Avatar

Avatar, the most hyped Cameron offering of 2009, far exceeds its expectations. There are only certain points, in the history of movie making, where such epics as Avatar, transcend surreal objectivity and engulf breathtaking realism. A spectacular creation by a nerving sci-fi fanatic, that took a dozen of years to see the 115 page script to fruition. A mind blowing 3D extravaganza scratching minutiae of every humanoid flicker from Pandoraland, Avatar is set in a century where humans would travel across light years and dream of conquering the extraterrestrial.

The year is 2154 AD. Jack Sully a marine bound to a wheel chair is summoned to be sent, in lieu of his brother, to a moon named Pandora orbiting Polyphemus in Alpha Centauri A. His aboriginal humanoid Avatar is created by Dr Grace ( a Botanist) using a careful mix, blending his brother's DNA and the local DNA from the natives. His task : to understand the Na'vi tribe and scout the lush blue, white and violet valley for Unobtainium, a mineral worth 20 million dollars a kilo. Once Jack Sully gets "plugged in" ala Matrix's Neo, he becomes a pseudo Na'vi, an Avatar of himself, controlling his Na'vi life. After initial encounters with the untamed beasts, the Avatar falls for the Na'vi princess Neytiri, who saves his life. Neytiri epitomizes all that is good and pure, takes Jack Sully under her wings and trains him to be a part of the Omaticaya clan. Jack Sully, gains the clan's trust and also finds himself loosing in Neytiri's eyes.

As the days pass by, Jack Sully is forced to question his own loyalties and concludes to part ways with his miserable human destiny. His employers, on the other hand are eager to wipe off the tribe if diplomacy cannot be contrived. Jack Sully is asked to make a dash and appeal to the Na'vians of the corporate intentions. What follows next is an awe and jaw dropping finale of the classics of all the clashes : Humans Vs the Aliens. The 40 min long fight sequence is not just a spectacle of CGI and picture performance, it is a grandeur palate that serves up to some unreached levels of mind bending imaginations.

The done-to-the-death storyline works because Cameron infuses impetus through powerful story telling. Not once you feel disconnected to the avatars. How can you not be mesmerized by the divinity of the Hometree, the hanging mountains, the gigantic touch me nots and the firefly like synaptic structures making up every nook and cranny of Pandora? With an incredible mounting exceeding a quarter of a billion dollars, this movie is worth every cent of your dollar.

Crouching Tiger

Tiger woods is in the news for his infamous escapades, which are coming out by the day. Latest in the series are some of the text messages, that have been recently made public. Who would have thought Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods would see this day. People are lapping up this delicious reality drama, with news bytes counting up a new mistress everyday, bedded by Tiger. Thirteen down and probably we are still counting. Is Tiger a fallen hero? Is he nothing more than a perverted megalomaniac, drunk so much with success and power that he scrapped the sanctity of his matrimony as he continued to swing behind his wife's eyes and ears? (He was drunk when he stormed out of his home and banged his car). Or is he a man with out of control penis?
Enough said.
Celebrities always tread a tenuous line separating their public and private lives. Lalapalooza for tabloids, in this digital age when celebrity sex tapes are sold on amazon, it wouldn't be incorrect to assume the virility of Tiger's saga for a long time to come. Some porn stars claim to have copulated with Tiger, where as Tiger reportedly tried to pay off some of his other mistresses to shut up. His world has come down crashing from a fairytale as he hoodwinked his wife, who by the way has been quite a tigress herself. Only time will tell how Tiger comes back from this dark abyss.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” - Harvey Dent

Fall

I have always been amazed at watching fall colors. In my first year at Notre Dame, I had amassed the beauty of this wonderful place in my camera. However these days I am just content watching these trees that have grown older with me. They remind me that change is permanent, which makes this undulating life absolute mystery. Times which make us happy are therefore precious, because we never know when things can go wrong.

I get fascinated staring at these colors, even though I am color blind. The visceral feeling goes beyond perceptibility and hits right into the bones. I feel it is a remarkable gift! Then comes the snow, thinking about which makes me shudder. Evenings are depressing and nights haunted. I wish there was no snow, no walking through the harm's way, so that we marched right into the spring. This would be a blessing, but I wonder what would be that like.

Fundaes

As the night falls and morning rises,
Dreams churn out many surprises,
A flock of gulls flying past surmises,
Oh who knows how the time goes by

As the journey is more than the destination,
Getting there is a fascination,
Far away where the birds make station,
Nobody knows how the time goes by

In my humble abode I wonder,
What happens when the lighting strikes thunder,
And the flock gets a little slender,

Oh how did the closure comes by,

Oh who knows how the time goes by

Here I come again

I am finally all set to embark on a new journey. However I am leaving with lot of thoughts and mixed feelings. As I prepare to depart my home which had transformed from being a baby nest to a confined solitary over this long antagonizing period, I have just come to realize how much of an overwhelming experience this feat is going to be for me.

I turn back over this time, and find my entire life flashing towards me, with questions like how far have I come and how much further would I go. All our lives we search for the right job, right partner and happiness and choose and chase missed opportunities. We lament to a song of heartbreak and dance to romance and all the while hope wondering if there is someone somewhere something perfect for us. Most of us poised at the cusp of young adolescence make very difficult decisions potentially effecting others and venture forth in the safe and hallowed hallways of academia. Some of us go up a notch higher but it is so often that most of the time we fail in achieving what we set out for and let our believers down. I have a very scary feeling that I am going down now, but not without a fight. Its going to be a long haul ahead and am I ready?

Probably just the thought of working hard has taken over my senses now, and I am not as emphatic as I was the first time, feeling nerves and the pressure of growing up and loosing time. I do not know how would things turn out, but they are for sure not going to be the same.

A dark feeling loiters and constantly reminds me of the cut throat competition. What would happen if I fail, will I be up for the challenge. Its comforting to find some support in old friends and family but a visceral fear of change surrounds me as I enter Notre Dame in the name of our Lady.

I guess I just gotta get out there and saw my wild oats...

Wicked Month

June 2009 has been the most sensational month in recent times, more importantly for the U.S., garnering unprecedented press. I am driving towards the death of Micheal Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Bernie Madoff's 150 years sentencing. In a landmark judgment, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison on 29th June 2009, for cooking up a multi-billion dollar investment swindle. This is being touted as the biggest fraud perpetrated by a white collar criminal. Jackson died on 25th June 2009, with a cocktail of pain killers in his abdomen. And Farrach Fawcett one of the most ravishing yesteryear beauties died of anal cancer the same day.

Apocalypto

Extremely enjoyed the movie from start to the end. Set at an incredible pace, this is one kickass edge of the seat thriller. Not so much with the words, the movie is set in the Mayan civilization, entrenched in blood and barbarisms of the yore. Mel Gibson does a brilliant act of pulling together so many things in a power packed explosive movie which only takes an ensemble cast of little known villagers and the Holcane Warriors. Jaguar Paw is a family man who hunts for living, until his village is plundered by the hunters of the human flesh. They must trade humans to the Mayans who would fry their hearts and sever their heads to please their Gods. Jaguar escapes his miserable destiny as he is chosen to be sacrificed on the day of an eclipse. The Sun shines again and Jaguar runs for his life from Holcane warriors. They chase him in the jungle where the jaguar overcomes his fear. The jungle is his home and the animals his saviors. He reunites with his family and returns home. This epic adventure is beautifully choreographed and masterfully shot. Split screes, stop motion images and camera jerks are as breathtaking as the picturesque locals of the jungle. Commendable work of art.

Thank You For Smoking

This is one beautiful crisp satire, which may even make you wanna jump in your pants. And most importantly the movie doesn't take any sides, its up to you to decide whether you wanna make a pyramid out of the cancer sticks or just light them up. The writers are the absolute masters here, who rule from the word go. And then the actors deliver those incredible in-the-face punches. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor who is a powerful speaker and gets paid for talking and "spinning off" the arguments. In his own words " Not many know what it is to be truly despised" but he always has the formula and the correct tone that manages to buy his way out. He talks smoothly and regards himself the as "Colonel Sanders" of Nicotine. Together he completes the coterie called "MOD" or merchants of death which consists of guys like him, defending guns and alcohol. The MOD meetings are to be construed as refreshing gatherings for generation of new counterpoints and to reflect on the musings of health zealots. Nick Nalyor speaks for an organization called the Academy of Tobacco Studies - the main tobacco lobby of the Big Tobacco in Washington. In order to put brakes on the widespread increase in smoking among teens, a Vermont senator (William Macy) is planning to unleash a sort of hate campaign against cigarettes by embossing skulls and bones on the cigarette packets. Nick suggests a counter action by asking the tobacco inc. to rope in Hollywood in promoting cigarettes in a cool way. Rob Lowe's cameo is explosive as an entertainment executive who suggests Nick a neat scene where Brad Pitt would blow smoke rings after a "cosmic fuck" with Catherine zeta Jones. The man impresses Nick Naylor to the point that he considers him to be someone "who could teach me so much"! All the while Nick's son Joey, who considers Nick to be some one of a kind, follows him and tries to understand the man's psyche. Nick is a caring father, and loves to pass on his wisdom, explaining differences between negotiations and arguments and why he does what he does after all. Katie Holmes is convincing as a sleazy reporter who would not hesitate to copulate for a little inside information. She fulfills the emptiness in Nick's life and gives her the warmth he needs, albeit little does he know as to how fake it is. Towards the end, Nick confronts an ordeal as he is attacked by angry hooligans, and faces the ultimate challenge of rescuing his job and life when the opportunist reporter spills the beans on their bedtime stories. But more than anything else Nick wants to win the courtroom battle for his son. The climax is just as beautifully orchestrated and commanded by Nick as he does in the beginning defending himself on a certain Joan's show. The movie goes right up on the top of my book, it is wonderful, hilarious, intelligent and kicks ass. To close, I would quote Nick again "Micheal Jordan plays ball, Charles Manson kills people, I talk."

Requiem For A Dream

One of my favorites, I am writing this review after watching this movie for the umpteenth time. Disturbing, horrifying, wicked, sick, depressing, you name it. You can reel off most of the dark adjectives that identify with the character of this movie. This is one of the few movies which is solely a director's movie. Aronofosky comes across as an intelligent and a master creator, who puts his vision on screen with incredible punch and drama. Four lives are engulfed by drugs in different ways and each of them must gruesomely meet their fatal end. Requiem tells the story of hopes and aspirations taken over by a havoc which starts as a recreational drug use. Harry and his girlfriend Marion are a playful young couple who like to live on the edge. Rebellious and wild, initially what begins as a daily fix, gradually takes over their lives. Harry's mother is an old widow and the TV is all what she has to kill time. In order to fit in a pretty dress she must loose weight and take orange, blue and red pills which spiral her down to an old junkie. Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb delivers an excellent and shocking performance. The scene where she explains Harry, her reasons to get up in the morning is one of the most emotionally intense seen I have ever seen , good enough to melt the stone hearted. Here, Harry who thought her mother's 'fix' is a TV, turns up only to find out that in fact it is something else! The movie scores exceedingly well in technical aspects of camera work, editing and cinematography. Split screens, stop motions shots, green jittery frames - are all sheer genius. The process of drug making is conceptualized with immense ingenuity and equally well shot and edited. The entire split second montage draws the viewer, as though he is the one knocking the high! The climax is sheer power. As the ending comes close the scenes shuffle more quickly and so does the tempo of the background score. Clint Mansell's theme music has become a cult. The haunting and mind numbing violin screams effectively depict the painful cravings that the protagonists feel for their fixes. The movie blows me away every time, I watch it. I would say it requires some preparation of mind, because it is extremely depressing and not a happy ending. It is a masterpiece though!

Luck By Chance

Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut is a refreshing take on behind the curtains look at Bollywood. Luck, By Chance is a crisp tale of wanna be celebrities hitting the road to the tinsel town - small town kids aspiring to be leading men and women and the struggles they face to make it big and survive. A Delhi boy with starry eyes attends acting classes and theatre in the hopes of landing into the film industry. A Bangalore girl is slogging for the perfect break for years. The boy gets lucky and through a series of fortunate events lands up with a big movie break that the girl only dreams of. And with his charming personality he entertains the leading lady and her yesteryear's diva mom, with great panache. The story underpins different layers of film making exploring various characters weaving a movie. Hyperanimated director, megalomaniac superstar, couching cast producers, crossover intelligent kinds - its all there in the great Indian movie tamasha. The feature boils down to making compromises and living with the choices that one makes. Vikram finds whatever he aims for, loosing everything en route.

Joh Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

One of the bollywood classics where the underdog gets away winning. Masterful direction, supported by superb music by Jatin Lalit, this movie is about a teenage school boy's romance and his larger than life dreams. He is a looser at school with no real aim in life. But seeing his elder brother in shambles, he comes of age to pull off a sensational victory that culminates in an adrenaline pumping cycle race. Aamir Khan does a fantastic job with his acting, mannerisms and body language. I remember when I watched it first time, I was so excited that all I wanted to do was to race on bikes! I have seen it countless times and every time I watch it, it feels like new. A must watch movie, highly recommended!

300

There is something about the voice of Gerard Butler, who as the King Leonidas commandeers his troupe of 300 at the hot gates. Also, the heavy bass in the narrator's voice adds an incredible punch to the period drama, painting a surreal imagery of the grotesque dark ages. With blood smearing all over the screen as the swords slash the God King's men, some may argue that CGI effects are an overkill. I thoroughly enjoyed the camera work, and sleek graphic jerks that painted the screen red. It was a style statement that was different and catchy and depicted the gory fight sequences in paramount sophistication. Finally, the heavy metal bellowing in the background perfectly jells with the world that director strives to create.

Taare Zameen Par

The perfectionist completely thrashed most of the run of the mill crap of 2007 with this incredible masterpiece. Simple and drop dead shrewd. The methodical actor achieves brilliant levels of film making with simple scripting, camera work and soothing music. A lot of movies have been made on similar sensitive subjects but none of them have been this moving and effective in drawing you to the point where you actually empathize with the child. Aamir manages to strike the right chord, never going over the board.

Lost In Translation

A beautiful feature. Lost in Translation is the story of two strangers who connect by chance. They have similar emptiness in their lives and don't quite feel like home in Tokyo.
Bob Harris, an actor by profession is facing a mid-life crises, whose marriage has lost that zing, Charlotte is a young wife of a busy photographer, who yearns for the human contact. The two loners become friends in Tokyo and share each other's lives. He gives her the attention and cheesy lines, she gives him the company- someone he can talk to. The movie illustrates how the meaning of life changes from person to person and from time to time in one's life. What does life 'translate' to you? How much have you gained and lost? How far have you come? Did you get what you set out for? The answers to questions similar like these translate into the meaning of life for us, which clearly are lost in translation as we stand doing our life's time. Masterfully written and directed by Sofia Capola this drama is deftly embroidered with the culture shocks the American protagonists face in the Asian city. Highly recommended!

Babel

Actors emote very realistically without flashy histrionics, and evoke genuine empathy from the audience. This movie is in parts and weaves different stories together leading to a common thread. Camera work is amazing, feels like its almost a docu-drama. The bone of contention here is that every human being is related as every one of us experiences some form of pain. The individual stories could have been more tightly scripted and I felt some scenes , like the mexican wedding were a bit longer. The emotional grief of the deaf girl, the distance between the American couple, the confusion of the shepherds of Morocco and the dilemma of Mexican nanny, are all indirectly connected in a matter of fact-ly way which is inconsequential to the individual storylines. However their agonies sort of stand out, which make them part of the universal human bond.

Fargo

Fantastic dark humor complimented by an amazing soundtrack. I can hear it over and over again and not get tired of it. None of the actors were really huge at that time, and their low profile naturally made them a perfect fit for the characters. Macy as a dumbo, Jerry Lundergard is simply great. Also the accent of Frances McDormand embellishes the true and depressive Fargo cold.

Hostel II

I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, as I was expecting the regular in your face kind of horror. After watching the movie, my friends and I went on to watch the special features on the DVD! I have never done this before for any of the movies that I have rented in the recent present. I havent watched Hostel - I, so obviously I havent seen the best going by the popular reviews. Well first of all what impressed me was the gradual build up leading to the gore. While that lasted only for the first half, the movie relegated to the usual torture and sadism after all that was there to know was revealed. Even then the gore was kept to a minimum, but I liked the general vibe of the movie. After watching this I have a strong desire to rent Hostel I and cannibal holocaust.

My first entry

I have been jobless for months together now, which has been quite an experience for me amidst the present times. Staying mostly at home, I have finally decided to start blogging and yank off my incongruous thoughts, which can potentially explode my mind for the lack of a better ventilator. Ok, I made this up but it is partly true. With no friends around, and no work to do, sometimes life becomes extremely horrendous. This entry is about one of my recent passions- Poker, and how at times it has been a great leveler!!

I started playing Poker around 2 years ago, while I was still a graduate student at University of Notre Dame. I vividly remember that I had won a good hand when I was starting (had hit the beginner's luck). Well I never really took a keen interest then, but after a while, Poker became a favorite pass time for our group of Indian grads there. So I decided to take the plunge and eventually got addicted. Poker had then become one of our indispensable weekend acts, which would be centre of commingling, grub and fanfare.

While I saw, some of the most hilarious and ingenious game plays, I was more influenced by the players themselves. In some ways their playing styles reflected a part of their character. To me, a typical Poker session seemed like a social experiment with varied temperaments crossed each other at calling bluffs and raising bets. In retrospect, it transported me to the other world seen through a looking glass, where the chips defined all boundaries and every session or two the system purged off losers and announced new winners. Such is the game of life and death.