As Good As It Gets (1997)

Now there could be only one person who would make the following introductions and still get away with it ~ "Carol the waitress meet Simon the fag". 😐 What! Ha ha ... 😂Get acquainted with Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) who has been labelled "a horror of a human being" and probably worse. A novelist living alone in upscale Manhattan, Melvin could be described as being uptight, obnoxious and stuck up. Apart from having an OCD, he is a germophobe too. Some of his many quirks include avoiding sidewalk cracks while schlepping on the busy pavements of NY, having breakfast at the same place, eating the same thing and at the very same table and with his own cutlery brought from home. As if that wasn't hard enough he insists on being served by Carol (Helen Hunt), a single mother of a child suffering from chronic asthma. Carol is the only waitress who can brave up and face the restaurant's most difficult patron.

Now Melvin's gay neighbor, Simon (Greg Kinnear), an artist by profession, is found robbed and severely injured, and until he recuperates it's Melvin who must care for his dog, Verdell - an adorable Brussels Grifon. But soon a surprised Melvin and an equally surprised Verdell are sharing some love and bacon and when Simon returns its difficult for Melvin to part with Verdell. Eventually, Melvin, an absolute angel, proves that there is a heart that beats under a cold exterior. Watch how the lives of these three charcters are gently intertwined. A beautiful tale of people from different strata of society, with equally difficult lives, all coming together to magically touch and transform the lives of the other.

 

After I first watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest"  I have adored Jack Nicholson ever since; proving his skills as an accomplished actor is the Academy award he won for the Best Actor in a lead role for this film way back in 1975. 👏

Madame Sousatzka (1988)

Madame Sousatzka (Shirley Maclaine) is a loner residing in a cluttered flat in London. She is a talented pianist and a tad bit eccentric and to most her life seems cloaked in a veil of mystery. As a teacher who comes highly recommended and sought after, she is pretty picky when it comes to choosing her students. She has but one condition - that none of her students should give public performances.
She soon has a new favorite - Manek Sen (Navin Chowdhury)  is as talented as they come. But the brilliant Manek is torn between his mother (Shabana Azmi) and his piano guru. Mrs. Sen, an Indian immigrant living in London, has a lot to prove to not only herself but to the world at large. She secretly harbors a desire that Manek performs at a concert. Throwing caution to the wind and going against Madame's wishes, she manages to convince Manek to do just that. But what will be the fallout of this?
I don't really know why I like this movie so much! I love Shirley Maclaine who plays this bright, colorful character who is always wafting on a cloud of perfume dressed in bright clothes, with crazy hair and makeup - a part played to perfection. Then there is Shabana Azmi who epitomizes and skillfully embraces all things Indian .. She is the perfect portrayal of a controlling mother, full of her Indian pride, pushiness and ingratiating mannerism, a role played with aplomb and skill. 👏
A great film!

Boyhood (2014)

Gosh I am at a loss for words! Kudos to director Richard Linklater for delivering a hero of all movies. After watching this film, I was instantly enamored. Such powerful story-telling and also enthralling was the fact that the movie took 12 years to make and the star, Ellar Coltrane who played Mason on whose life this whole story revolves, played his part from start to finish. Amazing! The numerous awards this movie took home is proof of its brilliance.

It was great to see Mason metamorphose from an insecure little boy to a strong and mature adult.

This film could speak to almost all of us. It's about the plight of the little people (my favorite word for children 😊)  and their little/huge challenges they face in their 'oh so important' formative years, personalities waiting to shapen, about single parents and the personal struggles of trying to raise confident and strong individuals, about making the right choices ... what's not to like, Right!

I super like! 👍

Incidentally I happened on this book ↗, a story about growing up in South Africa. Different but gripping nonetheless.

This is my new favorite ... A lovely soundtrack

The Yellow Bench!

It was a long time coming! Vacay time - the coconut trees, warm sun and wet sands beckoned. I was happy to leave behind the smog filled air, the cacophony of rush hour traffic and the pressure filled city life for a brief interlude with life on the beach.

On the long road trip, in the middle of nowhere, I sighted a bright yellow bench amidst the trees. I had to stop. I was struck by the solitude, the intense quiet broken by the song of birds and the quiet rustle of the leaves. I wanted to Buddhify and be lost in deep meditation. No network, the bane and boon of society these days, waiting to crash into the sanctitude. Oh what bliss!

Then I thought to myself, what is that bench doing here after all? I hadn't seen a bus for the entire distance so far, no humans either treading the dusty earth and civilization seemed far removed... The mystery continues ... But that bench I loved ... Yellow, sturdy and alone nestled in the lap of nature.

I had to move on and here I am writing about it and thinking about it!

My relaxation go to!

The sea in the evening

And by day

Some baked goodness with a Cosmopolitan ...

Dil Chahata Hain (2001)

This movie I totally get! 👍 It's fun, vibrant and a movie that perfectly depicts young friendship today. This film was the breakthrough in cinema that India was looking for that, successfully bringing out the latent talents of stalwarts like Aamir and his costars in the film.

The storyline is simple and yet ...
Three staunch friends with distinct personalities share a bond that runs deep, keeping things interesting, unexpected and fun.
Of the three, Sid (Akshaye Khanna) is the quiet and mature one and is a gifted, professional artist. He falls in love with an older divorcee (Dimple Khanna) who is an alcoholic and the mother of  a girl as old as Sid himself. And this is so taboo!
Akash (Aamir Khan) is the impish and the son of a rich businessman. Carefree and not too encumbered with the burden of the family business, Akash has no immediate plans for his education or his future, for that matter. This is certainly a cause for worry for his family. Oh! And Akash definitely doesn't believe in love.
Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) can find love wherever he looks and it seems to be waiting to embrace him at every corner. His wild experiences with his love interests always has his friends in a stitch. But can Sameer find love just when he needs to settle down?
These friends have a falling out and soon each is charting their own path down life's road. But as tragedy strikes it is friendship that comes to the rescue in staying afloat.
                          Beautiful musical tracks by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy! 

Baton Baton Mein (1979)

How could I have taken so long to write about a movie of one of my favorite stars, Amol Palekar ❤ - Amol of  the Golmaal, Naram Garam, Choti Si Baat, Rajnigandha, Chitchor, Rang Birangi fame! Gosh ... His films are light and funny, being simply complicated 😉  and is the result of fine film making and story telling accompanied by fun music and song. Whew!!! I think I got it all ... 😟

Baton Baton Mein revolves around two unmarried Goans whose parents are on the lookout for the perfect match. Now what Indian mother wouldn't want her daughter to be married to someone with a permanent job and earning a "good salary"! (If you like "Pride and Prejudice", like I do, you would be able to relate to this). Mrs. Rosie Pereira (Pearl Padamsee) is one such mother! Nancy (Tina Munim), her spinster daughter, takes the 9:10 am train daily to Churchgate where she works in a private firm. Nancy is pretty but wears an air of aloofness - she suffers from some trust issues after her heart was broken in a previous relationship and that is the reason she is not actively looking for Mr. Right, just yet!
Travelling on the same train is Tony Braganza (Amol Palekar), a cartoonist in his spare time who loves drawing caricatures of his fellow passengers. Tom, Nancy's uncle who almost always accompanies her on the train ride, introduces Nancy to Tony and soon they're good friends. Now there is a sparkle in Rosie's eyes as she sees Tony as the eligible bachelor who has met all the criteria for marriage. But he is in no hurry to pop the question. Why is it taking Tony so long ..
I love this movie for how retro it feels and how the memories come rushing back - memories of a time when things seemed less complicated, the marginally less crowded streets and beach fronts of Mumbai, the time of the cha cha and jazz, simple home parties.... Do you get where I'm going with this?
I adore this number.

The film is hilarious and absolutely fun!

August: Osage County (2013)

After "Little Miss Sunshine", this is my second movie on dysfunctional families. And boy do I love it! Don't get me wrong now but it is a kindred subject.The powerful star cast was an attraction as well - Merly Streep, Julia Roberts, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin ... to name only a few.  
So what draws the flock to the Weston Family home in Osage County in the sweltering heat of August?
Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) is caustic and mean-spirited blaming it all on a difficult childhood. She is battling mouth cancer and to make matters worse she is getting increasingly dependent on her pain medication with resultant mood-swings and mounting paranoia. Violet is a mother of three daughters two of whom chose to move to other states. When Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard), Violet's husband dies in an accident, the news of his death brings the family together to pay their respects. And so the drama unfolds.
Barbara Weston (Julia Roberts) arrives from Colorado with her estranged husband Bill (Ewan McGregor) and her teenaged daughter Jean (Abigail Breslin). Their lives are barely hanging by a thread and this reunion could be the nail in the coffin of their relationship.
Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) is the daughter who was always around and having always got the raw end of the deal she feels she has earned the right to finally build a life. She has fallen in love with their first cousin Charles Aiken (Benedict Cumberbatch) and has managed to keep it to herself thus far. But one little secret could send her relationships tottering to the edge.
Karen Weston (Juliette Lewis) believes she has finally found love in Steve Heidebrecht (Dermot Mulroney) who is a pot smoker and someone of objectionable character.

As the family gathers around the dinner table and the accusations start flying ...
Here is a pot brimming with unbridled talent waiting to spill over and envelope you in its deep essence. You gotta watch this film and the brilliant performances delivered by some of Hollywood's best.