Serendipity(2001)

A nice little romantic comedy starring two charismatic leads. It is in fact the chemistry between stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale that makes this film as watchable as it is. They are great in this and that allows you to ignore some silly plot developments.

John Cusack is irresistible as Jonathan in this divine romance farce. The following cast is phenomenal. One of the good movies in romantic genre, Serendipity will inspire the viewer to believe in destiny. Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) meet in Bloomingdales when they both want to purchase the same pair of gloves. The attraction is instant and they spend a romantic evening cavorting around New York City together. At the end of the evening John wants to see her again, but Sara decides that if it is fate that they should be together, they will find each other again. She drives away in a cab and he never sees her again. Well, almost never.

Years go by and both of them are about to be married, but each still has this nagging feeling that the other was his/her one true love. Of course fate conspires to bring them back together (after about a dozen near misses) as they each simultaneously undertake one last attempt to find one another just before they get married to someone else.

The fate angle is plowed mercilessly, almost to the point of nausea, but the skits are funny and the chemistry between Cusack and Beckinsale is enchanting. Cusack is an expert at playing the tortured and neurotic lover, but here he is more haunted and forlorn than dysfunctional.

Kate Beckinsale rocketed from obscurity to prominence with her performance in `Pearl Harbor' and proves to be a wonderful romantic lead in this film. The film also benefits from outstanding comedic support from Jeremy Piven as Jonathan's best friend and devoted Sara sleuth. Piven's zany comedy proves to be the perfect complement to Cusack's wry despondency. Eugene Levy is a scream as the eccentric Bloomingdales salesman, who blackmails Jonathan into buying half the store to give him information from Sara's charge account.

Serendipity is a lovely light-hearted comedy which will be enjoyed by everyone, especially if you're into romantic comedies. The good thing with the movie is, it's not that predictable like many other movies out there. Okay, fine we all know that at the end of the movie, Sara and Jonathan will get together, but the way they do is quite different then you may expect. The movie has loads of little twists and turns all the way, which makes the movie good and it keeps you interested almost all the way through.

My Rating  –  7/10

Notting Hill (1999)

It was a pleasant, simple and mostly implausible romantic comedy about a famous fictional actress and the man that loves her. A romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts is not normally my sort of thing but sometimes, a good girlie film such as "Notting Hill" can be just what the doctor ordered.

"Notting Hill" is one of those movies for people who appreciate the particular British sense of humor. British humor is a full plate, let's face it. This movie, when it comes to humor, romance and simplicity, is at the same  level  of  "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Bridget Jones Diary", which makes it a good alternative to these movies. Although it contains some vocabulary of discussable taste, it isn't profane at all and doesn't contain dirty humor which makes this a much more intelligent movie.

The characters here are interesting and humorous, without being great (in fact they deliver an ordinary performance especially Julia Roberts). The supporting characters, on the other hand, have more depth than I expected. Unfortunately, it's not their story. Nevertheless, the actor who portrays Spike is who makes this movie so hilarious. Spike is so goofy, so silly and so humorous - congratulations to the actor (Rhys Ifans) who played him, 'cause he did a perfect job for this kind of role.

I really didn't like the overuse of pop music in the film, especially the overblown music used to bookend the film. It felt a little tacked on or inorganic to the soul of the film and almost seems to try to "sell" the scene as emotionally related to the piece of selected music.

In terms of romantic comedy, this film basically gets the touchstones right. There are quirky, but fleshed out supporting characters. Silly scenarios are quite good. It's cute enough to be smile-making funny, albeit nothing laugh-out-loud.  It's likable.

My Rating - 7/10

21 grams (2003)

The title might mislead the casual non-viewer. One might be led to believe the title is in reference to drugs. In fact, it is a reference to what is purported to be the amount of weight that a person loses when they die. Fitting enough, because this movie seems to be all about death, both literal and spiritual.

Snapshots of tragedy: the lives of three people--a wife and mother of two, a dying man in need of a new heart, and an ex-con turned counselor at a religious center-intersect after a tragic car accident. The film consists of episodes in their lives (before and after the accident) which are shuffled about, with scene after dramatic scene served up-one may assume-in random order; yet there's a method to this editing madness, and the film's narrative actually feels much more linear in retrospect.

In masterpiece movies like Once Upon a Time in America, Reservoir Dogs, and even Memento, the scrambled story structure had a purpose, adding appropriate twists and turns for the audience. 21 Grams has that non-linear basis to it too, and sometimes it works for the audience to react. But I think there would be a lot more power to how these characters' fates and tragedies unfold if it was told linearly from start to finish. In many moments in the film I found myself knowing a little too much before a particular scene unfolded, or I found myself guessing about something that I didn't need to as one of the points of non-linear storytelling is answers first, questions later. It wasn't an aspect that made the film bad, yet the stock that writer and director put into this structure over interlocking the stories in order, or perhaps telling each story separately, is the film's only drawback.

The acting by Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts was over the top. All three put in first-class performances to tell a story that was intense from start to finish. I do recommend the movie, but I should warn you: don't expect anything light and fluffy.

My Rating - 8/10

Spy Game (2001)

This tale has Robert Redford, as a soon to retire CIA agent who must defy his superiors and stage a daring rescue of his former protégé (Brad Pitt, who spends most of the film getting tortured in his prison cell). Really this is Redford's show and he proves that he still has the charisma to carry a film on his aging shoulders.

The storyline is somewhat predictable, but the ways that Redford outsmarts his CIA handlers is still entertaining.

Robert Redford and Brad Pitt are well cast, and work well together, even though they seem quite out of place in the 1975 sequence in flashback (Redford looks far too old, and Pitt would have been only 12 at the time!). I really appreciate the way that the story was told in flashback, as it slows the pace down while drawing you much deeper into the plot. "Spy Game" is sure to go down as a classic modern thriller.

Great study piece for the workings of the CIA and the compromises they do with the devil for the greater good. A good case in point at how people working there are at the mercy of the top CIA insiders. If you like these subject matters, this movie is for you. Not really into this stuff? Then if you are a big fan of these hunks Redford and Pitt, you will be satisfied too!

My Rating- 7/10