Movie Review - Babel

I do hope this movie is an aberration. I pray that this does not start an annoying trend in Hollywood (if it doesnt already exist) - that of Oscar fishing. Movie makers are supposed to just try and create good cinema, and then hope to win awards. They cannot decide that they want Oscar nods, and then start throwing in a mish-mash of suitable elements into a movie.

The storyline is about the terrible situations that ordinary people could get into unknowingly, how such situations could spiral further out of control, and finally, how such situations end up in nothing but tears, despair, and agony. This is the common thread that weaves together the seemingly disparate concurrent events happening in Morocco, Mexico, and Tokyo.

The most annoying parts of the movie are the Tokyo sequences - the shocking MA rated scenes are not even necessary for the storyline and simply seen gratuitous.

Babel is not entirely bad - the cinematography is fabulous and the movie is bolstered by stellar performances by Brad Pitt and Adriana Barraza (who plays the mexican nanny). The director does succeed in keeping us engrossed in the narrative in the beginning - however, somewhere in the middle of the movie, we realize that there is nothing redeeming about to happen. Nothing is going to save the characters from the cesspools that they have fallen into, and that is when we lose hope, both for the characters of the movie, and for ourselves getting our ticket's worth of entertainment.

Whats hot and whats not

YAY :-) :-) :-)

* Panera Bread's veggie friendly menu - You can actually have breakfast, lunch and dinner and there. The rotating soup menu gives you a reason for repeat visits

* AMC cantera charging 5 bucks a ticket for all shows before 12:00 noon - its a great way to kill a boring afternoon and you can actually feel good about having fun at the movies without burning the bank

* Beyonce's deja vu - I dont really get the tune of this song, but she sings her lungs out, and plus sister looks and sounds totally fabulous

NAY :-( :-( :-(

* Cell phone users who do not use the "silent" or "meeting" feature in their workplace; And they are the same boors that download flamboyant ring tones..so all day, you are forced to listen to these pesky little things sing non stop (and the proud owner is not even in the office)

* There is a time for everything- however, people start talking about or promoting things too early, waayy to early. Case in point, thanksgiving is not even over yet, i have barely had one cup of pumpkin spice latte, and suddenly, Starbucks is displaying christmas colors in their stores and even on their cups and serving eggnog lattes and ginger bread. The midterm elections are just over, Nancy Pelosi has not even installed her new drapes yet, and people are already talking about the 2008 presidential elections. So, in essence, washington is ALWAYS in an election mode. The people trying to get their names on the primary ballots are mostly senators. So, when are they ever going to get time to say, pass laws?

So is this fate?

Check out the two links below. They are related news stories and genuinely scary -

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15759622/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15254176/

Reminds me of the Final destination movies..

So ok, i said i was going to blog everyday? I guess i need to define what "everyday" means. Because, for me, a week rushes by in a second. One day its monday morning, and suddenly its friday. It seems like this year just started, and suddenly, its going to be december. Where did summer and fall go and why is it winter already?

Hot and happenin...

Whats HOT !!!

* Podcasts rock!!!! More on this in my next blog. Its like a whole new world that i have discovered

* Justin Timberlake sure brings SEXY BACK!!!

* The first woman speaker of the US congress - Despite every effort to demonize the stylish 66 year old grandmother (ooooo she looked scary on 60 minutes?!!!! gimme a break!). She won, and won big!!! and her drapes shopping did not go waste!

Whats NOT!!!!

* The terrible regressive storyline in the Godfather (now titled Varalaaru). When will Thamizh cinema directors wake up and get out of their stone age mentality????

Back to Blogging

Ok..here it is...a grand new revival of my blog!!!!! The regular readers of my past blogs know my routine by now - i'll blog like theres no tomorrow, and then i'll disappear forever. If you know me, you also know what my old excuses are - too much work, not enough time etc etc etc.....

I want to blog again. There are so many fun little things that happen in my life, and its wonderful to share it with people - family, friends, and strangers alike. I promise - at least one post per day (if not more). I look forward to your comments, and even your contributions (as guest columnists in my blog!)