Clear Vision on a Cloudy Day

The truthfulness of this graphic hit me smack in the face the...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 02:35:24 +0530

The truthfulness of this graphic hit me smack in the face the moment I saw it.

If I had a bajillion dollars I would hire my parents a full-time I.T. person to live with them and answer ALL THEIR QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO TURN THEIR COMPUTERS ON.

Adele- Skyfall… When I first came to know that Adele would be...

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 04:05:05 +0530

Adele- Skyfall…

When I first came to know that Adele would be performing the theme song for Skyfall, I was a tad sceptical. The end result, however, is pretty impressive as the tone of the song is classic James Bond as if it were the 70s. Adele, here, has just done a Nancy Sinatra.

What makes it better is the fact that the song was launched on the 50th anniversary of Bond in film.

I’m still unable to get the last scene of the mid-season...

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:51:00 +0530

I’m still unable to get the last scene of the mid-season finale of Breaking Bad’s final season, so this is a result of that. I would advise clicking on the picture to get the desired effect.

Also, the foreboding in the poem that gives the episode its title, and the above moment. Wow. Ominous signs aside, the episode was like a symphony unfolding. Vince Gilligan and Bryan Cranston, take a bow. The wait for the final eight episodes of the show will be quite something, especially now.

Gliding Over All

Gliding o’er all, through all,
Through Nature, Time, and Space,
As a ship on the waters advancing,
The voyage of the soul—not life alone,
Death, many deaths I’ll sing.

~Walt Whitman

Viral marketing for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 00:20:00 +0530

Viral marketing for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is always something that has been looked up to. This new piece of brilliance for The Dark Knight Rises only takes the wait for the concluding chapter of this trilogy to another level altogether.

Now Playing: Procol Harum Live in Concert with the Edmonton...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:38:54 +0530

Now Playing:

Procol Harum Live in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

One of my many favourite moments on Psych. I wasn’t even...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:18:00 +0530

One of my many favourite moments on Psych. I wasn’t even in law school when I saw this. Ah, nostalgia! Shawn Spencer, respect, and just look at Gus’ subtle expressions.

Just Watched: The DescendantsA father must deal with the loss of...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:22:00 +0530

Just Watched: The Descendants

A father must deal with the loss of his wife and try to reconnect with his two daughter after she is involved in a fatal boating accident. Alexander Payne embraces simple heartfelt storytelling. This film deals with loss, handling pain and moving on in a way that doesn’t try to be something to be more or do more that give us a touching, natural and relatable story with characters we can care about. That light-heartered, yet still genuinely heartfelt approach is what makes this film work so well, I cared about everything that was going on and the people the situations affected. Every character has a purpose, there are no wooden performances or pointless bodies hanging around.

George Clooney is able to use his own charm to make the role feel real while also playing his grief-stricken, trying to cope with the hardships of life father role better than anybody else could. He fits the role perfectly because he brings the sarcastic and chaoticly unpredictable nature of life to the film. He makes bad decisions then at the same time handles his circumstances with more maturity and understanding than most people would. His parenting methods are inconsistent and often hypocritical, but that is what all parents are like. Shailene Woodley plays his 17-year-old daughter; she drinks, does drugs, and is rather disrespectful - just like the majority of all teenage girls. But Woodley’s performance has a delightful maturity to it, she is just as involved in their entire situation as her father and as they uncover her mother’s secrets they form a bond resulting from the little secrets about each other they discover. Snubbing her for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination is an atrocity.

The Descendants isn’t a film that will knock you off your feet, but instead gracefully make you feel like you saw something that was real and mattered. It is a well-acted, attractively photographed, pleasantly-written movie, and it’s directed by Alexander Payne in a cohesive and logical manner.

As of now, this is my pick for the Oscars. Clooney, you genius, you.

Personal Rating: 9.0/10

Just Watched: The ArtistAt the end of every year, or at least...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:11:00 +0530

Just Watched: The Artist

At the end of every year, or at least leading up to the Oscar awards, I try to sit and catch up on all the favourites for the year that has gone by. Sadly, most of the times, I’m not able to catch most of them in time. This year, I decided to go about it in a different way. I’m just catching up on select films in addition to the ones I already liked, and this happens to be just one of them.

After the insane Oscar buzz around this film, I absolutely had to check this out and finally did last night, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The Academy’s supposed love for European cinema notwithstanding, The Artist is a beautiful piece of cinema. Making a silent film about the struggles of a silent film star in the world of talkies sounded pretty interesting and the way that Michel Hazanavicius draws you into the plot is commendable. The wonderful performances keep you hooked to the screen for the screen time of a little over 90 minutes. Jean Dujardin is fantastic as the charismatic superstar of the silent film era, George Valentin, while Bérénice Bejo as his protégé, and later the reason for his ‘downfall’ is top-notch. The film’s background score has a largely operatic feel to it, and it goes with the film’s tone throughout. One should also watch out for Malcolm McDowell in a scene. It’s quite something seeing him silent, without that piercing gaze of his.

It’s one of this films which make you sit back and feel good about life in general. That’s all I can say about this. I’m quite sure that this one will shine, come Oscar night.

Personal Rating: 8.9/10

Just Watched: Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyI think I might have just...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:37:00 +0530

Just Watched: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

I think I might have just found my film of the year gone by with this wonderful adaptation of John Le-Carre’s spy thriller set in the 60s, during the Cold War. The whole film is like a symphony with every piece at the right place, layered beautifully, with a not too dramatic background score like most spy thrillers and some rousing performances. This is not just a typical spy film, filled with jaw-dropping stunt sequences. This is a story of deception in the upper echelons of British intelligence where every scene holds significance, making it extremely important for the viewer to pay attention for the entire duration of the film.

Comparisons to the TV adaptation starring Alec Guinness are inevitable, but I’m sure this is the best that could be done for a feature film. Gary Oldman has delivered what, according to me, might be the most powerful performance of the year. Controlled, nonchalant and with an amazing zen-like demeanour even during crisis, he plays the lead, George Smiley to utter perfection. After having watched him in supporting roles for quite a while now, it’s refreshing to see him take center-stage here. It’s not just him though, for he’s ably supported by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, who post-Sherlock is on quite a high, and Tom Hardy, the man who is having quite some time after Inception with Warrior and then The Dark Knight Rises up next, he’s the next big thing to look for in the coming year for sure. John Hurt and Mark Strong are barely there, but leave their mark. Performance wise, the only star who didn’t quite leave a mark was Colin Firth, from whom I think I ended up expecting a little too much, but at the end of the day, I’m not complaining.

If this is the sign of things to come in 2012, then I can’t wait a bit. Gary Oldman better get a Best Actor nod at the Oscars this year for this. He surely deserves at least that much. Oh, and I think I can actually forgive a certain Rohit Tiwari for spoiling this film for me months ago, though I’m still a tad miffed. Moreover, the Mamidipudi brothers are surprisingly good film company- Vishnu always was, and with Vallabh now, I’m in safe hands.

Personal Rating: 9.0/10

Just Watched: RA.One After hearing so many mixed reactions, I...

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:07:00 +0530

Just Watched: RA.One

After hearing so many mixed reactions, I finally went and watched the film last evening and I think I understand why the reactions are so varied. This is a pretty enterprising film in many respects but as a movie, there isn’t really much to it. The funny thing is that this is also it’s biggest strength, as you know after a particular point that the mindlessness is an integral part of the proceedings. While the film could have been much better, it isn’t too tough to accept the end-result despite the fact that I, personally, have a lot of complaints.

Shah Rukh Khan plays a double role and while he is pretty good as G.One, the protector from the virtual world and the film’s hero, his role as Shekhar Subramaniam, the game designer has every South Indian stereotype packed in and is hence a little too much to take in. Kareena Kapoor was very good, and I’m not saying this because I’m a big fan of her’s, but because she actually did a decent job, other than looking extremely pretty. A lot more could have been done to develop her character so that there was more depth to it. Armaan Verma, the kid who plays the son to Shah Rukh and Kareena in the film was passable, though he was a little irritating at times. I really don’t understand why Shahana Goswami had no more screen time. There was hardly any point to having her there. Arjun Rampal as the final form of the villain the movie is named after was menacing, and very effective. In fact, the G.One-RA.One clashes were what made most of the film worthwhile.

The cameos made the film interesting, especially the brilliant one by Rajinikanth. That was simply brilliant. Sanjay Dutt was also pretty good in one of the opening scenes of the film. Priyanka Chopra, who is in the same sequence as Dutt, was only eye-candy, but extremely irritating. She should stick to cameos and item-numbers and do only one movie every two years only if it is made by a good director, I don’t think she can act otherwise.

If you look at the main weakness of the film, it would easily be the wanton copying of ideas from Hollywood. I mean, H.A.R.T. was exactly like the arc reactor in the Iron Man films, while the main premise in itself is very similar to TRON: Legacy. There were a number of rip-offs but I don’t think I want to go into them. At least this was better than Krrish, which had completely ticked me off when I’d watched it.

I expected a lot more from the action sequences but they sort of fizzled out, especially the climax, which could have been way better. But then again, two scenes are spectacular – the brilliant car chase involving Kareena Kapoor; and the superb sequence involving the train right before the climax.

Overall, there isn’t much to expect from this film, but going by what it stands for, it deserves applause, not too loud though.

Personal Rating: 6.9/10

Just Watched: Contagion Over the years, Steven Soderbergh has...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:36:00 +0530

Just Watched: Contagion

Over the years, Steven Soderbergh has time and again given us films that are gritty and of extreme social significance, with the exception of the Ocean’s Trilogy (Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen). He has, ever since, been come to be known as a thinking man’s director.

It had been quite a while since I had seen any of the man’s films. The last film of his that I happened to see was The Girlfriend Experience, which showed a lot of promise but was, at the end of the day, a very underwhelming story about the life of a high-end escort. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a failed attempt at prospective smut.

Contagion looked promising primarily because of the cast. It was the first time in my living memory that three Best Actress Oscar winners from within a decade were doing the same film (Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet).

The film didn’t let me down at all. In fact, considering that I went in with lowered expectations, I was more than satisfied by it. Contagion is about the outbreak of a deadly disease and how the people affected by it deal with the infection. Told in a very docu-drama format, it goes into how doctors and other health officials handle the delicate situation to how desperate people can get to find a cure.

With a grand ensemble cast, no one gets a lot of time on screen, except for maybe Laurence Fishburne, who is very restrained yet effective in his role. For me, the two actors who performed the best were Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon. Cotillard pitches in a remarkable performance as a World Health Organization (WHO) epidemician sent to track the origin of the virus. With the limited time she has on screen, she excels in each and every frame. Damon, on the other hand, plays a man who has to come to terms with a lot and still be in a position to weigh his reponsibilities.

Kate Winslet was fabulous in her role and Gwyneth Paltrow was very good in what was probably the most important role in the film. Jennifer Ehle was the film’s surprise package for holding her own amongst such seasoned performers. The performance which annoyed me the most was Jude Law’s. I think he should stick to playing the pompous jackass in all his future films. Maybe that was the point of his role, but I was a little too annoyed by him overdoing things.

It was also good to see Bryan Cranston in a major film after having been used to him in Breaking Bad. Demetri Martin being in this film was a pleasant surprise as it was good to see that he can do more than just stand-up comedy.

The final scene of the film that shows us how the infection started is rather chilling and is a very realistic look at how doomsday may come upon us, without all the mind-boggling drama.

Soderbergh, once again, proves that when it comes to showing social behaviour in reaction to an event by cutting across various lines, there is no one better than him. For him, it is a journey that has come full circle — from Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Traffic to Contagion. This film shows that he’s come of age, and is hence highly recommended.

Personal Rating: 8.6/10

cheatsheet: The 10 Commandments of Steve Jobs

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:32:30 +0530

cheatsheet:

The 10 Commandments of Steve Jobs

Just Watched: X-Men: First Class I’ve been a fan of comics...

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:07:00 +0530

Just Watched: X-Men: First Class

I’ve been a fan of comics for a very long time despite not having read a lot of them (like many other fans have). When it comes to making a choice between DC Comics and Marvel Comics, I have always chosen the former while I do like Iron Man, which is my favourite Marvel character. Have never really been a fan of the X-Men as I never wanted to see a Marvel comic adaptation on the big screen. Honestly, the only reason I saw this film was January Jones, and the fact that the trailer actually seemed interesting. I didn’t have much expectations. I was in for a surprise, a pleasant one at that.

Not only was this film brilliant, but it also managed to generate an interest for the X-Men franchise in me. The performances were a very important reason for this. James McAvoy was brilliant as Charles Xavier (who later becomes Professor X). January Jones as Emma Frost was cold and menacing, just the way a femme fatale should be. Honestly, it was difficult to take my eyes off her. Strange how she managed to do this after having played the American housewife in Mad Men, a show which, like this film, is set in the 1960s. The transition from Betty Draper to Emma Frost is truly fascinating. Kevin Bacon as the Sebastian Shaw was charmingly evil in just the right amounts. Jennifer Lawrence and Rose Byrne were adequate enough. Annabelle Wallis has a very small role, but I happened to remember her from somewhere. Turns out she was in some random Hindi film with Amitabh Bachchan. I didn’t even know her name till I looked her up because she seemed that familiar! Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn have uncredited cameos too. The star of the show, however, is Michael Fassbender, who is magnificent as Erik Lehnsherr, who later goes on to become Magneto. This man has a bright future and it I’m waiting to see how he progresses.

Matthew Vaughn has done a great job with this film and Henry Jackman’s background score is phenomenal, especially the wonderful Magneto theme. All this make the film entertaining and a delight to watch. Considering it managed to garner my interest in an entire franchise, it will rank high in my comic book adaptations list. The end result is, well, truly first class.

Personal Rating: 8.3/10

This is an absolutely amazing video. Light painting at its very...

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:51:05 +0530

This is an absolutely amazing video. Light painting at its very best.

Over 6 months in the making and almost 3 years on from ‘Lucky’ their first light painting collaboration Darcy Prendergast and the creative team at OH YEAH WOW have again paired with the beautiful music of ALL INDIA RADIO to bring you their latest music video, ‘Rippled’. Painstakingly animated frame by frame, the piece is all shot in camera, by real people, in the real world, using long exposure techniques.

All India Radio- The Silent Surf, OUT NOW at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-silent-surf/id402035973

For more info visit http://www.allindiaradio.com.au/ or http://www.ohyeahwow.com

Social Darwinism: The Robin Dunbar Approach

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:37:31 +0530

A very well written review of one of Robin Dunbar’s works which actually explains the idea...

Now Playing: The Decemberists- The King Is Dead

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:27:29 +0530

Now Playing:

The Decemberists- The King Is Dead

Just Watched: Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger...

Sun, 29 May 2011 23:24:00 +0530

Just Watched: Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back again, after four long years. Only this time, there’s no Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) around. In Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, we saw him with the map the “Fountain of Youth”. This time around, there are a number of forces trying to reach the Fountain for their own selfish reasons. Sparrow meets Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) again and is obviously surprised to see him as a privateer working for the British empire. Then there’s Blackbeard (Ian McShane), the most fearful pirate of them all and the mysterious Angelica (Penélope Cruz), with whom Jack has a rather interesting history. Throw the Spanish conquistadors and some beautiful yet creepy mermaids in and you seem to be all set for an entertainer, and that is exactly what you get. But the down side is that it doesn’t really live up to all the hype, and that is a sad thing in any major film franchise.

Rob Marshall, who is supposed to be a “safe” director manages to make most of the film predictable and this is something that doesn’t work for the film. Performance wise, I felt Johnny Depp could have been way better. His character is living up to the stereotype and is appearing a little stale although there are moments of brilliance. Geoffrey Rush is brilliant and so is Ian McShane. Judi Dench has scene too and she’s done pretty well in it. The star of the show has to be Penélope Cruz. Besides being drop dead gorgeous she charms you with her exuberance and also has an amazing on-screen chemistry with Depp. I don’t thing she’s gone wrong in a long time and I just keep becoming a bigger fan of her with every movie. Hans Zimmer’s music is wonderful too.

If you want to have a fun evening at the movies, this film is a very good watch but lower your expectations a little bit for you may not get what you want.

By the way, this is the first film I saw at Glitz Cinemas, Dehradun’s first multiplex, which is a good thing as Hollywood flicks used to be dubbed in Hindi before this for all the cinemas in town. Thankfully there’s an exception now.

Personal Rating: 7.4/10

The cover of the first issue of RAVE, which came out in October,...

Sun, 29 May 2011 15:06:00 +0530

The cover of the first issue of RAVE, which came out in October, last year. RAVE is the newsletter of the University’s Student Activities Committee (SAC).

The picture used for the design has been taken by me, on the Nagoa Beach, in Diu, and the designing has been done by Hitesh. The actual photograph can be found here. Both of us are on the three-member editorial board of the newsletter, the third member being Asmita.

We’ll be coming out with our second issue soon. Hope it is better than the first.

The theme of the first issue was Inception, which should explain the presence of the “One Simple Idea” line on top. Yes, the film did have that big an impact on all of us. The issue can be read online here, and downloaded here.

Just Watched: Dum Maaro Dum A long time ago, in a galaxy far far...

Thu, 12 May 2011 00:49:00 +0530

Just Watched: Dum Maaro Dum

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, the Indian film industry was in the hands of an actor called Amitabh Bachchan, a man who had captivated many with his brilliant performances in films like Zanjeer, Deewar, Sholay, Don and Trishul. There was something different in the characters he portrayed on screen for his roles always had this element of rage about it, something that led his many similar portrayals to be called the ‘angry young man’ roles, performances which made the man become the legend that he is now.

Abhishek Bachchan, on the other hand, hasn’t really had his father’s luck, though he did have a purple patch of sorts after starting out disastrously. He gave some gritty performances in films like Yuva, Sarkar, Guru, Sarkar Raj and even Delhi-6 (a film that I actually liked) but then there wasn’t a lot more from him after so much promise. Of late, he has been reduced to playing some horrible roles. With Dum Maaro Dum, he changes that and he does so by channeling his father’s ‘angry young man’. It isn’t like he was as magical as the Senior Bachchan, but then, it is the best that has been seen from him in a very long time. For me, Abhishek’s portrayal of ACP Vishnu Kamath has got to be amongst the most powerful and gritty performances in a Hindi film this year.

Other than Abhishek Bachchan, the only other performance that actually manages to grab your attention is that of Prateik Babbar’s. Rana Daggubati was surprisingly good but I wasn’t really interested as the dubbing was preposterous. The young lad has shown a lot of promise in the little he has down and I’m sure he has a very bright future. The performances by Bipasha Basu, Govind Namdeo and Aditya Pancholi are adequate enough for the film’s mostly tight script.

As I just mentioned, most of the script is tight but the smoothness is affected towards the end. This is one of the film’s biggest weaknesses. The way the film goes for the first hour and a half, you don’t really expect an ending that is a drag. The film could have ended beautifully at least an hour early but I guess that’s asking for too much. The direction by Rohan Sippy is very good but then again, it is Shridhar Raghavan’s script that makes the film worth a watch. By the way, I feel Rohan Sippy (@rohansippy) could have done a very good job by putting his social media skills to good use by using Twitter’s ‘Sponsored Tweets’ feature. I won’t go into the details, but a little thinking will tell you what I mean. Also, I would like to reiterate what I read somewhere- even if an item song as a siren like Deepika Padukone in it, a potty reference in it doesn’t really go down too well. Just saying. There is this very well executed chase scene too and that only adds to the film’s value.

All in all, Dum Maaro Dum could have been much better but what you get is a pretty good flick. Abhishek Bachchan lives for another day.

On that note, I conclude by giving you one of his best lines in the film-

“Aaj kal gunde bhi Facebook aur Twitter par hain.” (“Nowadays, even criminals are on Facebook and Twitter.”)

I just had to quote this, social media fiend that I am.

Personal Rating: 8.0/10

Now Playing: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour- Fruit

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:33:06 +0530

Now Playing:

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour- Fruit