Movie Review: Rachel Getting Married, A wedding

The title of the movie is catchy enough, unlike the plot which revolves around Kim not Rachel, a recovering addict and alcoholic who spends a trying weekend at home surrounded by her dysfunctional family on tenterhooks, seems familiar enough doesn’t it? 

Kim (Anne Hathaway's)is out of rehab to attend her sister Rachel's (Rosemarie Dewitt) wedding. The family is made up of a doting, understandably over-protective father, a seemingly absent mother, a frustrated almost jealous sister, a dead brother and Kim herself who is supposedly remorseful for her behavior yet who does not show this by her actions. Her remorse seems limited to words and her actions are reckless and hence comes across as narcissistic. The entire movie seems to span a couple of days and this included two rehab sessions complete with the serenity prayer! 

There are some sparks of brilliance especially in the conversations between Kim and Rachel however there is too much chaos all throughout, non-stop singing, dancing, music and toasting! Some parts are extremely sleep inducing, especially the toast at the rehearsal dinner, if so many people gave such long winded toasts at weddings there would be no guests left!

I don’t know why the wedding had an Indian theme. The bride and bridesmaids were dressed in Saris with a rather odd sweater top kind of a blouse, the groom wore a sherwani, paneer was one of the dishes so I'm assuming it was Indian food, an elephant with a chariot adorned the wedding cake and to top it all Kim compares herself to Shiva, the destroyer! Maybe it was some multicultural, the world is flat kind of theme since the wedding was inter-racial although there was never a mention of race which was noteworthy, and then were Asians and South American dancers too! The camera work with the continuous panning of shots makes the movie almost seem like a home video. 

Despite the flaws, the movie would have been a good watch if the conversations were complete, if we'd seen more of the mother daughter relationship which seemed pivotal to the plot and if there was some closure and the unresolved rage was addressed. Anne Hathaway was nominated for the best Actress at the Academy awards for this performance.

Movie Review: In Bruges, A Belgian Vacation

I must admit, I'd not heard of Bruges until this movie. Bruges is panoramic amidst stoned streets, beautiful canals and Flemish/medieval architecture. The movie starts with Ray and Ken who have made Bruges their stop on the request ( more like a demand I guess!) of their boss , for reasons unknown to them. 

While Ray (Colin Farrell) cribs about how Bruges would not impress him even if it was the last place on earth or something to that effect, Ken is literally breathing in the sights and has decided to make the best of this stop all the while contemplating the reason for this particular vacation. Along the way, we get to know about their job as hitmen and about an unfortunate accident that occurred in their previous job. The movie is about the consequences of that accident and the effect it has on their lives. 

The introduction of Ralph Fiennes as Harry, their boss happens about three quarters into the movie. Ralph is like a moth to a character like Harry and it is equally not surprising that he could pull off a Maid in Manhattan. We go through the rather odd pairing of Ray & Ken, as roommates, co-workers and genuine friends who take care of each other despite the odds. We have to dwell on the complex mindset of Ray, Ken and Harry and also the midget, the drug dealing girl, her ex, the pregnant owner of the bed & breakfast all amidst some truly amazing shots of Bruges. 

A few facts
1. In Bruges is not a comedy movie by any standards even though the trailers seemed to convey that bit, there certainly are a few hilarious conversations but not enough to qualify and there's way too many gross death scenes!
2. Colin Farrell is of Irish origin, however it just seems so very weird hearing him speak in that strong Irish accent
3. Belgium they said is famous for Chocolates and notorious for Child Abuse
4. Alcoves is the right word, Nooks and Crannies is good too :) Some good acting, deep conversation, strong characters despite some extreme(profanity, gross/violent scenes) make this an okay watch.

A few good movies

The next few posts are movie reviews (I'm not sure how many at this point), I've wanted to post them before the Oscars but you know what. Anyway, I'll try not to spoil the movie for you, if you have not watched it, however I do not guarantee that the reviews will be spoiler free. 
And yes, to those who asked the lone coconut tree has a story, just no one who can write it yet!

The lone coconut tree...

A new world record!

Valentine's day is an international conspiracy that has come to light thanks to the saviors of our moral values! (those that can't be named) and is allegedly perpetrated by almost 2.2 billion people worldwide. That number is staggering by any realm of imagination and to come to light in the aftermath of a transformation of a *once* peaceful town now turning into national news material, makes me want to use the term 'unfathomable'!

Well, the above was my literal translation of this news story! warns against...