...and as promised

I can now strike off The Virgin Suicides and Rang De Basanti off my list.

About the Oscar nominated movies, I must say I'm leaning towards Munich. Though Spielberg does push the envelope a lot with several visuals enforcing 'messages' at various points in the film, there are several very visually appealing scenes and the pace of the film never slackens. Spielberg though is most effective while directing the commercially appealing scenes, as when a phone bomb setup to kill one person might find an unintended victim.

About Brokeback Mountain, I've read on many blogs the perils of attempting to watch such a movie in India. I think that can be extended to any situation where one is watching the movie with other Indians. People sniggered and passed comments throughout the movie until 'the scene', during which there was suddenly pin drop silence. For my part, the movie was much more engaging and effective post Jack and Ennis' first tryst on Brokeback Mountain. The attraction between them seemed just a tad sudden and not the kind that would keep Jack pining for months as he did. Or maybe that was the point. Maybe it was something impulsive and sudden and a love that deepened over time. Directed wonderfully, with restraint and love. Ang Lee clearly loved these characters. It takes a really good movie, based on love between two men, to not have you think, for the last hour and a bit, about the fact that it is a gay cowboy movie.

Will end with a bit about Sofia Coppola. Despite all the pans about her acting ability, or lack thereof, this woman can write and she sure as hell can direct. Her camera captures not just the characters and their surroundings, but infuses those surroundings with a life and a set of emotions all its own. This fact, so crucial to the success of Lost in Translation, where it is imperative for the audience to relate to the characters feeling out of place, is also very evident in her directorial debut feature 'The Virgin Suicides'.
Its the story of the 5 incredibly beautiful Lisbon sisters, whose actions give the film its title, seen through the eyes of one of the boys in the neighbourhood, in 70s America. Backed by a wonderful, as usual, soundtrack, this is a haunting, involving film that leaves you, like it does many of the characters in the film, wondering "Why?". One of the criticisms about Sofia Coppola's films is that they aren't about anything. While this maybe true, they are about a particular period or moment in time and observe characters' arcs and lives based on their action or reactions within that moment. And somewhere within the 90 minute movies she makes, within the dialogues, there is often a great deal of truth.
Her next film, her 3rd overall and 2nd with Kirsten Dunst, is a period piece about Mary Antoinette. I'm looking forward to that one.

RDB thoughts in the next post.

Update:
Since I'm comparing Oscar movies from the past year, I might as well give my thoughts on Crash. The main complaint against this movie is that the screenplay is unashamedly manipulative, the characters are all single dimensional stereotypes and only exist to serve the purpose of the moral of story.
When I watch movies, I am usually willing to give a movie certain amount of leeway if it is effective in communicating what it wants to. In terms of giving its message, Crash is extremely effective. Though I will not comment on whether the message of Crash is still relevant, I will say that it is very smartly written, very well acted (with Terence Howard and Matt Dillon in particular) and extremely engaging, if you give the screenplay a chance.
While I don't like comparing movies from different genres, I did find Crash more appealing than Brokeback (there have been others with the same opinion) and I do believe that Hollywood shouldn't have to award the Oscar to the movie that is the most ambitious or the one that tries more or is the most brave.
When lists are later made, a few years from now, I don't believe that Crash will be on the list of least deserving movies to win Oscar, as Gladiator, Ordinary People, Dances with Wolves and Chicago sometimes are.