Movie watching has become a passion since the last couple of years for me.And its not just English,Hindi or Malayalam movies I watch...strangely now I seem to enjoy even Korean,German,French movies...provided there are subtitles in English.The real joy of a movie,for me,lies after the act of watching the movie...its only then that I start researching the movie in the internet....the cast,crew,the plot,the whole feel of the movie as such.And strangely,somehow,I tend to remember each and every trivia associated with the movie I have watched and researched,although I find remembering the facts and figures of my own life and the people around me rather difficult.
Yesterday I watched two movies back to back......the rather violent but seriously juvenile '300'(this is the 3rd time I am watching this 1) and a rather boring but spiritually_uplifting_to_some_extent Franco Zeffirelli's 'Brother Sun Sister Moon' ,a biopic of St.Francis of Assisi(2nd time I am watching this one).Both are totally different genres united by a common thread of 'Bad acting' with a capital B.Apart from the acting,in 300 I just could not undertand why the actor who is playing King Leonidas always shouting.I mean,I do understand about the passion and machismo required in a war movie,but shouting throughout a 2 hour movie...what the crap ??? The other movie(its quite old,most you might not have heard about this one,i guess)is about one of my favourite saints..St.Francis of Assisi.It just felt too much sissy-like to me....potraying the innocence of a young Francesco is ok...but making him run through a valley full of flowers reminds me of those chiffon saree clad actresses in Hind movies...and that makes me cringe.
But I do realise,that even in the worst of the 2 hour movies you'll find those 2 minutes where you would emphatise with the characters.A point where you yourself will be sucked into the movie.And that,I beleive is what makes movie divine.300 has an awesome camera man,the fight sequences are like dance sequences in our movies...almost fluid,dynamic movements..and the movie is visually arresting.And offcourse 300 spartans fighting off a combined assault of 200000 lakh Persians is cool...u can draw parrallels of the movie with what is happening in the Far East...with talks of civilization clash and all...but to borrow the words from a movie critic "the movie's just too darned silly to withstand any ideological theorizing" :-) The other movie's positive was the lush photography and some great music composed by the Scottish musician Donovan .The movie infact tries to draw parralels with St.Francis' life and the hippie movement of the 70's.The title track was quite uplifting,atleast to me....it goes something like this,

"Brother sun and sister moon,
I seldom see you, i can't hear your tune;
Preoccupied with selfish misery.

Brother wind and sister air,
Open my eyes to visions pure and fair,
That i might see the glories around me.

I am god's creature, of Him i am part,
I feel his love awakening my heart.

Brother sun and sister moon,
Often i see you, i can hear your tune;
So much in love with all that i survey.

I am god's creature, of Him i am part,
I feel His love awakening my heart."

Hope u guys do find time to see the glory that surrounds you and may the good God's love awaken in your hearts too.Chow.God Bless.