Me, my wife, and Kal Penn. Also, PLEASE go see his new movie.

[Recursion]

Holy crap that guy is amazing. We had a conversation about Fritz Lang and his influence on zombie movies. It was actually relevant; Mr. Penn was screening his new Bhopal movie and I commented that the crowd scenes after the gas leak were very reminiscent of some of the best zombie movies, along with Barefoot Gen (he said the latter was more of the director's intention, but that the zombie idea wasn't lost on the production crew either).

On another note: Kal Penn needs to get more dramatic roles like this. He was outstanding. Mischa Barton was kind of a weak link in the cast (though it's hard not to look like a weak link when you're next to Martin Sheen), but Kal was absolutely not a lightweight. I really look forward to seeing him do more dramatic work in the future.

The stellar, standout performance, though, has to go to Rajpal Yadav, who plays the rickshaw driver turned chemical plant employee whose eyes you basically see the movie through. (He's a pretty well known Bollywood name.) His performance was electrifying and heartbreaking (I'm assuming it's not a spoiler to say that a movie about the Bhopal disaster does not end well).

Sheen was also very good, and I appreciated that he portrayed Anderson as something other than a one-dimensional villain. If anything, he was too good at that role; the movie possibly sets up more nuance than is quite right.

Anyways. "Bhopal, A Prayer For Rain" opens in the US on November 7th, and I absolutely urge you to go see it. It's probably a little frightening for kids (the actual gore is understated but its emotional impact is like a gut punch).

[AwakeAtLast]

1. Proud to be your 5th Rec

Great pic!