Arun Rajagopal

Movies in Muscat: Charlotte’s Web, The Naked Gun Trilogy April 21, 2007

Charlotte’s Web (English)
Screen: Ruwi Cinema
Starring: Dakota Fanning
Voices by: Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric The Entertainer, Robert Redford

I watched Charlotte’s Web at Ruwi Cinema yesterday. Fantastic movie, and had me cheering and in tears at the same time. Charlotte’s Web is a live-action / computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E.B. White.

The movie is about the friendship between Charlotte the barn spider and Wilbur the pig. Born as a runt, Wilbur is saved from early death by a little girl named Fern (Dakota Fanning), who takes care of the piglet. However as he grows, he is taken into the Zuckerman farm where he is soon to become dinner. Charlotte groups other farm animals in the barn and saves his life, by convincing the world that Wilbur is a special pig and doesn’t deserve to be slaughtered. How she does that is simply magical – and you have to see the movie to find that out.

Charlotte’s Web tells us that friendships can make life not only beautiful but also enriching and convinces us to look to ‘ordinary things’ for extraordinary experiences. The movie enjoys an outstanding 78% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and is a definite must-watch. And yes, Dakota Fanning simply dazzles with her joie de vivre.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear & The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (English)
On DVD
Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson
The Naked Gun trilogy hilariously chronicles the adventures of bumbling police detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). The trilogy is replete with parodies of detective film clichés, featuring stereotypical characters, settings, and situations. Naked Gun movies abound in spoofs and gags, especially those related to current events and contemporary pop culture.Among the three, I would rate The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad as the cream de la crème of the lot. Leslie Nielsen is outstanding – everything goes wrong around him – and our man takes it upon himself to set things right. Pick up a Naked Gun flick if you are in some dire need of laughter pills – You will love it its off-the-wall, slapstick comedy, never-ending visual and verbal puns and gags.