PROJECTOR

Eranga introduces Sweet Angel

[ Sweet Angel crew]

* Director: Eranga Senaratne

* Producer: Susan Fernando

* Camerman: Daya Sooriyarachchi

* Assistant director: Kanishka Bandara

* Art director: Prasad Weeraperuma

* Hair and make up: Pushpakumara Bandaragama

* Production executive: Loyd Janaka

Popular director Eranga Senaratne who had made some noteworthy teledramas like Depath Nai and Dipashika began work on his fifth movie at a muhurath ceremony on December 2. The film titled Sweet Angel sees a host of young actors and experienced actors taking to the wide screen.

He will be introducing a new face, Deepa Chandi, as the female lead while renowned vocalist Chilli too will be part of the main cast. Other key players are Vasantha Kumaravila, Susan Fernando, Manel Vanaguru, Ananda Wickramage, Nilmini Kottegoda, Sarath Kulanga, Anusha Rajapaksa, Sanju Rodrigo, Chanchala Vanigasuriya, Bimsan Hekularu and Chulapadmendra.

The story is based on a relationship which develops between two residents in a flat. Manjari is a mother with one child. Her husband is employed abroad. Her son Roneth is studying at an international school.

Venura is a handsome young man who lives in a flat nearby. He begins a friendship with Roneth. For some reason or other Manjari cannot stand the sight of Venura. A series of incidents follows adding hay to the embers of their dislike towards each other. However could these problems bind them together at some stage?

Eranga had already showcased four movies: Sura Yahana Gini Gani, Gini Gath Madu Samaya, Rosa Patikki and Sina Suna Adaren. Sweet Angel will be his fifth movie production. The film is produced by Susan Fernando on behalf of Lionel Films. Shooting commenced from December 5.

RJ

Vidu coming on Dec 10

Asoka Handagama’s latest movie Vidu will begin screen at Regal, colombo, and other CEL circuit cinemas from December 10.

Vidu is a child who wants to go to school as other children of his age, but unfortunately is deprived of that right for reasons beyond his control. He does not have a legitimate father. Mother earns only few bucks hardly sufficient to feed him. They live in an isolated house in a coastal tourist-town. Other than the knowledge of English acquired by talking to tourists, Vidu does not have any form of formal primary education. One day a tourist throws Vidu a dollar note, thinking as if Vidu is a beggar.

“Why do you give me money? What did I do to you to earn this money?” Vidu asks.

“What a little boy like you who hasn’t even gone to a school can do to earn a dollar from me?” The tourist asks in return.

Vidu takes this question as an insult and as a challenge. He is determined to add a value to his life which is not worth of a dollar now. The story of the film is his attempt to make his dream a reality.

The movie stars Chandani Seneviratne, Saumya Liyanage, Gamini Hettiarachchi, Thanishka Vimalaratne and others. It is co-produced by Iranthi Abeyasinghe, Jagath Wijenayaka, Prashant Rathi, Kanwar Inder Rai and Prasanna Vithanage.

Goa Film Festival:

Eye-opener for Sinhala cinema

Seasoned actor, director and producer Sanath Gunatilake had always been into multi-tasking. Proving his mettle in the acting stream with timeless productions like Ganga Addara and Viragaya, he ventured into directing with his maiden movie Ekamath Eka Rateka. He had also tried his hand at script writing with Sisila Gini Gani.

The authorities at the 41st International film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, took in these features and felicitated the actor for his enormous contribution towards cinema.

Gunatilake said that this was the first time that a wide range of Sri Lankan movies were showcased at the event.

“The event was an eye-opener for Indian movie buffs to get a taste of what Sri Lanka has to offer. A number of Sri Lankan filmmakers took part in the festival. IFFI is backed by the Indian Government and they are eager to form an alliance with the Sri Lankan film authorities. NFC Chairman noted this and discussed the matter with them. That is how the spotlight fell on Sri Lankan productions,” Gunatilake said.

Six Sri Lankan films were screened at this year’s IFFI. Sanath had portrayed roles in three movies: Sudath Rohana’s Sudu Kaluwara, Vasantha Obeysekara’s Aganthukaya and Jayantha Chandrasiri’s Agni Dahaya.

RJ

Double delight for Sangeetha

This December is special for Sangeetha, for two of her films will see the light of the day. They are Manmadhan Ambu, the Kamal Hassan starrer and Thambikottai, which has Naren as protagonist.

“Both the films have offered different roles for me. While I play a modern girl in Manmadhan Ambu, Thambikottai features me in a contrast role,” says the actress, who shot to fame with Uyir.

In Thambikottai, Sangeetha is playing Beeda Pandiamma, a good-hearted female who menaces villain Rajendran. “It is a role that is straight opposite to my nature,” she says.

Expressing delight on working with Kamal, she says, “He is a real task master. Kamal sir ensures that we all did rehearsals before the shoot and he would not rest till we deliver the best. And I was happy to receive appreciations from him on the sets of Manmadhan Ambu.”

Unstoppable keeps the tension going

Oscar-winner Denzel Washington and Star Trek’s Chris Pine teams with action maestro Tony Scott in this non-stop thriller. A massive unmanned locomotive, nicknamed “The Beast” and loaded with toxic cargo, roars through the countryside, vaporising anything put in front of it.

A veteran engineer (Washington) and a young conductor (Pine), aboard another train in the runaway’s path, devise an incredible plan to try and stop it - and prevent certain disaster in a heavily populated area.

Here’s the thing about action-blockbuster director Tony Scott: You can’t stop him; you can only hope to contain him. Which is to say, how good, or perhaps how tolerable, a movie he turns out all depends on the kind of material he has to work with, because in a sense he just doesn’t care. If you give Scott a scenario that allows him to indulge his baser instincts - as in that of 2004’s Man on Fire, with its too-skeevy villains; child-endangerment story line; rank, teddy bear-clutching sentimentality; and so on - he will indulge them no end.

Unstoppable is screening at Majestic cinema.

Narnia coming for the season

As the Harry Potter films have become longer, slower and ever more pretentious the Narnia jaunts have merrily skipped off in the opposite direction, here delivering an effects-driven romp that is shorter, tighter and, frankly, heaps more fun than the first two.

Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) return to Narnia, this time with their priggish, comedy-relief cousin Eustace (Will Poulter).

Joining the dashing King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and his sinewy first mate (Aussie Gary Sweet) they embark on a sea-faring adventure involving the retrieval of seven swords that, when laid out on the dinner table of Aslan, the Christ-like lion (voiced again by Liam Neeson), will rid Narnia of a terrible Evil, which manifests as a green fog that swallows people and frightens cast members with the floating visage of Tilda Swinton.

Narnia III is a great adventure snappily directed by veteran Brit Michael Apted who dutifully works through a comprehensive checklist of fantasy movie chestnuts. There’s sword fighting, goblins, magic passages, dragons, a talking rat (voiced by Simon Pegg) and one heck of a sea beast.

The previous films raised some concerns over the theological agenda of the work of author C S Lewis, on whose books these hugely successful films are based. There was a strong Christian allegory in the first film, sure, with Aslan’s resurrection being a direct lift, but there’s little of that here, and certainly nothing that slows the proceedings down.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader is set to be released worldwide on December 10.

Berry announces role in Cloud Atlas

Who needs “people” to make your announcements for you when you can just work them into a Q&A? Halle Berry took the opportunity at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards’ screening of her new psychological drama called Frankie & Alice.

Berry spilled the beans, saying she’ll be involved in the upcoming Wachowskis project, Cloud Atlas. There isn’t very much out there about the project quite yet, but it’s guaranteed to get some buzz now the Berry is definitely on the roster.

The film is based off of David Mitchell’s book of the same name and the story follows a slew of characters placed in different walks of life and time periods throughout history and connects their stories. That aspect combined with the fact that the Wachowskis are driving the project can only mean that this is going to be one hell of a mind-bender. And in Berry’s little information purge, she even compares the new project to the Wachowski classic, The Matrix. Well.

Coming Soon