Movie Junction

Just a couple of facts to begin: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. health-care industry employs about fourteen million people (in 2008), of which 15% are registered nurses. In addition, physicians and surgeons form only 3.6% of the total health-care workforce. Of course, this meager number of surgeons and physicians in the U.S. means that writers saw this as a market opportunity to draft new medical shows that explore personal interrelationships from the perspective of experienced and prospective doctors. Now we now have an overcrowded list of urban medical shows such as “ER,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scrubs,” “House, M.D.,” and “Nip/ Tuck” that depict the professional and personal lives of surgeons and physicians alike. Looking at the sheer number of medical shows on TV, one would think, “Do we need another one?” and our answer would probably be a resounding no. Up until now, there is an unexplained disparity why there are not many shows that depict the lives of the s...

“Ghajini” is a Bollywood movie released in December, 2008, in the U.S. (with English subtitles) and India. I invited my friend, Rajesh Subramaniam, who has watched both versions of movie in Hindi and Tamil languages. This review is for the Blu-ray edition of “Ghajini’” released in January, 2010. The Film According to Ranjan: In 1972, “Sholay” redefined the Bollywood action genre with its grim representation of a dusty Indian village and bandits. Critics hailed it as an Indian Western movie. However, since then the Bollywood action genre has lost its credibility with misdirected efforts. The 80’s saw a couple of good action flicks, but nothing that could redefine the genre. In 90’s, a new style of action movies developed in which lead actors developed their bodies as symbols of rebels out to wage war against their perpetrators. Two actors single-handedly created this parallel action genre:  Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt. Sunny Deol starred in movies like “Ghayal” (“Hur...

Modern car-racing movies such as the “Fast and the Furious” series and “Death Race,” while borrowing elements from modern Japanese car-racing movies and popular anime also indirectly pay tribute to George Miller’s cult classic “Mad Max” (1979) and to the original, popular TV series “Knight Rider” (1982). One movie that is missing from the list of popular car-racing movies, though, that has inspired other such movies in the genre is Mike Marvin’s “The Wraith” (1986). After seeing the cover of the DVD that shows a person dressed in a semi-black leather suit, standing in front of a black sports car, my memory was immediately refreshed with scenes from the “Knight Rider” series and “The Terminator.” The movie begins when Packard (Nick Cassavetes) and his gang force an innocent couple into a drag race. Packard’s gang control highways that pass through a nearby town, and anyone passing along these roads is asked to participate in a race. Soon, the gang is challenged by an un...

It is surprising to see that a movie like “Cabin Fever” has ended up so high on so many all-time top horror-movie lists. In fact, many critics have hailed it as one of the scariest movies of all time. I realize that experiencing a horror movie in terms of its “scary” attributes is rather a subjective exercise. However, in recent times, words like “gory” and “scary” have been frequently misused in the press and studio releases, all for marketing reasons. When I saw that “Cabin Fever” had been rated highly and endorsed by renowned critics and directors (as noted on the disc cover of this Blu-ray release), I was fully prepared to be terrified on my first viewing. However, the movie did not scare me as I had been expecting; nonetheless, I enjoyed it as a comedy satire. The story begins when a group of five teenagers--Paul (Rider Strong), Bert (James DeBello), Karen (Jordan Ladd), Marcy (Cerina Vincent), and Jeff (Joey Kern)--decide to camp out in an empty cabin deep in the wilderness. S...

Through a number of his films during the French New Wave Cinema  period (1958-1967), Jean-Luc Godard used his films as a medium to depict his real-life interrelationships, be it with women, cinema, or the political landscape, all intertwined in some form or another. After the miserable showing of “A Woman Is a Woman” (1961), a lot was expected from Godard’s “Contempt” (1963). As it turns out, upon its release “Contempt” became the seventh highest grosser in France that year, primarily owing to the effervescent presence of a beautiful blonde model, Brigitte Bardot. Based on the novel by Alberto Moravia, “Contempt” tells a simple tale of a married couple, Paul (Michel Piccoli) and Camille (Brigitte Bardot). Unhappy with Fritz Lang’s script (played by himself), an American producer, Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) hires Paul to write a screenplay for his movie, “The Odyssey.” While working on a script for “The Odyssey,” Camille for some reason falls out of love with Paul and starts...

I think it is fair to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a household name, be it as a Terminator or as a Governor of California. His name has always been associated with guns and swords, although in the later part of his career he experimented with comedy roles, with little success. “The Terminator” (1984) was an instant hit, and it gave its fans one of the most iconic images in Hollywood --the Terminator, clad in a black leather suit and riding a motorbike. The images of “The Terminator” and “Conan” are so deeply imprinted in our memory and culture that anytime we see these things, only one name instantly comes to mind: Schwarzenegger. “The Running Man” (1987) falls right between “The Terminator” and before “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) and “True Lies” (2004). “The Running Man” was a moderate hit upon its release and has gained something of a cult following since. Based on the novel by Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King), “The Running Man” is set in the near future, in 2019...

I think it is fair to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a household name, be it as a Terminator or as a Governor of California. His name has always been associated with guns and swords, although in the later part of his career he experimented with comedy roles, with little success. “The Terminator” (1984) was an instant hit, and it gave its fans one of the most iconic images in Hollywood--the Terminator, clad in a black leather suit and riding a motorbike. The images of “The Terminator” and “Conan” are so deeply imprinted in our memory and culture that anytime we see these things, only one name instantly comes to mind: Schwarzenegger. “The Running Man” (1987) falls right between “The Terminator” and before “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) and “True Lies” (2004). “The Running Man” was a moderate hit upon its release and has gained something of a cult following since. Based on the novel by Richard Bachman (a.k.a. Stephen King), “The Running Man” is set in the near future, in 2019, whe...

The origin of “The Ladykillers” (1955) is an interesting and well-known story. It is believed that the writer, William Rose, envisioned the entire movie in a dream. The following morning, Mr. Rose appeared at the Ealing Studios to present his thoughts on a screenplay for a prospective film. The producers got interested in the story with comedy at its core. Soon after, Alexander Mackendrick was signed to direct the movie. After having played eight different characters in another Ealing Studios comedy, “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1948), Sir Alec Guinness was an automatic choice to play the lead role of Professor Marcus. The story revolves around Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness) and his gang planning to stage a grand robbery. As a leader, Marcus has a gang consisting of four people – Harry (Peter Sellers), Major (Cecil Parker), One-Round (Danny Green), and Louis (Herbert Lom), who are helping him in his plans. Marcus rents an apartment from a sweet old lady, Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Joh...