Today is Billy Wilder’s birthday. If Wilder’s name rings a bell it is probably because you may have seen one of his well-crafted movies. A writer, director and producer Wilder made some of the most memorable movies in Hollywood and along the way collected a clutch of Oscars. Wilder was an influential figure and an invisible mentor to filmmakers around the world, including Indian filmmakers.

Still wondering about Wilder? Surely, you remember this memorable scene with Marilyn Monroe from The Seven Year Itch?

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Woody & Buzz in Toy Story3

Where do I begin with Pixar’s Toy Story 3?  I connected with the movie at so many levels. Many years from now we will look back and probably label Toy Story 3 as a master piece and a film that captured a world in transition from a analog (traditional) to a digital lifestyle. The world of toys is a fast fading one for many people, at least in the developed world.

Here is a list in no particular order of why Toy Story 3 appealed to me. First, Toy Story 3 is a well executed film with a well developed plot and characters. The introduction of Barbie and Ken in the film is a master stroke. (Watch out for the disco number and the one by Gypsy Kings) Two, the movie highlights the end of innocence and freedom of childhood. While watching the  movie become acutely aware of the passage of time, which we take for granted. Three, Toy Story 3 paints a picture of a fast fading cultural activity: playing with toys. These days our fascination is with electronic toys, gaming consoles and digital devices like iPad. Playing with stuffed animals is passe. Four, the movie tells the story from the perspective of toys and their universe and their belief that “All good toys have gone to new owners.” You know that is not what happens to all good toys in real life. This movie definitely tugs at your heart strings, and you find yourself rooting for the toys. Finally, the movie is in 3D, which adds to the whole visual experience of watching it.

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Solitary Man

What was the last Michael Douglas movie you saw? Ah! ha! struggling to come up with a name right? That is because Douglas has acted in just a handful of films in the last few years. But, Douglas is back this summer with two movies: Solitary Man and the much-awaited sequel to Wall Street (1987) where he essayed the role of Gordon Gekko. Remember that famous Gekko credo: Greed is good…Greed is right…Greed works…

In Solitary Man Douglas delivers a great performance as a flawed and complicated person. And you know Douglas is a master at playing flawed and complicated characters. Brian Koppelman wrote Solitary Man with Douglas in mind and I suspect Koppelman might have been influenced by Gekko in turn. By the way you can follow Koppelman on Twitter.

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Samim “Sam” Rizvi became the first Indian to participate in Race Across American. A physically challenging test for an athelete this gruelling  race involves bicyclists who cover 3,000 miles in 12 days traveling through 14 American states. Often, they sleep for an hour everyday in order to complete the race.

I spoke to Sam Rizvi on the eve of Race Across America (audio interview) and he sounded super excited and confident. After 3 days of racingSamm succumbed to influenza and sadly had to cut short his participating. He is busy recovering from this unexpected health bump but is all pumped up about participating in Race Across America next year.

Congrats to Sam (video link) for showing up and participating in the race. Here is wishing him speedy recovery and all the best for next year’s race. We all can take a leaf out of his book and learn how to think like a winner.

Jaden Smith

You might want to keep tabs and create a Google alert for Jaden Smith (11), who has double the charisma and screen presence of his parents Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Or, if you like you can choose to follow Jaden on MySpace. Why am I so gung-ho about Jaden? He appears to have the right attitude, talent and above all that engaging, elusive quality known as charisma. Plus, Jaden can sing, dance and act as he demonstrates in his latest film Karate Kid.  Jaden collaborated with the current teenage music idol Justin Bieber for the song: Never Say Never featured in Karate Kid.

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Raajneeti. There is a powerful ring to that term. Raajneeti, which means politics or statesmanship is the name of the latest movie produced, directed and written by Prakash Jha. A talented storyteller Jha has carved out a niche for himself in Bollywood or Hindi cinema for making movies with powerful social themes like he did in Mrityudand or Apaharan. Women play a pivotal role in many of his films and Raajneeti is no exception.

A few days ago I happened to see a 99 second trailer of Rajneeti and was impressed with what I saw.

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