Film Mania

What Planet Are you from? (WPAYF), Vantage Point, Starsky & Hutch, Groundhog Day, The Weatherman, Thirakkatha (malayalam) - I've watched all these movies in the last 5 days. Add to it another travel documentary on Mexico, and a half of another movie - Chicken Run that I managed in the same last 5 days.

Either I'm nuts or I do not have any other job left now or both! But yes, I've been watching movie with a vengeance these days. As if there's no tomorrow; As if I want to run away from all the worldly worries and responsibilities; As if I want to become a film critic or a film director!

WPAYF was funny, Vantage point was engrossing, Starsky & Hutch was light & fun, The Weatherman was decently treated, but what stood out from the rest were - Groundhog Day & Thirakkatha.

Groundhog Day in its very own peculiarly funny way brought out a meaning - of not cribbing about the daily chores (stuck in a rut thingee), and being helpful to others. Very innovative way of dealing with this subject! No wonder it figures in the top 200 of all time best movies (imdb).

Moving on to Thirakkatha (script in Malayalam), the script is the clear winner in this movie. I really don't know how the Malayalam film industry manages to get solid stories/scripts. This movie Thirakkatha manages to pull off a wonder with a small budget, great story, good treatment and small-time actors (except Prithviraj - this guy is there in all the good movies!). To borrow another critic's words - It is a charming film that's plainly life-affirming without being overly pretentious or markedly melodramatic. A must watch if you can follow a little bit of malayalam or if you can read the subtitles.