The ring and the crown

SPENDING IT

, which brings to an end Peter Jackson's grand filmisation of J R R Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy.

In some ways the most satisfying of the three films, Return of the King finds its unlikely heroes, the hobbits Frodo and Sam, on the last, and most perilous, phase of their mission to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's rule.

The hallmarks of the series "" breathtaking visuals and seamless combining of real locales with computer-generated ones "" are all here, even if the characters sometimes get lost. Tolkien buffs might quibble a bit too: though the novel is full of visual potential, some of its elements simply don't lend themselves to literal screen translation.

Case in point: the Dark Lord Sauron being reduced to a giant roving flashlight (not unlike those in the Twentieth Century Fox logo) as his flaming eye scans the far distance for his enemies. But these are relatively minor problems: the series has been a visual treat like no other and this movie lives up to that tradition.

Another new release, Le Divorce, lives up to the Merchant-Ivory tradition of looking great ("sumptuous" being the adjective-in-stock for their ventures) but falls flat anyway.

This movie, about the misadventures of two American sisters in France, is confused and uneven in tone "" it can't decide whether to be a comedy or a drama. The cast (Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson and Glenn Close among others) is interesting though.

Quite unlike Hollywood "" where the beginning of the year implies dishing out stuff not palatable for either the holidaying public or the awards juries "" back home, Bollywood has been surprising us week after week.

After a forgettable couple of weeks, Ram Gopal Varma's production house Factory released the gripping Ek Hasina Thi. This is a no-nonsense revenge drama, without the high-pitched avenging woman act that masala cinema has traditionally tortured refined senses with over the years.

Saif Ali Khan breaks out of his next-door-idiot image to deliver a knockout act as the unscrupulous, debonair gangster and hogs screen presence alongside the mercurial Urmila.

But while Sriram Raghavan may have had the first laugh of the year and Rajkumar Santoshi the second with the well-executed cop thriller Khakee, the best of all hosannas go to Vishal Bharadwaj.

The musician-turned-filmmaker's take on Shakespeare's Macbeth is easily one of the most intense films to have ever come out of tinsel town. And it would not be patronising to say that Bharadwaj's take on the underworld has actually bettered previous efforts by the doyen of the genre "" Ram Gopal Varma.

While Maqbool is clearly a Vishal Bharadwaj film, it also brings together a stellar cast after a very long time. And while Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri as the reincarnated witches, Tabu as Lady Macbeth and Irfan as the prince are brilliant, Pankaj Kapoor's portrayal of Jehangir Khan has bettered Brando's Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's epic, as one of the most memorable ganglord acts ever.

A perfect screen adaptation, dialogues that remind one of the forgotten legacy of Rahi Masoom Reza, a standout musical score and exemplary performances by the cast make Maqbool an absolute must-watch. And once is definitely not enough.

With screen options such as these, who cares if the record labels have anything similar to suitably seduce your purse strings.

Well, actually they don't.

Electronica and dance lovers may find Benny Benassi's The Biz "" Hypnotica great ambient stuff for the perfect rave appeal, but it's certainly not unmissable. However, if you are the party-groover intent on something that's 'dirty, sexy and cool', this could very well be your weekend sound statement. [CD and casettes priced at Rs 295 and Rs 100 respectively]

Virgin music's double CD Now and Then, was probably aimed at showcasing the fact that remixes are not just a desi phenomenon. Fourteen tracks including 'Seasons in the Sun' ,' In the Summertime' and 'It's Raining Men' have been performed twice "" by artists of today and forgotten stars of yesteryears.

The double CD at Rs 399 is all the price you pay to be able tell your overly impressed friends that the best known songs of creative holes like Boyzone, Backstreet Boys and Geri Halliwell's are actually rip-offs!