Ghost Love Score

Ghost love Score from Nightwish is beautiful song that relies on the central theme of love an deception. I felt I needed to write my own version of what this song means and hence this post. Feel free to leave your opinion at the end or your own version for that sake.
The first two lines of the song

We used to swim the same moonlight waters
Oceans away from the wakeful day

probably refers to the old times when the relationship was perfect and the second line refers to the fact that those good times were far away from the fateful day when the relationship started to  wane.

My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I`ll bleed forever

These lines refer the dedication of lover to his/her love. He's ready to sacrifice anything for his love, as is said in my fall will be for you and if he is hurt by his lover it would be eternally painful and hard to recover from. Breakups leave an everlasting scar is what might be the message intended in the last two lines of the above chorus.

Scent of the sea before the waking of the world
Brings me to thee
Into the blue memory

These lines probably refer to a time frame when the fateful day of the end of the relationship is about to occur. The scent of the sea might refer to the sweet memories of the past where the lover is reunited to his love. Into the blue is probably an indication of diving into an ocean of past memories or a walk down the memory lane in short.

A siren from the deep came to me
Sang my name my longing
Still I write my songs about that dream of mine
Worth everything I may ever be

Siren is a mythological creature featured in Greek epics like the Odyssey in which they lure the sailors to destruction. Here the siren might be a metaphor someone, probably a third person,  who is dangerously seductive and trying to lure the lover out of his relationship.  However the lover is ready to pledge everything he has to cling on to his love, his dream. The last two lines do paint a really beautiful picture in that context.

The Child will be born again
That siren carried him to me
First of them true loves
Singing on the shoulders of an angel
Without care for love 'n loss

This is the part of the song which I'm unsure of. Innocence is something that is characteristic of a child and here child probably refers to how the siren portrays herself as innocent and also tries to show hers is true love. Singing on the shoulders of an angel again refers to how the siren depicts herself as angelic, however she does not have the true intention of love.

Take me
Cure me
Kill me
Bring me home
Every way
Every day
Just another loop in the hangman's noose

Take me, cure me, kill me, bring me home
Every way, every day
I keep on watching us sleep

The lover wants be cured of his feelings for the third person. Feelings of hatred, anger and despair are probably represented in the lines kill me. The last lines  of both stanzas are an indication of the fact that the lover is consciously aware of the impending end in the relationship.

Relive the old sin of Adam and Eve
Of you and me
Forgive the adoring beast

The old sin of Adam and Eve refers to love between the lover and his love. Maybe the relationship was immoral but they took the forbidden fruit anyway. Forgive the adoring beast might be referring to the lover asking for his own relief for some beastly act he might have committed.

Redeem me into childhood
Show me myself without the shell
Like the advent of May
I`ll be there when you say
Time to never hold our love

The innocence of a child is a perpetual theme used in most Nightwish poem and it is used here again. These final lines show that the lover's realisation the fact that the relationship is about to end, there is no coming back as is indicated by the last line. He  however wants his innocence back. He wants his pure self back. The chorus is repeated, here however with the difference that the penultimate line of chorus is replaced from you be the one to cut me to you were the one to cut me, indicating that he is hurt by the ending of the relationship.

Be the Hero of Your Own Story: Nim’s Island(2008)

Nim’s Island is a family entertainment adventure comedy that tells the tale of Nim(Abigail Breslin, little miss sunshine) a young girl living on a remote island with her father,Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler). Jodie Foster as Alexandra Rover and Gerard Butler as Alexander rover play the leads in the movie.

To start with, Nim is an adventurous, enthusiastic and resourceful 11 year old who lives on a remote volacanic island. Her father, Jack Rusoe is a famous Marine Biologist who often ventures out in the sea in search of phytoplantkons. Nim is a voracious reader and idolizes Alexander rover, a heroic character, much like Indiana Jones, in a series of Rover books written by Alexandra Rover, a agoraphobic (fear of open spaces) . The movie is shot in a picturesque location and Nim’s life with her animal friends like sea lions and geckos are portrayed very well. When Jack gets trapped at sea, Nim reaches out to Alexander Rover for help, via internet, not knowing its true recipient would be the agoraphobic writer. Finally Alexandra sets out to help the little girl stranded on a lonely island, battling her worst fears in the process. What happens next is very much predictable, considering it is a family movie, you can’t complain too much about it.

Abigail Breslin plays the role of Nim very well in the story, her character radiates positivity, and as the queen of the island she is adventurous and enthusiastic in her role and there is a lot to like about Breslin in her character. Jodie Foster plays a very different kind of role in this movie compared to her past characters. She may not be the ideal comedian, but she doesn’t falter in her role either as an agoraphobic which does require a slapstick style for what it demands. As for Gerard Butler, he is charming in his role, probably the utility character in the movie playing both as Jack Rusoe and Alexander Rover. He does play both the characters differently and proves that he could almost fit into any character. Regarding the storyline, Nim’s Island rides along the thin line between reality and fiction and it is much predictable, but considering that it is a family movie mainly aimed at kids, a storyline of this type is to be expected. Atleast it lives up to its name of ‘Be the hero of your own Story’. Overall, Nim’s Island proves to be a good light family entertainer worth watching.

Definitely Maybe(2008)

Definitely,Maybe
Originally uploaded by Phim Ảnh

“The human heart has hidden treasures in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures whose charms were broken if revealed.”


Definitely Maybe is a bittersweet romantic story which tells the tale of Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) and his romantic history with three entirely different women. Romantic comedies are generally clichéd involving a rather stereotyped tale of how the boy gets the girl with a storyline that is more like a mathematical theorem or a proven formula, and that is where this movie differs, it doesn’t have a predictable storyline for starts or a fairytale romantic scenario for that matter.

The movie begins with Will opening papers for an impending divorce. He meets his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin; ‘Little Miss Sunshine’) and takes her home to spend time in the evening. Maya pressurizes her dad to tell the story of how he met her mother, after some persuasion Will reluctantly agrees and there begins a PG-13 story of explaining the complex adult relationships to a 10 year old. Will changes the names of all the women in the story, as there are other women in the story besides her mom, so that Maya does not figure out who’s who at the beginning. This provides an element of uncertainty in the story which turns out to be very rewarding for what it does. Will is an ambitious youngster from Wisconsin who wants to make it big in the political scenario. He moves to New York leaving behind his college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), there he meets Emily’s friend Summer (Rachel Weisz) who was at that time in a kind of relationship with her thesis advisor Roth(Kevin Kline).He also makes friends with April(Isla Fisher),a free spirit in nature, and the copy girl at workplace, while at the office. Will’s relationship with these women is portrayed beautifully, and as the story progresses we can only wonder who Maya’s mother will turn out to be. Even if you’re guessing this out, it wouldn’t spoil the movie entirely as how the movie gets there is sweet and intriguing. Though a romantic comedy, this movie doesn’t entirely rely upon the universal healing powers of love or its eternal nature for that matter. While he is in a relationship he is also maintaining friendship with April. Also Will is no crazy romantic unlike most chick flicks.

Definitely Maybe is funny and attractive for a romantic flick but it maintains a limit to it and though it is much of a fantasy it doesn’t overdo the act. One of the flaws in the movie could be the fact that it doesn’t give too much of a screen time to the women characters, Elizabeth Banks for instance hardly gets any screen time though she is one of the main characters, but even in that she performs well. Isla Fisher, cute in her role, is somewhat struck with a stereotyped character. Abigail as Maya is excellent in her role, she always wants her dad to be happy, though her role shows s little too much maturity for a 10 year old. But for what the movie offers and the genre which it is in, these flaws could be overlooked. Rachel Weisz, as a career woman, probably getting the most screen time in the movie, really nails it, in her role as Summer. The film is illustrated in the 1990s and the cinematography is pretty good, the scenarios and the chronology in 1990s are shown very well, like the Nirvana and Bill Clinton’s timeline. Also Will’s job is given some importance unlike other romantic flicks which hardly portray anything happening on the world outside. The movie is narrated as a bedtime story for Maya by Will (who might look too young for a father of a 10yr old) and Will does a pretty good job at it. It offers a respite from the regular stereotyped romances and keeps you in dark about the identity of Maya’s mother until the end. The ending isn’t that bad either. It is pretty, funny and different for a romantic comedy. For anyone who loves this genre this movie is definitely worth a catch.

With Every Great Love Comes A Great Story: The Notebook (2004)

The Notebook tells the story about two youngsters who fall in love and have to endure in life later. Though “boy loves girl” is typical of the romantic genre, not all movies make as good an impression as this one. It is adopted from a novel of the same title written by Nicholas Sparks. The movie is set in the 1940s and brings out an idyllic romance between two youngsters and how it blossoms into a great love affair.

The movie starts with Duke (James Garner) reading a book to an old lady(Gena Rowlands) in an elderly home, and there starts the great love story of Ally, played by Rachel McAdams, and Noah (Ryan Gosling).Noah is a crazy romantic and he dramatically asks Ally out on a date, hanging on top of a Ferris Wheel. Crazy as it sounds; the movie doesn’t focus too much on melodrama in its later stages and sticks to a good storyline and keeps it sweet and simple. Noah and Ally fall crazily in love and the near perfect love story continues for some time before brakes are put on it. Ally’s parents do not approve of a relationship with a boy from the other side of the tracks, and Noah shackled by a laborious and a desolate lumber job can’t prove otherwise. Thus, parting of ways take place and Ally’s parents take her away at the first chance they get and this closes the door of perfectly spanned love story, or at least for now. The fact that this story itself is narrated, by Duke, makes the movie interesting and keeps the viewer guessing at this point on where these two stories are headed to. Noah gets recruited in the army for the world war and Allie meets a young and handsome lawyer who proposes to her. It is at this time Allie finds out that her lost love, Noah is back from the war is and suspense is mooted with a likely chance for both. Apart from a honey toned romanticism a great piece of storytelling keeps the viewers engrossed in the little suspense of Allie’s choice. The movie takes its sweet time in getting there as well, a time well utilized for showing the re-kindling of romance between the two characters. The emotions and pains that these characters undergo are excellently shown.

The movie is characterized by a great storytelling which keeps the viewers engrossed through an expected storyline. Though this movie sticks to the eternal healing power of love for its central theme, it doesn’t lose its direction in the middle portraying rather intricate romantic sequences. The way the two subplots merge is shown excellently and the end may be a tear jerker and heavy for some. Gena Rowlands performs excellently in the role of the old lady suffering from Alzheimer’s supported well by the role of James Garner who can for all, do nothing, but hope for the best, and how he supports her through this shows the making of a great romance. Also Joan Allen fits well in a role as an "ice queen" playing Allie's mother. Both Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are in fine niches for their roles which play a pivotal part in the movie. Though it has a stereotyped storyline the movie plays it well, the movie is a great piece of storytelling and has a clear sense of direction to where it is going and this is where it beats most chick flicks. For a simple love story the movie is near perfect and worth a watch.

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it: A Walk to Remember (2002)

‘A Walk to Remember’ is a film based on the romance novel of the same title. Starring Mandy Moore as Jamie Sullivan and Shane West as Landon Carter this film offers much more than a MTV teen flick.


Starting off with a dangerous prank that threatens the life of a fellow student, Carter is sentenced to community service, he meets Jamie, the reverend’s daughter, a girl he had ignored all his life.Jamie is a polar opposite to Carter in character.Unlike Carter she has faith and an urge to help people. After getting a lead role for a school play, Carter is forced to get help from Jamie. This kind of confrontation is expected in the romantic genre, needless to say,the movie isn't without the expected cliché’s in the first half. After spending time with Jamie, however, Carter finds the need to change himself,his ideals,his lifestyle. He begins to care less about what the world thinks and a need to do what is right. Also Carter transforms from the popular boy in school to somebody who wants to care more about others and do what is right. The film takes a leap when we find out a dark secret being guarded by Mandy Moore. The movie also turns into a touching story after that.

Though bringing two diametrically opposite characters is a commonplace in the romantic genre, the movie, due to its unexpected turn, changes its tracks from a cliched romantic flick to something beautiful and touching. Also Moore and West give out good performances. Mandy Moore’s debut as a lead role shows a promising road ahead for her. And the movie has a great story line backed by some good performances and appeals to much more than a teen audience. If you love romantic movies this movie is definitely worth a watch.

Death Doesn’t Take No for an Answer : The Final Destination Thrillogy

This is the theme of the teen horror flick final destination series, Presently a trilogy, with an expected 4th film ‘The Final Destination’ releasing this august (in 3d).The movie also has most of its elements similar to those of scream and urban legends.
The difference of final destination series from similar horror flicks in this genre, like Scream Trilogy , Urban Legends is that the characters are stalked by death itself and there is no psychotic villain who actually causes these deaths. Every film starts with a character having a premonition of some major accident that is about to take place. Even though they evade the treacherous incident their time is up and “death” allegedly makes sure that this happens.


No Accidents No Coincidences No Escapes: Final Destination I

On boarding the plane to Europe for his class trip, Alex (Devon Sawa) has a premonition that plane is going to crash and everyone is going up in flames. He makes a commotion and thus a few characters along with him leave the plane, including his girlfriend Clear Rivers (Ali Larter). As the plane takes off it does go up in flames and now the characters have to face off “death” itself as they have supposedly evaded “death”.
One by one, “death” stalks these characters. For instance you wouldn’t expect to die in a bathroom but in these films you would expect death in a commonplace such as a kitchen or a bathroom. Most of the deaths are mysteriously “freak accidents”, triggered by some commonplace act which leads to a contraption of events,or scientifically speaking a Rube Goldberg choreographs these deaths, much like those in omen, the difference being that in ‘The Omen’, the nemesis is the devil himself, or the son of devil rather, here there is no “agent” which causes these actions, so “death” itself personally makes sure that no one is left behind from the accident. This being said the movie is predictable in the sense, like most teen horror flicks, if the camera is focused on a lone character, you would pretty much expect the character to die, the only question that remains is how? The film lacks a great storyline or character development of any sort, but for the genre which it is in, the movie is somewhat different from its predecessors and if you like teen horror flicks this movie is worth watching.


For Every Beginning There is an End: Final Destination II

Kimberly (A.J.Cook) is on a road trip with three friends. This time, she has a premonition that a horrific accident is about to take place and she blocks some cars from entering it.
Sure enough the premonition comes true as expected, and now she and her friends have evaded death and should find out ways for cheating death.
The buildup to the first accident scene is thrilling, starting with a music track fom AC/DC “Highway to Hell”, continuing with a lot of telltale signs that mean death is lurking around. Also this happens right in the anniversary of the plane crash. However the movie continues with a messy story after that, much worse than the first, expected for the theme that the movie holds. Kimberly continues to have premonitions of other characters death too. However the death scenes are much more exciting than the first one, Death comes at places where you least expect it.
Other than theatrically killing characters off, that movie has nothing of promise, you should be ready to shut your brains off to hear the cosmic theories on death. The special effect death sequences attract the movie and audience who love teen horror flicks might find a liking for this movie.


This Ride will be the Death of you: Final Destination III

Final Destination III has one of the best opening sequences of the three, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition that roller coaster she has entered is going to crash and she creates a panic which leads to her and some friends being let off the doomed coaster. The rest of the story continues in a manner similar to the others.
There is some creativity in the way characters are killed off in this series, and a genuine effort is made to create an atmosphere of tension in the pre-death sequences, and some of the deaths are well executed. The story is in some ways better than first two and there are only vague references to the first two. No characters from the first two make an appearance in this sequence and so the third one can be watched directly without missing out a lot.
If you are a Final Destination fan the third one is unlikely to disappoint, it delivers what you expect if you love this genre. It keeps you guessing on the different ways the deaths can stalk these characters. The movie is initially expected to be made in 3-D but later the idea was dropped. For its thrilling and gory sequences, this movie is worth a watch if you like horror thrillers.

Cops or Criminals, when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference? (The Departed(2006))

Well this probably defines everything about Departed. Remake of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs. The difference being Martin Scorsese, the man behind great movies like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.

Jack Nicholson plays the role of Frank Costello an Irish gang chief in South Boston. Costello recruits Colin played by Matt Damon to infiltrate into the Massachusetts State Police Department. With the support of the Irish Mafia Don, Matt Damon rises fast in the Police Department and soon enters the Special Investigation Unit , which, ironically is aimed at exposing the mobster. Capt. Queenan (played by Martin Sheen) and the foul mouthed Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) have other plans and they recruit Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello’s top structure. Thus two newbies from Massachusetts Police Department who were once training together are engaged in opposite roles(Bad Cop or a Good Gangster??). With both the sides discovering that they have a traitor within the rat race begins with both Matt Damon and Dicaprio needing to urgently discover the other coping with an extremely onerous double life to cope up with. Vera Farmia plays the role of Madolyn the department psychiatrist who is also involved in a love triangle with Colin and Costigan. Though not expected in a gangster movie even this blends nicely with the movie without spoiling it.

All characters are a perfect fit in this movie. DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances so does Matt Damon. Supporting actors are up to the challenge too. Mark Wahlberg’s role as Sgt. Dignam deserves praise. Nicholson is in a league of his own when it comes to acting. Even the opening line reveals a lot about this diabolical villain, "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." Electrifying and intriguing as always, his performance shows why men like Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson are rare in the world of cinema.

Arguably one of the best films of 2006,with a myriad of stars, a movie like departed promises to deliver. Even the very final scene of movie praises the brilliance of men like Scorsese. The film ends with a lone rat crawling on the apartment's balcony railing, which frames the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House in the background. A rat in the police department cannot have a more “literal” sense than that. If you have already watched infernal affairs you would have probably known the plot and the ending, but this film is still worth a watch. Martin Scorsese proves why academy awards are made for movies in the first place.