Weekend Watch

Here are five exciting ways to spend your weekend.

The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants
Cast: Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Jenna Boyd
Director: Ken Kwapis

Plot: Despite different sizes, four teenaged best friends magically fit into the same pair of jeans. To keep in touch through the summer holidays, the girls decide to each keep the jeans for a week and then pass it on to the other. During the course of their holiday, they come closer to understanding the meaning of love, family and friendship.

Aces: The best thing about the screen version of Ann Brashares's best-selling novel is that it's not your regular chick flick. Instead The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants is a sweet, sensitive and sincere attempt to showcase the tender trials of four 16-year-old girls.

Kwapis keeps the narrative flowing and extracts wonderful performances from the young ladies. Shot extensively in Greece, Mexico and Canada, The Traveling Pants received fairly good reviews and made its money at the box office. Want to spruce up your weekend? Get these Pants now!

Extras: English, Spanish, French, subtitles; Additional scenes with commentary by Ken Kwapis, Fun on the set:
Behind-the-scenes gags and laughs. Suckumentary: Rough cut of Tibby and Bailey's documentary. Sisters, Secrets, and the Traveling Pants: The gal pals watch selected scenes and talk about them. A conversation with author Ann Brashares. Theatrical trailer.

Khushboo
Cast: Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Farida Jalal, Durga Khote, Asrani and Master Raju
Director: Gulzar

Plot: Kusum (Hema Malini) and Brindaban (Jeetendra) are married young. Thanks to the feud between their families, the union is never consummated. Over the years, Kusum bears forced spinsterhood while Brindaban moves on to pursue medicine and remarry. Now a practicing physician, widower and father, circumstances, once again, bring him close to Kusum.

Aces:  In his adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Babu Moshai, Gulzar captures the chemistry between Hema Malini and Jeetendra amazingly. There is something poetic even in the simplicity of their exchanges. The actors bring touching conviction with remarkable grace and understated gestures. It is easily one of Hema Malini's and Jeetendra's best performances. The lyricist Gulzar as at his best on relationships and the feelings they evoke and R D Burman's poignant compositions equally good. O manjhi re, Jal jayegi and Bechara dil kya kar are cases in point.

Extras: English subtitles available.

The Cider House Rules
Cast: Michael Caine, Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo and Paul Rudd
Director: Lasse Hallström

Plot: After spending about two decades in Dr Wilbur Larch's (Caine) orphanage, Homer (Maguire), a trained physician though sans a medical degree, decides to explore the world beyond his know. In his pursuit, he comes to terms with the complications of love, moral dilemmas and his real calling.

Aces: The Swedish filmmaker turns John Irving's fine novel into a memorable movie with sparkling honesty. Scenes involving the orphanage children move you with their spontaneous charm and untouched innocence. This human touch isn't lost even when startling revelations come about in the plot. Though Tobey Maguire earned star status only after the smashing success of the Spider-Man movies, he proved he is an actor to watch out for quite early with films like this. His costars are superb too, especially Caine. He is compassionate, humorous and confident at once. Gorgeously shot in Maine against Rachel Portman's lilting score, The Cider House Rules nabbed two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Caine) and Adapted Screenplay (Irving).

Extras: Audio commentary. Deleted footage. Making Of Cider House Rules.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Cast: Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jude Law and Cedric-The Entertainer
Director: Brad Silberling

Plot: After the death of their affluent parents in an accident, three children come to live with their nasty, eccentric relative. It isn't long before they realise that it's their fortune he is after. What happens next? A series of unfortunate events!

Aces: Adapted from the first three books in the Lemony Snicket series -- The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window, the movie is engrossing. The child actors are fabulous. And the caricature villains are fascinating. Carrey keeps you hooked with his antics and inventive make-up (which won an Academy award). Unabashedly theatrical as the conniving Count Olaf, his performance is a treat for his fans. Though the film is nowhere as thrilling as the books, the imaginative art design, special effects and a dedicated cast make this 'unfortunate event' worth its while.

Extras: Commentary by: Director Brad Silberling. Deleted scenes and outtakes.

Chamatkar
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Shammi Kapoor and Tinnu Anand
Director: Rajiv Mehra

Plot: A timid villager (SRK) comes to the city only to be robbed of his money and belongings. He bumps into a dynamic ghost (Shah) with unfinished business. The friendly spirit helps the boy find a job and fall in love. In return, the boy helps him wipe out the false charges on him.

Aces: Even though its loosely inspired from The Ghost of Captain Blackbeard, this Hindi movie tickles you with its harmless wit and SRK's buffoonery. Naseer and SRK make it work, thanks to their wonderful on screen camaraderie. Being one of Urmila Matondkar's earlier films, don't be disappointed to see her in an anything-but-sexy avatar. If you are looking for some light-hearted cheer, this one might work a miracle for you.

Extras: English subtitles available.