The Qantas in-flight entertainment system is excellent & I had a large variety of movies to watch on my long flight from Mumbai to Sydney.
First was “Borat - Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit of Glorious Nation of Kazakistan” – while it was funny at certain places (the Kazakh National Anthem had me laughing out loud) and definitely a novel story, I still didn’t find it worth all the fuss & the attention. It was crass and at many points borderline pornographic. In fact I fast-forwarded an entire scene which was seemingly unending even on fast-fwd. On the whole I was not laughing & not impressed.
Next up was “Stranger than Fiction” – and this one I just loved! Will Farrel was so matured in this role unlike the other asinine characters I’ve usually seen him playing. It also stars Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifa & Emma Thompson (who was nothing short of simply superb). The story itself was so unusually different that it had me quite at attention the whole time. And at the end of the day I’m a succor for romantic comedies! Definitely has my thumbs-up for a movie worth watching.
After this I ate my dinner (lamb & veges) & then had a long debate with myself whether I should read / watch TV / catch another movie or sleep. Sleep though as you can see wasn’t high on my priority list & by this time everyone else was sleeping so I didn’t feel like disturbing them with my night light. Between TV & the movies, I chose the movie.
Finally, after more self-debate, this time about which movie I should chose, decided on “The Interpreter”, a drama starring Nicole Kidman & Sean Penn. The story starts out with a clear enough plot – it’s a story about an interpreter in the United Nations (Kidman) who overhears a plot to assassinate the President of another country. A Secret Service Agent (Penn) is then put in charge of the safety of that President. A simple enough plot one might be fooled into thinking at the beginning of the story.
I was very impressed though by the way the story developed both the characters of Kidman & Penn. By the end of the movie, the story was very different than it had been in the beginning. Very interesting stuff indeed; 2 thumbs-up!
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March 27th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
yeah Borat was funny in places…I too loved the national anthem!
But otherwise it bordered on the crass, and I didn’t watch it till the end…sorta disgusting
March 28th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Can’t wait for Mr Bean on Holiday!
March 28th, 2007 at 7:48 am
‘The Interpreter’ is a very good movie like you’ve pointed out. I have to catch up on ‘Stranger than fiction’.
March 28th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Kazakhstan greatest country in the world!
All other countries are run by little girls!
March 28th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
I think i might the never ending scene even on fast forward and i have to agree with you that they could have done without that scene.
Interpreter was a good movie. i havent seen the other one. So how long was the flight and did you have a layover some other place or was it a direct flight.
March 29th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
lol.. Ali G’s borat movie is not just stupid and crass, it’s totally incorrect. I have been to KZ. Am here at the moment in fact and there could be nothing farther than the truth. To give a quick heads up - It’s more developed than India!!
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:03 am
@ IC:
I think I’m gonna see it really soon, it’s running here in Australia!
@ Shriram: Yes do, it’s a lovely film, very different concept.
@ Mario:
@ Tulan: The movie could have done without lots of scenes. The more I think about it the more gross it is.
@ Roshan: Hey! Been a while! I’m sure everything about the movie was totally incorrect. The KZ govt. should sue him
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:57 am
Hi Mel, Sydney is a lovely place; the people are very friendly. Did you visit the koala park?
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Hey…have a wonderful vacation..
and do update your travelogue…its been some time since you’ve done that..
April 4th, 2007 at 6:12 am
@ Ashish:
Saw your comment there! Guess this one is defunct now, eh 
?