Searching for Sugar Man

I learned about this documentary just before this year's Oscars. It was about a musician who despite such a profound music, did not hit the big time and folded into the unknown.

But such was the power of his music, he gained fame in the repressed Apartheid era of South Africa. The youth of the day picked the music up without knowing much about the musician behind it, and it took the effort of a couple of music writers to trace him up using the powers of early internet.

So, Sixto Rodriquez was rediscovered from the unknown and he became an overnight sensation, at least in South Africa. And this sweet journey was documented with such passion into this wonderful short movie by a couple of Swedish documentary maker, Searching for Sugar Man.

An insight into this fascinating man, who even today remained through and humble, undeterred by this overdue-found fame. I caught this movie last night on the Sundance Channel. It was an independent documentary movie at its best, and fully deserved its Oscar and Bafta awards which they won. Highly recommended. And I've surely found my Sugar Man.

Smurfing Good Time

The second instalment of the Smutf movie was released on Hari Raya. And with the visitors and all, we didn't get to watch it until the evening of second day of Raya. It was worth the wait as again. The movie was better than I expected.

All the main characters were back, although the story concentrated more on a few of the central characters as well as the development of the human family dynamics. Not much story of the Smurf village itself, mote on the human side this time. And mainly about Smurfette.

Rumour had it, the third instalment was already in the planning, to be released in 2015, but with a new character lending the voice of Papa Smurf. The current voice actor passed away in April. At the ripe old age of 87.

For the movie, we actually watched it at Signature Gardens, and there was hardly any crowd. Straight forward parking and a breeze of a drive into Gardens. Wish that it was like this on all our movie nights.

Definitely a recommended movie to watch for the family. Not such a surprise hit as Wreck-It Ralph, but fun none the less. And also not much of a laugh-a-minute as Despicable Me 2. My boys enjoyed it though. And that was the main thing.

Despicable Me 2

We really had a great time watching Despicable Me 2 last night. We planned to watch it earlier but didn't have the time. We ended up catching up a late show, and did raise some eyebrows from the passersby who thought that the boys skipped school. That could sometime be awkward when their timetable and holidays were slightly different from normal school.

The movie was a really funny affair, taking off from where the first movie left off. Many funny moments at the expense of the Minions. By the time the boys left the cinema, they were already plotting to get their hands on those little critters. The question was, where could we get them. I knew McDonald's had some as part of their meal.

Checking out the trailers before taking his seatThe theatre was finally open for seatingI would definitely recommend this movie to those with small children. Great fun and the storyline was simple and children would definitely enjoy it. Sweet ending as well, but not as sweet as my unexpected favourite in the past year, Wreck-It Ralph.

Next movie would be The Smurf 2, which would hit the cinema on Hari Raya.

Pacific Rim

When I was young, one of the more famous TV series was a Japanese cartoon depicting man-operated huge machine fighting against monster trying to create havoc. Most of the time, these monsters came from the sea. Godzilla and the likes. There was always the fight between good versus evil and the good always triumphant whatever the odds.

So, when I learned that a movie along similar line, Pacific Rim was being released, I was keen. It was out a few days back, so after the ward round this morning, I stopped by Pavilion and purchased the afternoon show.

Quite a good movie actually, but you have to enter the theatre with minimal expectations. The acting was average, the plot was predictable, the chemistry between the two main characters to out in kindly, non-existant. And the stakes, I was expecting it to be higher, but in the end, it was nothing more than just a popcorn summer movie - mind you I was fasting, so no popcorn for me.

The effects and sound was as you'd expect, mind-blowing. The plot could have been more intricate as I remember from the cartoons, the story was a lot heavier. Even from back then.

Would I recommend this movie? Definitely for male 40 something with memories of old Japanese cartoon series. If you remember Captain Future, this movie was definitely for you. This was not a movie you bring your girlfriend to on a first date!

Battleship Ella Ella

The boys finished their homework early tonight and Irfan especially wanted to watch a movie. He flipped the channel around, and eventually we ended up watching "Battleship". A big budget movie amwhich reminded me of a typical Michael Bay offering. Full of explosions and melodrama.

But the boys seemed to like the missiles and spaceships and aliens and more explosions. Cracking stuff. Before long, Idlan started singing Umbrella. He recognised Rihanna from the movie, before making spaceships and battleships using his Lego block. The room ended up in a mess as usual. Not a pretty sight!