Salute the Knight

What happens when you give the keys of a superhero franchise into the hands of an outstanding director who finds talented screenwriters either employing himself or his protege' brother and get the best actors to play his characters on screen. You get a movie where Amazing Happens (borrowed from the NBA) !
To me, the Batman really started with Batman Begins. Nothing against Tim Burton, but i didnt really enjoy the pre-Nolan Batman movies. They were good but they were like those recipes which taste delicious, yet you still feel there is something missing, mmm, may be cinnamon, may be salt, may be pepper, you can't narrow it down and still you know it could have been better.

Enough said already about the movie, so i will keep it short. I found a perfect handshake between developing the characters and keeping the pace of the movie in TDK. Just listen to the meticulously written dialogues and you would know how carefully they've written the script.

Finally a movie, where we get to see the full blown villain, Joker, the man behind the painted face with special love for anarchy and chaos. Agreed he doesn't tell any jokes but he makes you laugh with his wisecracks and plain insanity. The agent of chaos is written remarkably by the Nolans and portrayed perfectly by Heath Ledger far better than the Riddler of Jim Carrey. I especially loved his confrontations with Batman - "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.... You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you because you are just too much fun !"
"Why do you want to kill me?" "Kill you ! What will i do without you. Go back to ripping off mob dealers? ..... You .. you complete me". Equally good were his arguement with the officer "Do you wanna know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the little emotions...... So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did .. Do you want to know which of them are cowards? " or his "Why so serious?" tagline explanation of his scars. He's really got into the character of Joker and once again, credit also goes to the script.

If Batman Begins was written for Bruce Wayne and Christian Bale, then TDK without a doubt is written for Joker and Heath. To be fair to Bale, he's done a great job showcasing the Batman who wants to turn Gotham into the hands of the "White Knight" Harvey Dent, or turn himself in to stop Joker's innocent killing and give up his suit for the love of the city. He wants to see the picture of Gotham that doesn't need Batman, but it is still not there yet, so he remains a dark knight, who like a guardian angel protects the city, takes blame for someone else to keep the hope of the city alive, the shawdow the city needs and yet loves to hate. The movie also brings out technical wizzardry of Batman and also touches the point that a completely human superhero has his limits.

Aaron Eckhart couldn't have been better in his "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain " portrayal of Harvey Dent.

The stunts are just brilliant and you get to see every penny's worth on the screen. An occasional shot of perky humor, outstanding action sequences and great chemistry between some of the greatest big screen performers keep the movie racing and the clock ticking for 2.5 hours without you noticing.

Lost and Delirious (2001)

I was flipping through Youtube and stumbled over this movie. Surprisingly the whole movie is out there.

Lost and Delirious is a love story, set in a posh girls boarding school. Mary (Mischa Barton) is the 'new girl' who joins her senior roommates Paulie (Piper Perabo) and Tori (Jessica Pare'). As she is trying to get over the death of her mother and getting used to life in the new place, she discovers her roommates are actually lovers. Surprised at first, she silently approves of their love playing her tacit part. No one else knows about it and the love is blossoming through the lives of the adolescent and adorable young couple. Everything seems well when Tori's sister Allison accidentally finds her in bed with Paulie. Before she could relay this to their orthodox parents and hell cut loose, Tori decides to break up with Paulie lying to Allison that Paulie has a crush on her and she slipped into her bed and Tori has nothing to do with it. That she is attracted to guys and in very much in love with Jake, from neighboring school. Paulie on the other hand, never denies to be in love with Tori, and she begins to try win her back, fending off the constant taunts of her peers. Tori, though still in love with Paulie is in a constant denial of her feelings, just to look 'normal'. It gets worse when Paulie gets a mail stating they have found her Mom but she doesn't want to reveal her identity. Paulie's desperate ways to win the only person to love her, making a scene in the canteen, in the class, in the library then challenging Jake for duel reach their limit and the tragic end dawns.

It artfully captures the essence of falling in love at the adolescent age. Paulie's not giving up her love over Tori's denial, Paulie's insane actions over Tori's exaggerated praise of her boyfriend, and Mary's trying to snap Paulie out of it while discovering her coming of age are portrayed beautifully. The movie underlines you can't control when and with whom you fall in love and love is 'just is'. It captures all the hues of a love story, starting with the freshness of love at tender age, the holding hands and singing, the lying in each others' arms, the melancholy when your love walks out on you, the buckling of one of the lovers under family and social pressure, the sense of competition and determination to win your love back. All this has been brought through vibrant colors, great photography and outstanding performance by the lead characters. The movie is slow and sometimes predictable but it doesn't fail to touch a part of you.

Piper Perabo outright steals the show . Isn't she as gorgeous as she's a great actor ! Too bad she doesn't do much mainstream cinema. Equally stunning Jessica Pare' has done justice to her portrayal of the lover unable to pick between what she wants over what others would say. Mischa Barton has done well too.

The movie clearly goes beyond the lesbian undertones and what we get is the masterpiece of a marvelous and sad love story.

Wisdom through Scrubs

In one of the past season episodes of Scrubs, Turk and Carla are planning to have a baby. Carla observes the tightrope walk Dr Cox and Jordan had to go thru due to their kid while she also discovers she can't manage kids by herself and they are just a big nuisance. Dr Cox observes her caught up between the two worlds of the desire to have baby and the fears of not being able to raise it. And comes this from Dr Cox - "When you have yours, you'll know you had the courage to be a parent all along".

Last weekend, i spoke with one of my friends who became mom 3 months back. And after the usual Qs about her 3 month old, i threw the question - how does it feel to have the kid, to completely focus all the attention to him, to think about the baby before yourself and your husband, to bend everything to fit the new part of you into your life. She instantly said "M, when you become a parent, it just happens. It takes nothing special beyond that".

So the point is, sitcoms can be worth something, despite being so unreal or plain fake !

Another point is, it's not only about welcoming a baby into your life. It can be applied to anything new coming to your life, even your wedding, or quitting your job in pursuit of your dream.
hmmm ...