DERAILED

Jennifer Aniston’s first post break-up movie is aptly called “Derailed” because it is indeed a disaster.

A film noir with a hidden twist somewhere in the middle (but for an anxious moviegoer like this writer, you can very clearly see it and smell it the moment Aniston’s character starts getting scarce screen time), the film trudges along like an ordinary innocent infidelity tale until a rapist barges into a hotel tryst and rapes the woman instead.

Clive Owen, who was perfect in “Closer” stars as Charles Shine, an Ad executive who, one fine day, runs into the seductive banker Lucinda Williams, played against type by the usually sweet Aniston, and they start an illicit affair that would threaten their respective marriages.

Charles saw in Lucinda a temporary escape, a diversion, from the stress in having to care for a type 1 diabetic daughter and having to cope with the loss of a big account. He starts lying to his wife and one night, in the heat of passion, invites Lucinda to a seedy hotel just outside the city not knowing that the impulsive act would send him to a nightmarish struggle against a rapist turned blackmailer.

It was a good setup. And on paper, it may even have been suspenseful. On screen, though, it’s like watching a play being performed for a hundredth time. You come to see the performers, even though, you know very well how the story ends.

And so it is the performances of the two main protagonists that help save the movie from becoming a total failure.

Owen is a complete opposite from the cunning romantic in “Closer” to a conflicted family man unable to know how to control the potentially destructive situation he has put himself in. Aniston, on the other hand, was able to perfectly blend his sweet persona with that of the femme fatale character she portrays.

Perfectly titled, “Derailed” is a disaster movie that wasn’t meant to be. I’d rather have waited for Aniston’s movie with current beau, Vince Vaughn, than to have shelled out nine bucks for this early thanksgiving turkey.

March of the Penguins

The makers of the French Documentary "March of the Penguins" should start practicing their own march along the red carpets of winter when the awards season kick-in because their movie, surely, should reap all possible awards there is out there for this genre.

Painstakingly filmed in the harshest region in the world, the movie is more than interesting it is involving. It is more than educational it is enlightening. It is more than entertainment it is serious filmmaking!

Delicately shot for nearly a year in below freezing temperatures of the Antarctic, the crew of Luc Jacquet filmed the Emperor Penguins on their annual trek across the continent to return to the place where they were born to participate in an age-old ritual of courtship and mating. In the process, the crew was able to document a peculiar role-reversal in parenting. After giving birth, the females leave her egg in the care of the male as she takes to the ocean to find food for the offspring when the egg hatches.

This movie has a very simple story to tell but the incredible images show otherwise. The perilous journeys the penguins take to secure their offspring are quite heartwarming and so is their dedication to one another as they struggle over their natural adversaries.

The care and commitment they show towards their chosen partners are remarkable. They remain monogamous for the entire season!

Many more observations and revelations can be gleaned from this marvelous film and I leave it to the viewer to discover them for themselves. This movie is a beauty. It is simple yet it invokes a very powerful theme, that of love, dedication, responsibility, family and the grand succession of generations. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

The Dukes of Hazzards

I thought watching the "Dukes of Hazzards" would be hazardous given the mostly negative reviews it is getting from critics.

Surprisingly, I was entertained out of my wits – to some extent, that is.

The cousins, Bo, Luke and Daisy try to prevent the corrupt Boss Hogg from converting their small lovely town of Hazzard into a mining site. That in essence is the plot, or for that matter the entire story.

However, the film still works because of the engaging performances turned in by the lead stars. Jessica Simpson’s acting debut is as revealing as the skimpy dresses she wears in the movie. She was good for the role and I enjoyed her performance. Johnny Knoxville is less obnoxious and offensive here than in his previous turns. Ditto with Sean William Scott.

I have no memories of the TV version of this movie so my judgment will be based on how I perceive it cinematically. I found myself, however, confused with the movie's setting. I thought it is set in modern times but the characters seem to act as if they were in the seventies.

For an afternoon without nothing much to do, this movie should be just good enough to while that boredom away but expect nothing much, although, the car chases are amazing and Daisy Duke’s apparel should cool you enough.