to juggle the responsibilities of her new quasi-parenthood with the effects on her lifestyle as a modeling agency assistant.

* Being a huge fan of Suspense and Horror movies and this year's top so far has to be Van Helsing. Set in the late 19th century, monster hunter Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing is summoned to a mysterious land in East Europe to vanquish evil forces... evil forces with names like Count Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster. With the assistance of Kate Beckinsale, he must set out to rid the world of all evil.

* One movie that I had missed, much to my dismay and lack of availability, is Fahrenheit 9/11. This documentary by Michael Moore traces why the U.S. has become a target for hatred and terrorism. It depicts alleged dealings between two generations of the Bush and bin Laden clans that led to George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden becoming mortal enemies. After winning the Top Prize at the 57th Cannes Film Festival, one of the most coveted honours in international cinema, which makes it all the more coveted, Watch out for it.