ENGINEER 2009 - The Annual Technical Festival of NITK Surathkal

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

My ten most memorable characters

I compiled this on an unnaturally long journey back to college. Ah, Final Year!

Not necessarily the best roles I've seen, just the most memorable. The kind that make me go Ah! Yeah, i sure remember that one.

10. Val Kilmer as Iceman (Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky) in Top Gun


I don't know if I remember him this well because he was so bloody hot (and he's Val Kilmer!), but he's definitely the first thing I remember when I hear Berlin's Take my breath away.

9. Whoopi Goldberg as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act (1 & 2)

I've seen Whoopi in other movies, and nowhere is she as convincingly funny and in-your-face as she is in Sister Act. I know this movie was totally panned by everyone who watched it, but it's so campy it was actually funny.


8. Edward Norton as Smoochy in Death To Smoochy


It's not easy for an actor like Norton to play someone so utterly and brilliantly naive and stupid. I love him and his stupid Smoochy costume and his 'Well, How'dya like that?'
And because I think Norton is so awesome I'm going to put another of his pictures up here.



7.
Ramya Krishnan as Neelambari in Padayappa


This woman is so bloody powerful in her role! She's venomous and vixenish and utterly completely bewitching as Neelambari, and as a testament to the impact her character had in Padayappa, they brought her back for a cameo in BABA. Ramya Krishnan rocks!

6. Pumbaa the Warthog in Lion King

I found it very tragic that Pumbaa's chronic flatulence problem was so mocked (he found his aroma lacked a certain appeal, he could clear the savannah after every meal!)
This warthog was so uncool he was brilliant!


Imho, Pumbaa kicked Timon and Simba's ass each time.

5. Aravind Swamy as Rishi Kumar in Roja

This character was so resilient and fought so strongly in the movie; I watch the movie each time only to see him come alive in it. Why don't we get to see more of him these days?


4. Jeff Anderson as Randall Graves in Clerks 1 & 2

This guy is berserk. Foul-mouthed, insane, crass, berserk. He's amazingly funny and totally memorable for the same reasons. He was way funnier in Clerks 1 though. Goes for the entire movie, really.



4. Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight


I know there are two fours.

3. Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather


He made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

3. Audrey Tatou as Amelie Poulain in Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain

This woman is simply gorgeous. I can't think of anyone else who could have played this role as awesome she did. Her optimism and acute naivete are so infectious!



2. Kamal Hassan as Kameshwaran in Michael Madana Kama Rajan

Enna ellorum meenu-meenunguranga?
Ava English meena sollara da.

This is my favorite role of Kamal Hassan's thus far. He's got an awesome Palakkad accent, is insanely funny in Crazy Mohan's role, and has me rolling with laughter on the floor each time I see this movie!



Nee Tiruppura Sundari alla. Thiruttu Sundari!

1. (After not much consideration)

Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessop in A Few Good Men


You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!

This courtroom scene is one of my all time favorite scenes. I only wish Tom Cruise hadn't nancy-boyed the entire movie. It would have been simply brilliant without him. Aaron Sorkin did a fantastic job, and Nicholson as usual is simply awesome.


Note: I know I might have forgotten several highly memorable characters, but whatever, the Mangalore Express is not exactly conducive to great memory.

Friday, September 05, 2008

For neither love nor money...


Scene at SAC one lazy Sunday morning




...People still make fools of themselves for free.