Jay On The Go

Despite being an agnostic, I spent major part of my school years at a Catholic high school. While I came across some wonderful nuns but felt sorry for them that they were wasting their lives for an imaginary God . Sadly, some of these nuns were apparently so sexually frustrated that they took their frustrations out on students. The best way to describe is to simply call it torture of kids in the name of discipline. That is why the behavior Sister Aloysius Beauvier ( Meryl Streep ) did not surprise me at all. Either she is just sick of her life or hates the Catholic Church for mistreating its female staff that she decides to bring down parish priest Father Flynn (who had a very high coolness factor and played by Philip Seymour Hoffman). I guess she engages in everything that I would expect the Bible to not allow but she is so enraged at her circumstances that she does it anyway. Sister James (played by Amy Adams) as a young nun watches in horror what really should not be happeni...

Over the years I have learned that it is perfectly safe to watch a Steve Martin movie for good laughs. Yep, I am talking about falling off the couch laughs and this film provides them in plenty. Actually, Steve Martin is as his very best as Inspector Jacques Clouseau who has been asked to investigate the death of French soccer team coach and disappearance of the Pink Panther diamond. In his quest for the killers with the help of Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno and you might recall him from The Da Vinci Code ), he must make a fool of himself at every point (after all he has been set up to fail by police chief Dreyfus played by Kevin Kline), including making a complete mess on his first trip to New York City , where he gets arrested at the JFK Airport . In the process of his investigations, he must also try to get information out of Beyonce (who plays Xania, a pop singer who was dating the coach). Strongly recommended for Steve Martin fans and comedy lovers.

Many people are reluctant to admit it, but religions are simply great businesses . As we have seen, religions have used principles of business more effectively than corporations do and they do a much better job of keeping their customer base loyal . To do that, they need an issue, and religions have learned that hatred is a better business model than love. No surprise then that homophobia has been a winning strategy for a long time. Milk follows the life of Harvey Milk, first openly elected gay official in the United States. Undoubtedly gays and lesbians have made remarkable progress in gaining some rights since the 70s, when Milk was campaigning for equal rights for them, but what has not changed is the message of hate coming from homophobes . The logic for discrimination is unchanged and watching this movie is like watching the fight in California today in which Mormons and Evangelicals are making the same arguments for bigotry as they did 30 years ago. Strongly recomm...

What I have learned over the years is that if you are looking for pure entertainment and laughs, Jim Carrey is a pretty good bet (movies that I recommend are The Truman Show, Fun With Dick and Jane, Bruce Almighty, Me, Myself and Irene, Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura: The Pet Detective, The Mask, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Earth Girls Are Easy). That is exactly how it turns out with Yes Man. Most of us have the problem that we can't say No when we really need to and keep getting into trouble trying to be civil, polite, and pleasant. Carl Allen (played by Carrey) has the other problem: not being able to say yes, until a friend convinces him to attend a talk by a motivational speaker Terrence Bundley (played by Terence Stamp) who helps people to discover the possibilities in life by saying Yes more often. Carl gets the message a bit jumbled up and says yes to everything. Disaster is bound to happen as probably Gandhi realized when he tried to experiment with truth. As always, ...

I chose to watch Australia because I consider Nicole Kidman to be a very fine actress, I love the Wolverine and the X-men franchise with Hugh Jackman, and I know so little about Australia . It is a great movie and I truly enjoyed it but I can understand why some people may not like it so much. It is set against the background of Second World War and the movie runs at an extremely slow pace chronicling the adventures of an English lady on a ranch in the middle of nowhere in Australia . Contrary to what one would expect, Lady Sarah Ashley not only runs the ranch effectively but chooses to live permanently in the country. I must mention some remarkable acting by Brandon Walters as the young Aboriginal boy Nullah who keeps the whole story together. In summary, if you like a movie with a plot involving a war , romance , group rivalry, and race relations , you will love it.

I love to watch animation films and it took me a while to get to " Kung Fu Panda " but I am glad I did. It is an excellent movie that you can watch with your family. The plot is intriguing and the visual effects are remarkable. Obviously, there is a powerful underlying message that is important to kids as well as adults. What I got from the movie is that there really is no magical power or secret to success (I am obviously excluding being born to rich and/or powerful parents ) other than believing in yourself and doing the hard work. Po (Jack Black) is a panda who leads a mundane life as a family owned restaurant worker but making noodles is definitely not what he wants to do his whole life. What he really wants to do is to be kungfu master. By a stroke of good luck, he is selected to be the Dragon Warrior (the best in kung fu) who must fight Tai Lung (Dustin Hoffman) to protect the people of the Valley of Peace. For a food- addicted , overweight panda, the journey ...

Here are some simple rules for life: Never join a religion that denies you chocolate , or for that matter, simple pleasures like food , unless you eat so much that you end with a health emergency . Never support the integration of church and state. It is always a dangerous mix regardless of how politicians and church leaders may want to help each other out to screw the people . Always enjoy what you have. On your death bed, you will not regret what you did, but would surely regret all those places that you did not visit or the time that you did not spend with your family or the things that you did not try. Chocolat is a great movie for anyone who likes chocolate or enjoyed "Like Water For Chocolate." Vianne (Juliette Binoche) and daughter Anouk (Victoire Thivisol) show up in a tiny French village, where the main square appears to be literally just as big as my backyard (it is important to understand this because it shows how small the minds of the residents were). Via...

I always enjoyed Steve Carell on The Daily Show but when I watched him for the first time in "The 40 Year Old Virgin," I was disappointed. The humor was lame and the plot was weak despite some good acting by Carell. Then I had a chance to watch "Little Miss Sunshine" and I realized that if the plot was right, Carell could be at his best. I have been a big fan of Anne Hathaway since I saw her in " The Devil Wears Prada ." In "Get Smart" movie, Carell and Hathaway are both agents (Maxwell Smart and Agent 99) for a fictitious intelligence agency. The two go on a mission together to Russia to find out how KAOS, a terrorist organization , was getting nuclear weapons. There is a lot of action-filled comedy and eventually Smart is suspected to be a double-agent. He proves that he is not a double agent by preventing the explosion of a bomb at a concert in Los Angeles attended by the president. If you are looking for spy-thriller , this is not the...

If you want to role off your chair because you are laughing so hard then this film is for review. Obviously, as I suggested while reviewing The Da Vinci Code , you should have a sense of humor and be able to distinguish fact from fiction. You should also not be offended by toilet humor or jokes that are simply not appropriate for anyone other than a fictional character called Borat. The film (the full name is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) is in some ways a satire of American life (it is hard to say if any of the things about Kazakhstan are true) but in many other ways just a great way to laugh on ourselves. The movie proceeds as the adventures in the United States of Borat (supposedly a journalist , but in reality those of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who in real life speaks with a perfect British accent ) who along with a colleague is exploring America and is recording the adventure for a documentary. The movie is es...

Warning: If you are one of those morons who have a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction, do not read this review and definitely movies are not for you -- go pull some weeds in your backyard. And if you are still reading, you are probably a smart person who has the knowledge and intelligence to enjoy fiction while continuing to use facts in your life for their useful purpose. If you know Dan Brown (I like his books to read on the beach or on a long flight ), you will know that he is a master of fiction writing. He uses real institutions (like NASA or the National Security Agency) and combines real and imaginary events to create a book that is very engaging. That is exactly what happens in The Da Vinci Code. While I am no Catholic or even Christian , I do have enormous respect for Jesus Christ and The Pope , and as even a 4-year old will tell you, there is nothing real about a movie other than moving images and background sounds. The Plot is very complicated and will give y...

We love the idea of watching movies as a family but it is rather sad that so many family movies have way too much violence. I wonder if these movies can actually be made in two versions: one for adults and then an edited version for the kids. While this is a great movie, we thought that parts of the movie could be scary for young kids - so I suggest that the parents watch it first and then decide how to prepare their kids for it and how to watch with them. They will love it but some of the horror is rather unexpected. Alan Parrish (played by Robin Williams) finds a board game (Jumanji) and decides to play it with a friend Sarah Whittle without really knowing what it was. Very soon unexpected things happen and without warning Alan disappears into thin air and Sarah is chased out of the house by scary looking bats. 26 years later, two other kids in the same house (Judy Shepherd played by Kirsten Dunst and her brother Peter played by Bradley Pierce) play the same game after they fin...

I became a fan of Aitana Sanchez Gijon after watching her in Femme de Chambre du Titanic and that was the sole reason I chose to watch Boca a Boca (Mouth to Mouth). It stars Javier Bardem (who plays the role of Victor Ventura, a struggling actor) who takes a job as a phone sex operator to pay his bills before he appears for a casting call for a Hollywood movie . He ends up answering a phone call from a plastic surgeon (Bill or Ricardo played by Josep Maria Flotats) who is a down-low man (people like Ted Haggard who are supposedly happily married to a woman but are secretly gay ) and in his desperate attempt to make as much money as possible, he makes Bill think that they are in love. But Victor is actually in love with Bill's wife Amanda (played by Aitana Sanchez Gijon) who sleeps with him to take revenge on her husband . The plot gets complicated after that and I will not give you any more details but you have to wait till the end to figure out who was trying to kill who ...

Several months ago I had watched a documentary on the The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. By interviewing a few ex-employees and with the use of very limited publicly available information, the producers had tried to put together a story about the operations and the security there. However, I am sure that like the movie Air Force One , they must have gotten it only partly right. No visitors are permitted in the building. The documentary said that only once did a few members of Congress and media personnel were allowed to go in. No one from this movie team ever stepped inside Fort Knox or even its vicinity (actually that part of the film was not even shot in the US). Of course, one of the things that I remember from the documentary was the narrator saying that apart from being part of the plots in books and movies, the most remarkable movie that was based on penetrating the Fort Knox security was the "Goldfinger." So when the opportunity came to ...

If you are a parent of a teenager , please do watch " Dillo con parole mie " (marketed as "Ginger and Cinnamon" to English speakers). We know that virginity pledge or not, most Americans will lose their virginity in their teens. We might as well help them do it responsibly and safely. But no, the movie is not just about a teenager's desperate attempts to do it just for the heck of it. There is a more complex plot involving her aunt Stefania. Stefania (played by Stefania Montorsi) has just broken up with her boyfriend Andrea (played by Giampaolo Morelli) when her teenager niece Megghy (Martina Merlino) shows up after lying to her classmates and family about where she was going. She suggests that they both take a trip to the "Isle of Love" in Greece. Among all the cute boys crawling on the planet looking for the same thing, Megghy ends up with Andrea, who also is taking a trip after the breakup to concentrate on his hobby of drawing. Megghy gets ...

When I watched Wisdom (Starring Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore, it is the story of a modern-day Robin Hood who robs banks to help poor Americans ), I remember how the two main characters are being chased by cops as they are about to cross into Canada. While you know that they are criminals and broke the law, you also know that they helped a lot of people. You almost wish that they will not be caught. Sadly enough, they do get caught and killed. In "Heaven" though, the two actors are not caught and do manage to escape. The movie "Heaven" reminds one of " Spanglish " in some ways because the characters speak two languages (English and Italian ), which to me is a far better alternative than the ridiculous manner in which the characters in " Memoirs of Geisha " speak. The movie begins with Philippa Paccard (played by the always-brilliant Cate Blanchett ), an English teacher in Italy , who plants a bomb to kill a drug lord. Unfortunately, four inn...

I had never seen a Danish movie before and it took me a while to figure out where the movie was based since the characters talk (in Danish and Swedish) so much about going to Rome. But that was just a small thing. The whole movie is even more intriguing and incomprehensible at times. "Reconstruction" is a psychological drama involving a mature woman , adultery , and mind-bending events. The plot is simple: A married woman (Aimee, played by Maria Bonnevie) in a sexless marriage to an always-busy writer August (played Krister Henriksson) gets attracted to a younger, passionate man (Alex, played by Nikolaj Lie Kaas) who sees great chemistry in her and has no hesitation in leaving her girlfriend (Simone, also played by Maria Bonnevie). But not everything is so simple and straightforward. Director Christoffer Boe has made a movie in which if you feel dizzy, consider that normal. It is hard to figure out what is real and what is just the imagination of the characters. For ...

If you have always "hated" Adam Sandler, I would have called you a friend prior to watching "Spanglish." Any time I got to watch him, I found him so juvenile, almost someone acting like an imbecile. This movie may not make you fall in love with him, but you will agree that a good actor becomes what the story and director wants him to be. In this movie, I have seen him act like an adult for the first time. I just hope that he gets to act in a few more good movies. "Spanglish" has a special meaning for me because, despite being with Lorena for over 10 years, my Spanish langauge abilities are dismal. While I do get by with my Spanglish, to have a meaningful conversation, I need someone to translate for me. In this film, however, Adam Sandler (John) and his wife Tea Leoni (Deborah) do pretty good managing a maid Flor Moreno (played by Paz Vega, who for some reasons, kept reminding me of Penelope Cruz ), who does not speak English at all. In no time, she a...

I have never understood the rationale for paying someone to chitchat with you. If I feel like talking to new people, there are so many avenues for doing so without spending a penny (except maybe paying for a drink or meal). My experience living in Japan , however, tells me that it is the norm in Japan. I have visited so many bars in Tokyo and Osaka with my ex-colleagues and friends where not only did you pay for your drinks, you also spent a fortune on a companion who does nothing more than pour drinks, giggle at your stupid jokes, and try to make you feel important. While geisha is supposedly an artist (neither a hostess nor a prostitute, though she can become a mistress in some cases), her more important role is to make a man feel what he aspires to be and what his wife may not find credible. For these reasons and to understand the world of geishas in Japan, the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" is a must watch. It might seem like a documentary on the life of a geisha, but ...

So often we take what others do for us for granted. While impolite, it is not so bad. What is really bad when we take for granted even when others risk their lives for us. Yes, police officers, firefighters, and women and men in the armed forces, risk their lives every day so that we can be safe. If you are one of those people who just think of firemen when there is a fire in your house, we strongly suggest that you watch Ladder 49. This is a very depressing movie; so don't plan on being entertained. In fact if it were not for its movie stars, it could very well be categorized as a documentary about the life of Jack Morrison (played by Joaquin Phoenix) as a firefighter. After starting his career as a firefighter, Morrison takes on the job of search rescue because he wants it, despite being warned about its dangers by his boss and mentor Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and his wife, Linda (Jacinda Barrett). The film traces Morrison's life in flashbacks as he lies unconscious ...

Can you imagine a movie called " Scen t of a Woman" with no women? Indeed, there is a pivotal sequence in the movie in which Al Pacino takes beautiful Gabrielle Anwar to the dance floor at the Waldorf Astoria for an impromptu tango performance , but other than that it is a movie about men. I enjoyed watching this movie even more because it reminded me so much of my days at the Birla Public School in Pilani. Retired (and blind) Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (played by Al Pacino for which he got the Oscar) is a man with a very complex and powerful personality. When his daughter hires Charlie Simms (played by Chris O'Donnell, who is a student from a poor family at a prep school in New Hampshire) to take care of him over the Thanksgiving weekend , he is in for a roller-coaster ride. Within moments of the daughter leaving for a family reunion, Slade and Simms are on a plane to New York City . Slade's plan: stay at the Waldorf Astoria, eat at the Oak Room, dance and...