Arun Rajagopal

Weekender Movies in Muscat January 22, 2007

The long weekend was a blessing (Saturday was a holiday in Oman because of the advent of Muharram, the Islamic New Year). Finally cleaned up my home, two weeks after returning from India. Watched Tamil flick ‘Pokkiri’ at Star Cinema Ruwi for the third time. Vijay’s Pongal release ‘Pokkiri’ is a movie not to be missed, for the amazing screen presence of the ‘larger than life’ hero Vijay, who stars as a ruffian who is in fact an undercover cop. Songs are good to the ears. Directed and scripted by, surprise surprise, ace dancer Prabhu Deva, this flick promised to be a delight to Vijay fans who were let down by his last release ‘Aadhi’. Another one I went for was the rocking ‘Happy Feet’ at Ruwi Cinema. It is an amazing flick, never knew that every Penguin had a ‘heart song’ to woo a mate. Happy Feet is the story of Mumble ‘Happy Feet’, an Emperor Penguin in Antarctica who is probably the worst singer in the world – a deformity attributed to the fact that he was dropped as an egg by his father – but has a unique talent that eventually gets him thrown out of his community – his ability to tap dance. A dancing penguin is considered taboo – and Mumble has to leave his colony, when his tap-dancing is attributed to a fish shortage. Though it is an animated movie targeted at tiny tots, adults can surely watch ‘Happy Feet’ and appreciate it for its powerful message – that every one has a unique talent and one can always change the world by passionately pursuing that talent. A review on Wikipedia says that Happy Feet “astonishes,” it has brilliant choreography and orchestration, and is entertaining for younger viewers.

Also went for a supernatural mystery ‘The Illusionist’ at Ruwi Cinema again. Was so tired that actually dozed off in the deserted theatre. By using brilliant hues of browns and yellows, the movie sure did an amazing job of conveying how Vienna looked in the late 1800s. ‘Illusionist’ is simply the story of how Eisenheim, a famous illusionist uses an illusion to win his childhood love Sophie back from the clutches of Leopold, a ruthless crown prince. I’m now eagerly awaiting the release of Maniratnam’s ‘Guru’.

As a parting shot, here’s some trivia on Penguins…

– Not all penguins are found in the Antarctic. The Galapagos Penguin is found on the Galapagos Islands and has even been known to breed north of the Equator.

– Female Adelie penguins prostitute themselves as a means of collecting valuable stones that they use to help protect their nests.

– Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.

– When Penguin moms lose a chick, they sometimes attempt to steal another mother’s chick, usually unsuccessfully as other females in the vicinity assist the defending mother in keeping her chick.

– Penguins either waddle on their feet or slide on their bellies across the snow, a movement called “tobogganing”, which allows them to conserve energy and move relatively fast at the same time.

– The Linux mascot is a penguin named Tux. A penguin’s striking black and white plumage is often likened to a tuxedo suit and generates humorous remarks about the bird being “well dressed”.