Bourne Ultimatum 2007

At the outset let me make it clear that i have a very short term memory. Movies kinda bleed away from my brain leaving only vague impressions. Now you may ask why im even writing about movies if i cant remember them well. I enjoy the two or three hours that i spend on them, followed by maybe an hour of thinking about them. furthermore good movies do not leech out of your brain, the entire length of the movie may not be imprinted on your hypothalamus or whatever, but a feeling of the movie remains. I do remember life is beautiful, Manichitrathazhu, Godfather, Schindlers List, Shawshank Redemption etc etc....... and certain episodes of wonder years and the Simpsons and Friends and that 70's show. i remember almost every episode of No Reservations and Ian wrights shows,may be because I not so secretly long, ache, would die for a life like that.
So coming back to Mr Bourne i loved the first two movies, they fast, well shot and pretty intelligent for an action movie (thanks to Robert Ludlum). The third part delivers all of this ....just taken to new heights. Matt Damon does what he has to do, but the films main draw is the well synchronised almost dance like scenes, from a rendezvous with the journalist that ends in a sniper killing to the bombing and chase scenes. The best car chase scene in a long time and sexy looking killers. 8/10

the lighthouse - pd james

As usual pd james delivers, a simple well used plot of a group of people stranded on an island with a murderer among them, but with a few modern twists thrown in including a sars epidemic. The story has enough twists and turns to make you seasick, but somehow the characters pull through. the little insights into the characters are well thought out and adam dagleish as usual is the epitome of everything a human can be. not exactly unputdownable but will help you pass a rainy afternoon or two.

5/10

Zodiac 2007

It was a night show and i wasnt particularly in the mood for any dark stories, but zodiac managed to hold me thinking from start to finish in a manner thats pretty rare nowadays. The characters are very well etched, never over the top and never overshadowing the story. The movie could have easily become the story in the book, but it is the story of the book. The frustration at not catching the killer and the effects on lives subtly creeps onto us, making us not just sympathise but empathise. it doesnt feel like a usual movie based on real events but more like a collage of moments captured perfectly from real life. it was a little too long for many people in the theatre, but Robert Downey and Jake Gyllenhaal prove yet again their histrionc capabilities and Mark Ruffalo was a pleasant surprise ( i havent seen much of him before) The evil lurking in the shadows is potrayed with a subtle but chilling clarity. 8/10

Chak de - 2007

Finally a hindi movie I enjoyed from start to finish, except for some lengthy emotional dialogues by srk which was done in the usual drawn out, taery eyed srk style. The girls were stupendously, mindblowingly wonderful. Dont worry about the future of indian cinema......there are enough actors to carry us through, this movie amply shows it. The movie is about a disgraced hockey captain, played by srk who being a muslim is certified as a traitor for loosing blah blah. he comes back to coach the women team and thats when the magic begins. the problems faced by these women, pre conceived notions, the infights, the prejudices are shown beautifully. Special mention should be given to the punjabi, haryanvi and the naik girl. they carried the movie from start to finish. also srk's motivation for coaching a girls team should have been illustrated a little further.

i especially loved the little potshots at cricket, my cricket loving half was sitting next to me so that played an important role :)... an 8 / 10 from me

The final harry potter

Yes harry potter dies, ok sort of(actually he doesnt really die.....read the book for further explanations) This is the darkest and most disturbing compared to the previous books. buts alls well that ends well....voldemort dies, but so does ...dont read ahead if you havent read the book yet.....fred, lupin,snape and to my greatest dismay, tonks. everything is wrapped up nicely, except for luna. we never know how her life turns out to be...although seeing the predictable happily ever after. she also would be living somewhere nice, married and with kids going to hogwarts. a lot of history is explained and a lot of people turn out to be not so bad after all.

Not that im complaining about the "happily ever after" if it had ended with any of the trio being killed...i would have been emotionally scarred for life...or atleast emotionally scarred for a month or maybe two.

Gravediggers Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates

It tears you apart but you cant tear your eyes off the pages. The chronicle of a girl born in New york harbor, on a ship from Germany, filled with fleeing refugees. This is as real as life, not a tale of conquests or rising against the odds, but a story of pure survival. Her father's job as a gravedigger and her mothers not so gradual decline portrayed with heartbreaking clarity. She grows up, becomes a wife - albeit a battered one, a mother and then a fugitive,. hiding from her past and herself. It even got me thinking (a rare occurance, i assure you) if she had been given the gift of her history, the story of what she could be if she wasn't the grave diggers daughter, an understanding of her past, she would have got the dignity to face life a little better. But then that is the beauty of this book, it shows human frailties without apology.

minority report

When criminals are caught before they commit the crime, are they accountable or do they have a choice when their destiny is already predicted?? This Steven Speilberg movie has Tom Cruise as a policeman in the precrimes division. When he is accused of a precrime, to what lengths must he go to avoid his destiny and can he avoid it? Superb vision of the future and nailbiting sequences make this a movie that has speilberg written all over it.