High Fashion in Kollywood

I watched Aadhavan the other day, and I think it is the first time Kollywood has truly embraced high culture... Take a look!

Striking red top, matching scarf and boots.

Sem-checkered shirt, blue scarf, tight jeans and black jacket.

Fedora hat, brown striped suit and blue scarf.

Blue sleeveless top with matching skin tight checkers long pants.

Body-fit blue shirt with white trousers and belt.

White-sleeved blue shirt with tight jeans and polka dot pink scarf.

Striped-sleeved green shirt with matching blue scarf and dotty jeans.

White cowboy hat with white quarter-sleeved sleeved checkers shirt and cowboy jeans.

Silver and grey shirt and pants with matching polka dot scarf.

And what in the world is this? Stripper? Gosh!!!

Dubbing... an essential part of Kollywood

When I was in Primary Three or something, watching weekend-morning cartoons was my life. Tamil movies was not really my area of interest since there are not much Tamil programmes for kids. Mom told me that normal Tamil kids watch Tamil movies for entertainment, so Tamil cartoons would end up as flops. Okay....

But then I still watched some Tamil movies with my parents. It did not take me long to realize that all the heroins had the same voice! What????????? Then mom gave this bombshell. "Aya, you see this girls all? So fair, right? They all not Tamilachi la, yar. All Hindi people. They cannot speak Tamil la. So they move their lips only. Somebody else speak for them. They act only, look beautiful, wear sexy mexy clothes, dance nicely... enough already."

Dubbing you say? It sounded pretty easy back then. But now, come to think of it, how can the cast concentrate on getting into the character and all that stuff when crew members shout lines for the actresses to parrot along.

It is unfair to say a heroin is an accomplished actress no matter how many awards she receive or the large following of fans she might have. Their effort is only perhaps slightly more than half the actual performance seen on screen since the dubbing artiste has to laugh, cry, yell for the actresses!

1) Here is a list of Tamil movie actress who cannot speak a word of Tamil and rely completely on dubbing artistes.

- Genelia D'Souza

- Bhoomika Chawla

- Shriya Saran

- Laila

- Sonali Bendre

- Malika Kapoor

- Tamanah Bhatia

- Reema Sen

- Sadha

- Sameera Reddy (Telugu, but cannot speak Tamil)

- Anushka Shetty (Telugu, but cannot speak Tamil)

2) And these are the actresses who can speak Tamil well, but not fluently enough to dub for themselves...

- Simran Bagga

- Jyothika Saravanan

- Bhavana

- Aishwarya Rai

- Nayanthara

- Gopika

- Shobana

- Shilpa Shetty

- Namitha

- Naghma

- Tabu

- Manisha Koirala

- Devyani

3) These are the few actresses who speak Tamil fluently and dub for themselves...

- Asin (Malayalee, but speaks Tamil well)

- Meera Jasmine (Malayalee, but speaks Tamil well)

- Navya Nair (Malayalee, but speaks Tamil well)

- Sneha (Telugu by birth, but uses her voice mostly like in Pirivom Sandipom)

- Pooja Umashankar (used her own voice in Naan Kadavul, since the role was award-worthy)

- Priyamani (would have not won her National Award, if she used a dubbing artiste)

- Esha Deol (Mani Ratnam had her dub for herself)

- Madhoo (I think)

4) This list consists of 'special case' actresses, for they are Tamilians by birth, but are not fluent in the language itself because of studying in a English-medium Convent school, or being raised outside Tamil Nadu.

- Trisha Krishnan (she dubbed for herself in Aayithu Ezhuthu only)

5) Some top Tamil actress of Tamilian origin have also used dubbing artistes for no specific reason...

- Meena

- Saranya

- Kushboo (reportedly was the first actress to give credit to her dubbing artiste, Anuradha)

Now here is how dubbing is done in for Tamil movies....

By now you guys should already know that Tamil movies are not shot with synchronous sound because old fashioned cameras are still used in India that does not record sound. Therefore, the cast's speech has to be recorded separately in dubbing studios, where they watch they repeat the same dialogue as they watch their own performance. Dubbing gives Tamil filmmakers the advantage of casting actors who don't speak the language! This shows us that even though Tamil movies may have grand sets and stunning visuals, low technology is applied in production.

Some popular dubbing artistes include:

a) Uma Bharani

- Meena in Avvai Shanmugi

- Saranya in Nayagan

* but both actress can speak Tamil very well!!!!!!!

b) KR Anuradha

- Khusboo in Mannan

c) Kaniha

- Sadha in Anniyan

- Shriya Saran in Sivaji

d) Deepa Venkat

- Simran in Kanathil Muthamithal

- Sneha in Pandi

e) Chinmayi

- Bhoomika in Silindru Oru Kaadhal

- Tanisha in Unnale Unnale

- Padmipriya in Sattham Podathey

- Trisha in Vinaythandi Varuvaaya

* for Sattham Podathey, director Vasanth had hero Prithiviraj dub his voice twice to get rid of the latter's Mallu accent, but he did not do the same with his heroin even though she speaks Tamil fairly well!!!!!!!! Gender discrimination!!!!!!!!!!

f) Saritha

- Nagma in Kaadhalan

e) Revathi

- Kajol in Minsaru Kanavu

- Tabu in Kandukondain Kandukondain

f) Banupriya

- Urmila Matondhkar in Indian

- Jayasudha in Alaipayuthey

g) Jayashree

- Geetha in Azhagan

- Jyothika in Pachaikili Muthacharam

h) Suhaishini Mani Ratnam

- Shobana in Thalapathi

i) Rohini

- Jyothika in Veetayaadu Vilaiyaadu

- Aishwarya Rai in Raavanan

* Aish trained with a professional to brush up on her Tamil so she could dub her own voice. Despite all the hype, director Mani Ratnam opted for Rohini to dub Aish's voice. Sob..sob..

j) DJ Suchitra

- Shriya Saran in Kanthaswamy

* Probably one of the worst dubbing in film history. Notice how Suchi's voice and Shriya's lip movement were not in sync most of the time!!!! Gosh... Shriya should just move to Hollywood since she speaks great American accented English like in The Other Side of The Line, which was okay, and Cooking With Stella.

Not known to many, but some actors also require dubbing services. Famous director Gautham Menon has dubbed for the villains of his movies - Jeevan in Kaakha Kaakha and Milind Soman in Pachaikili Muthacharam.

During the shooting of Minsara Kanavu, Prabhu Deva had a serious throat infection and it was Vikram who dubbed for him. Vikram also dubbed for Prabhu Deva and Abbas in the film V.I.P. Dubbing for two actors in the same movie! Wow!!!

Vikram then later also dubbed for Abbas in Kandukondein Kandukondein. Ravi Devnarayanan dubbed for Abbas in Minnale and also for Sham in Iyarkai. I think Abbas only dubbed for himself in Hey Ram where all the actors, even Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee dubbed their own voices despite knowing very little Tamil!

Dubbing artistes in the Tamil film industry claim they are only paid 1% of the salary the actors they dub for, despite contributing to almost half of the character's total performance! These dubbing artistes also say that speaking for long hours in different tones strain their vocal chords. Dubbing artiste S. Jayageetha dubbed for Shriya Reddy in Timiru, for which the latter received much critical acclaim. The dubbing artiste however had to wait for almost a moth until she got her voice back and was ready to return to work! Sad story....

Iconic Looks that Influenced Us...

To my Indian readers, I'm sure you all (the good ones only ok?) join the temple processions during any thiruvela at the local temple near you. Don't judge me, I enjoy this kind of festivals. But to me, they are not the best time to pray and have your personal time with God. Why? Well, there is the noise, the crowd and the Aiyoyo factor. To me, my personal time with The Almighty is some place where there is lots of peace and quiet. Friday nights at temple is a good idea. There is not much crowd despite being an auspicious time. But wait! What Aiyoyo factor? I'll explain in a jiffy.

Do you realize some people take the opportunity to show-off during this times. Some women would throw all the jewelry they own on themselves and waltz away, hoping people would notice and envy them. Then there are the youngsters. Always dancing away to the stupid ganna and rap music they play in thanir pandals. But what distract me most from prayers is the style they spot. Haven't their parents taught them that wearing black to temple is not encouraged?

You cannot deny that their sense of style is very much influenced by that of the Tamil actors in their latest films. Here, we shall discuss some of the most iconic looks from the Tamil movie industry.

1) Aalavandhan

According to an uncle from Klang (nest for Indian gangsters), hehehehehe... the bold Aalavandhan look was a trend when the movie was first released.

The bold head, and the Lady Gaga shades. What is it that makes them wanna don it?

2) Remo (Anniyan)

I was in Form Three when Anniyan was released. The Indian boys at school were all crazy over the Remo look. Who knew messy blonde hair and blue contact lenses suited dark brown skin? My Bahasa Malaysia teacher noticed this trend and commented, "Apalah gaya zaman ni? Mata biru, rambut karat... tapi kulit hitam!!! Cikgu tak fahamlah! Nak kata orang India tak, sebab rambut ngan mata warna pelik. Nak kata orang putih lagilah tak!!! Kulit hitam!!!"

This look was quite popular. Each time at a temple festival, where there was a chance to show off to other Indians that despite coming from a middle-class background and yet being able to afford the most costliest looks, many goons would don this look. Aiyoyo....

Though the style may suit Vikram because professional stylists worked on his look, but can the average Joe pull it off??

3) Nepali look

This Korean-inspired Nepali look is my personal favourite, but not really popular among the local Indian youth. Maybe it is difficult to appreciate this kind of look since Indians are generally not into Korean pop culture. With Bharath's beaming facial expressions, some might even find this look making him look like an anime character more than a stylish, macho hero.

Korean inspired

Bharath can even go blonde if he wants to and still pull it off because of his light skin.

SIDE TRACK A BIT: Bharath is one of the handsomest young Tamil actors today. It is no wonder directors have experimented with various looks on him and they all look great.

The Ivy League look

The rugged look

The rock star look

4) Braids

This look is not so popular as well but some guys to don it as well. Maybe it is more expensive, or maybe it is not spotted by most stars. Whatever the case, this look seems to be the most rebellious! Or maybe its origins from Africa makes it less glamorous. I don't really know.

Besides Dhanush, I've almost never seen another Tamil actor try this look.

5) Bangs

Now, I tried this look back in Form Four. But I people had spotted my source of inspiration, making it seem totally unoriginal, and besides, it looked awkward thanks to my large forehead... A friend tried this look - and another friend started calling him Sanjay Ram (with an American accent). This look is fashionable and also totally appropriate for official business and school-going guys.

Fashionable and smart

6) Six-pack

Now sexual beauty is no longer for the actress to work on. Actors too are put into pressure to look sexually attractive to lure women audiences. With women today actively pursuing equal rights, it is no wonder they feel they too have the right to enjoy eye candy of their own as much as their men. With the growing demand of shinny clean six-pack, gone are the days of hairy carpets on actors' chests.

Surya was the first actor to start the six-pack trend in the Tamil cinema industry through Vaaranam Aayiram.

Vishal (pic) and Aravind Akash have followed in Surya's footsteps to boost their commercial value.

7. Designer stubbles

Most actors who once had thick mustaches are now keeping stubbles instead. I don't know how far it's true, but Tamil men have always adored thick mustaches instead of a more fashionable goatee - probably to display manliness and maturity, I really don't know. Clearly, the look is outdated but it comes and goes depending on the role one receives. For instance, those who play police officers might find that mustaches fit the role.

Now you see it...

Now you don't!!! Hahaha...

Vijay has the most stunning stubbles in tinsel town.

Anti-Cheesy Masala

Because I'm an English-speaking Tamilian, people think I hate Tamil movies because I feel they are inferior. I don't mean to sound pompous, but they maybe right. I mean, even in this modern age where Hollywood is making groundbreaking movies like Avatar and Inception, while Bollywood is making My Name Is Khan and Wake Up Sid; Tamilians all around the world are still worshiping traditional, conventional Tamil film of the genre that simply irritates the hell out of me...

Cheesy Masala

Personally, I find it baffling that a genre that is so mindless can be of such appeal to our community. I'm definitely not saying that Hollywood never make mindless movies. I mean, there are some really dumb romantic comedies that I'm not very fond of. But still, Hollywood is renowned for making films of a variety of genres raging from romance, thriller, horror, fantasy and so much more.

BUT! There is a very strong 'but' here. There has been some Tamil movies in the past few years that really changed my mind about the industry. It turns out that Kollywood can produce some really different Tamil movies in a time where cheesy masala flicks rule tinsel town. I really admire the brave attempts by these few directors to actually take the risks to make such daring films.

1) Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu

Kaaka Kaaka was amazing, and so was Minnale. But trust me when I say, this is the movie that gave me faith that Tamilians can make truly entertaining thriller films. As much as Gautham Menon might want to deny it, but his movies never fail to have a Hollywood touch to it, right. But that should not be a problem since he manages to Indianize this films. But I would think that he should minimize the use of English lines in his films because they seem fake at times. Apart from that, there was much talk about the gruesome scenes. But that should not be a problem since it fits the tonne of the movie.

Movie Poster

I cannot imagine another actor pulling off the role of Raghavan as good as Kamal Hassan. I think for the first time in years, he became a director's actor - and it worked out perfectly!

Not too melodramatic, no overacting... absolutely realistic blooming love portrayed by Kamal Hassan and Jyothika.

The love of a widower and a divorcée - a rarity in Tamil cinema...

Apart from Chandramukhi, Mozhi and Pachaikili Muthucaram; this must be one of Jyothika's best roles to date.

This movie has many gory scenes, probably one of the most in Tamil cinema. But it also has some of the most thrilling action scenes ever made in India.

2) Autograph

Correct me if I'm wrong. But this must be the first time Kollywood has made a biographic film. This is director Cheran's most successful film to date. If you love sentimental and melodramatic films, but totally turned off by the usual cheesy mother-son drama and all, then Autograph surely is a movie for you. When I first watched this movie with my family, I never heard my parents praising a Tamil movie so much.

A realistic, non-over the top Tamil love story...

Cheran - the director and main actor of the movie... manages to evoke sentiments easily. He makes you recall your own childhood memories, first love and the ups and downs of youth life.

Gopika plays Cheran's first true love. Don't think this movie is all romance and melodramatic. There are a few comical scenes as well involving these two since Cheran's character is Tamilian and Gopika's is Mallu - so they struggle to understand each other, and it is hilarious at times! But puh-leez!! We've seen that 'dog' joke in Muthu already!

Cheran's character goes through much hardship after loosing his girlfriend. But guess who comes to his rescue....

Yes!!! It's our very own Sneha!!! By singing the iconic song Ovvoru Pookalume (and also guiding Cheran through his problems), Sneha plays the best friend role close to perfection!

Today, if your kid is entering a Tamil singing competition and you want to impress the judges by portraying yourself as a hypocritical, motivational-song loving person, then you can only choose this song! I mean, most other songs are either Ganna pattus, or love songs, rap songs, or even motivational songs but with the tune of the three genres mentioned! ;P

3) Chandramukhi

OMG!!! This scene gave me nightmares for weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, this movie has cheesy masala written all over it. Comedy, family sentiments, romance, unlogical fight scenes and lots of goofs! But horror-comedy is a genre rarely ventured in Tamil cinema. Now let me tell you why I love this movie...

a) Rajnikanth-Vadivelu chemistry:

You have to admit, it is the best hero-comedian duo we've seen in years! What's great about is there are almost no seperate scenes for the comedy scenes, because all scenes are relevant to the main storyline!

b) Jyotika's acting

This is one of her best performances we've ever seen! She not only managed to master Bharanatyam for the role, she even managed to play the role of a psycho, ghost possessed troubled young lady very, very, very, very well!

c) Background score

The songs were hits, but still had nothing fresh to offer. But if you listen closely, you might realized that the background music really can give you goosebumps!

Human Trash!

I think it was almost three years back when my grandmother from my father's side was robbed by this crook who lives a few blocks away. For those of you who know Taiping, my grandma lives in Taman Sri Kota, while that crook lives in Pokok Assam. So, you can imagine how near their homes are.

It all started one Friday morning when grandma was drying the laundry at the backyard. Then this Chinese couple stopped by. The man spoke to grandma in Tamil, and asked her if there was any house for rent nearby. While the man had grandma distracted with their conversation, the lady tried to slyly take off grandma's necklace that she was wearing. Grandma realized this and tried to grab her necklace back. But the effing man pushed grandma, and she fell into the drain. He and the lady then left, but not without taking grandma's ring as well.

Grandma is almost ninety and she could not get up by herself. She started crying for help. Thankfully a kind neighbour heard her and helped. The neighbour then called a distant relative and close family friend of ours who lives in the same lane to help out.

The daughter of the relative then phoned my parents. Mom was at home cooking and dad was at work. Dad was picking me up from school and rushed there straight away once he received the call. By the time we came, mom was already there. Grandma seemed fine and insisted she was, but mom and dad took her to the hospital anyway.

We then launched a police report. The police said they knew when to arrest the culprit, and that this was not the first time he robbed. Dad then went around asking friends who lived in the same area with that filthy human trash about him. It turned out he was a drug addict whose wife left him not too long ago, and he now lived with his mistress.

Dad often goes to Chinatown in Pokok Assam for his haircut or to buy snacks, and he often passes by that crook's house. Sometimes, he stares at the creep, just to make he know that people now are aware of his way of making a living. The crook never dared look back at dad.

You might think that the crook would now be too scared to even come near grandma. Well, you're wrong. A few months later, my aunt who lives with grandma was out watering the plants in the garden when this creep came with his motorcycle and stopped it right in front of the house opposite grandma's place. He then stared at the house for a few minutes, until my aunt realized he was there.

"Woi! Mahu curi lagikah?!" my aunt cried out at the top of her voice with agonizing anger. This attracted the other neighbour's attention. They quickly realized who the guy was. This is a good neighbourhood and crime rarely occurs. I dare say the incident involving grandma was a wake-up call for all the residents, and it was not easy to forget something like that ever happened in their own housing estate. All the neighbours who saw (or rather heard this) came out of their homes and tried to approach the crook. But the guy must have freaked out, and he zoomed away in his motorcycle.

I have no idea what took the police so long to arrest him. In fact, I don't think they arrested him at all. He does not live at his old place any longer. After stopping by at grandma place for the second time that day, we launched another police report. Dad asked why the crook had not been caught yet, and the officer on duty replied that his department had their own strategy and was waiting to carry out their plan. Huh?!

That is not the only time a grandma in my family got robbed. My other grandma from my mother's side also got robbed recently. And this time, the story is much more tragic!

There was the young guy who came to my grandparents house. He told my grandpa that he and his girlfriend were getting married in a simple ceremony at the waterfall temple at the foot of Maxwell Hill. Since both he and his girlfriend are supposedly orphans, there was no adults to bless them during the ceremony, and he wanted my grandma to follow him to the temple!

Alright! Both my grandparents did not know this guy at all and they have never seen them before in their whole lives! Grandma was not stupid enough to follow some stranger just like that. But grandpa, whose heart had grown weak (metaphorically, not literally) due to old age as my parents would say, coaxed grandma to follow this b**** to temple and bless his marriage. Finally, grandma obliged.

On their way via motorcycle, grandma told the crook that she knew the committee running the waterfall temple very well since one of her nephews was an active member there. Suddenly, the guy took another route and told grandma he was getting married in another temple. Grandma would have grown more suspicious by now.

The guy brought grandma all the way to a small lane heading towards King Edward school, the one near the district police headquarters with a church and a mosque, not too far away from Treacher Methodist school. The creep told grandma to get down from the motorcycle, and he threatened to kill her if she did not hand over all her jewelry to him at once.

Grandma panicked and started to weep. But people hardly use that lane even during peak hours due to the many construction work going on there. Nobody came to grandma's rescue. She handed over everything to that creep, and he left that poor old woman there all alone.

Fortunately, an uncle of mine was on his way back home after work. He usually would not use that lane because of all the construction sites, but for some reason he felt like using it on that particular afternoon. It was no doubt a blessing in disguise. The man must have been shocked to bits to see his elderly mother all alone there crying...

Poor grandma could hardly speak when my uncle asked her what she was doing there. She was stammering badly and tears kept flowing down her cheeks. My uncle quickly took her home. At night, the house was packed with family members and relatives. Everyone was shocked and angry at what had just happened. How can that creep have the heart to do such a thing to a helpless elderly woman?

My story does not necessarily imply that these criminals only target elderly woman. As we see in tabloids and on TV, anyone is a potential target. Even young women travelling in groups get attacked in broad daylight. Why, even men have been victimized before! Nobody is safe from these crooks. Their actions cannot be justified. I mean, come on! It is not right to push an elderly person into a drain, nor is it acceptable to con a helpless senior citizen. Curse these human trash! Curse them all until the day they repent! God bless...

My Favourite Director - Actor Collaborations

There are some high-profile Hollywood directors who often choose to collaborate with the same actor for multiple times. Most of the time, these movies they make together become big time blockbusters. Here are some of my favourite director - actor collaborations...

1) Tim Burton - Johnny Depp

Burton and Depp have worked together in seven movies. According to a producer, Depp is basically playing Tim Burton in all these movies. Their partnership has laster for over two decades, and is most probably the most iconic director-actor collaboration Hollywood has ever seen. For example, when I watch The Pirates of The Caribbean movies, it is hard to imagine that the trilogy was not directed by Burton, because Depp's interpretation of the character of Captain Jack Sparrow seems like something that Burton would have visualized! All seven movies have an that dark, larger than life atmosphere, which is what people love.

Johnny Depp might have been eager to drop his '21 Jump Street TV series' image, and his first movie with Tim Burton helped a lot!

I've never had the chance to watch this movie. But since it is a Burton - Depp collaboration, I'm really looking forward to buying the DVD (once I've found it, that is...)

"Why do you want to go up there (to the world of the living) while everyone is dying to come down here (the world of the dead)?" - My favourite line from the movie!

Who knows how many inches of foundation was required to make Depp's skin seem so flawless in his movie???

This is my favourite Burton - Depp movie, and most probably the darkest and most gruesome one of them all. Depp was excited to play the role of Todd because he liked the idea of a musical about a serial killer. Psycho, ain't it??

Not exactly Depp and Burton's best movie, but it was quite entertaining. Hopefully Anne Hathaway becomes one of Burton's frequent collaborators like Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

The weirdos that brought us seven weird movies... and that is a compliment!

2) Christopher Nolan - Christian Bale

When the Batman franchise was almost doomed thanks to horrible Batman and Robin, there came Christopher Nolan to save the day. After only directing two movies, it was surprising to see that Nolan brought life to the rebooted version of the Batman movies! Christian Bale was okay as Batman, but both Nolan and Bale have worked together on one more movie which, though not as famous at the Batman films, is one of my all-time favourite movies!

I love this movie!!! The twist end, which is not in the original novel, was completely logical, and yet so unpredictable!

Honestly speaking, this was not my favourite movie. I did not like the fact that Nolan took a superhero, family oriented franchise and turned it into a dark, mafia one.

Now, this is the movie that changed my mind about Nolan altogether! I fell in love with the Batman franchise all over again!! Apart from Nolan and Bale, the film's success would not have been possible without the late Heath Ledger's amazing (and not to mention iconic) performance as The Joker! Love the guy!

P/s: I even joined the Facebook group called Dear God: Please give us back Heath Ledger and we will give you Robert Pattinson!!! Hahahahaha.....

3) Martin Scorsese - Leonardo DiCaprio

I'm not really a fan of Scorsese and DiCaprio, because I'm not really into Italian-American mafia stories on Roman Catholic guilt and redemption, though I am a big fan of Titanic, Inception and Catch Me If You Can. But since Scorsese is considered one of the most significant filmmakers of his era, it should be worth mentioning him here.

Never watched this movie. But I would have loved to see Cameron Diaz in a dramatic role!

Never watched this movie either. But it is based on Howard Hughes's life, and it was both critically and financially successful. So, it should be worth the watch, right?

Never watched this as well. But it is hard to imagine that the remake of a blockbuster Hong Kong film could have become the front-runner of the year's Academy Awards. Must be a good movie too.

This is the only Scorsese - DiCaprio movie I have watched to date. I really liked it because it was not an Italian-American mafia movie. Not a bad movie, and really enjoyable. Leo would later play the role of an estranged man whose psycho wife died for the second time in Inception!

4) Ridley Scot - Russell Crowe

This duo has made two of my most favourite movies of all time - Gladiator and Robin Hood. It seems to me that this duo can make great action-packed drama period films. Their two other films - A Good Year and Body of Lies performed averagely at the box office and received generally mixed reviews only.

I can never find words to describe this movie. If you want to watch a true epic movie, you can never get better than this. The story, the acting, the visual effects, the action and not to mention the memorable background music - it all was a part of an amazing film!

My guess is that Scott and Crowe wanted to revive the glory of Gladiator via this movie. It was not a bad movie, but it just cannot compete with the epic beauty of Gladiator. Still, a fantastic film.

Never watched this film, but might have not been worth my time since it received mainly negative reviews. But don't judge me! I've enjoyed many mindless movies like Twilight and Rush Hour!

Never watched this too. But it was did much better compared to other anti-terrorism films like Rendition, Lambs for Lions and much more.

5) David Fincher - Brad Pitt

Fincher has his own style of creating really dark, intense movies. Brad Pitt has starred in two of these movies - Se7en and Fight Club. Pitt also acted in Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which earned them both Academy Award nominations. I have watched all three of their collaborations and they were all amazing.

I love dark movies, and I most probably have never seen a movie sooooooo.... dark. This is definitely not for light entertainment. This is the type of movie you might want to watch alone on a Friday night when it is raining outside.

Finch described Fight Club as a coming-of-age movie for adults. Until the end, I was confused on who was the real person, and who was the alter ego due to split personality. The movie's theme is the subject to various interpretation, and the way I interpret it makes it one of my most favourite movies.

When I first watched this melodramatic, autobiographic movie, I could hardly believe that it was directed by David Fincher! That guy who makes really dark movies??? I was like "What?!" But it is true. It may not be another one of his dark movies , but it certainly is my favourite Fincher movie.

P/s: Taraji P. Henson should have won that Oscar she was nominated for in this movie! She so deserved it!