Weekend viewing

Massachusetts is in mourning after last night's shocker. Not being a football fan, I did not catch the Superbowl. Instead, I watched 1 Anthony Hopkins classic, 1 Shammi Kapoor movie and 1 absolutely wonderful, slice-of-life comedy. So...the weekend began with Remains of the Day. I always think of Anthony Hopkins as Dr.Hannibal Lecter. And he was absolutely chilling. Well, now I'll also remember him as Stevens the butler. For whom duty came above everything. There's the superb scene where Emma Thompson discovers a romance novel he's hiding under his fingers. The one sign that he has feelings. He is sentimental. He wants romance. Just not badly enough. Not badly enough to comfort a sobbing Thompson after she reveals that she is going to marry someone else (inspite of being in love with him). He enters her room to talk to her, and ends up asking her to make sure something is polished! Its a beautiful, evocative, underplayed drama. Loved it.

I was grating carrots and wanted something fun to watch. So I watched An Evening in Paris. Its one of the few Shammi movies with less than awesomely unbelievable music. Except for the exceedingly supreme Akele Akele Kahaan jaa Rahe ho the rest of the songs are okey-dokey. Movie-wise..Sharmila Tagore looks good. Pran is evil as usual. David is the good retainer. Shammi plays the charming hero...as usual. Its a less-than-entertaining caper. But when you're grating carrots...you can watch anything. Even Aaj ka Goondaraj. Maybe even Oceans 13.(which is hands down the worst movie I have ever had the misfortune of watching in a theatre. And I even watched Anil Kapoor's Rajkumar in a theatre!!)

And the piece de resistance was Juno. A dark,screwball comedy about a common affliction-teenage pregnancy, affecting an unusual girl with a weird name-Juno. Ellen Page deservedly gets an Oscar nomination for playing a smart (but not smart enough to not get pregnant!) 16 year old with a heart. She can't bear to abort the fetus because she learns it has fingernails. So she finds adoptive parents for her unborn child. For most of the movie she comes across as mature. Except for a few scenes. One where she gets mad at Mark (the prospective father) when he reveals he doesn't want a child. "But you're old", she fumes before storming away. (As if being old means you must want babies!) And when she gets jealous that her boyfriend is taking someone else to the prom, she has a little hissy fit. "I'm in a fatsuit I can't get out of!", she yells at him. But the movie is more than her stellar performance. Its about her super-supportive parents, her best friend who has a penchant for older men, her shy, but cute boyfriend who thinks she is THE best. Its about Vanessa, the desperate wannabe mom, played to desperate perfection by Jennifer Garner. And her rock music loving, cheap horror flick watching husband who bonds beautifully with Juno. The soundtrack is really unusual. And lovely. But really, the movie caught me at the very beginning. When the pharmacist tells a desperate Juno, that her"eggo is preggo". Its goofy, screwy, funny, upbeat and very watchable. So...much fun was had.