Music Muzik 'Musing

   Recently I began listening to UK top 40 singles album and found these 5 songs to be very interesting.

1. Labrinth - Earthquake ft. Tinie Tempah
  
   First up, my favourite song in the list is this song by Labrinth containing full bass, synthetic beeps and sounds and all that that shit. It's seriously good when listening at full blast on my ipod.

2. We Found Love - Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris (Boyce Avenue piano acoustic cover)

   I heard the original and it was good, but this one takes the cake. His voice and the piano's a definite hit.

3. Videogames - Lana Del Rey

   This song is very mesmerizing to from start to finish and Lana Del Ray captures everything. 

4. Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

   Very funky rap and a titillating background.

5. Loca People - Sak Noel

   First time I'm hearing a song like this. It's wacky, beat busy, dead pan vocals. Addictive.

Movie Review: The Dirty Picture (2011) (Hindi) - 3/7

 
Rating: 3/7

   This is not exactly a review per se since I haven't watched the whole movie. I came in 15 minutes late for the beggining and left 30 minutes early before the credits rolled in. Yes, I left the theater halfway into the second half and this is my second such incident.

   As for the movie, I hardly think this was based on Silk Smitha's life, and I feel like it's always a matter of coin toss on whether they are lying or not when the producers say it is not based on someone's life story.

   But credit has to be given for Vidya Balan for attempting to play a daring character the likes of which hasn't been done before in Bollywood and also for Naseeruddin Shah for giving a commendable performance as always. There is enough skin show, sexual innuendo's, mindless dialogues, one line punch lines etc for everyone to get through the film. If on the other hand if you were looking out for something deep like a psychological biopic of the persona of a dancer who raised eyes during a point of time when women in various fields were still looked down , then I would suggest you give it a miss.   

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) – 6.5/7

When I first saw the trailer of this movie, I was mildly interested. Then the movie was released and it was met with good response. Since then, I have been waiting for a Blu-ray rip to watch the movie. I live in Pilani by the way (BITS-Pilani), so the wait for a Blu-ray rip instead of watching the movie in a theatre. Please, don’t get me started about the cons and cons of living in Pilani.

Anyway, coming to the movie, here is what IMDB says about it:

Rating: 7.8/10

Description: During experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically-enhanced chimpanzee uses its greater intelligence to lead other apes to freedom.

What IMDB doesn’t say is that the movie’s graphics are quite literally from another planet, on another level. Caesar’s (hero ape) emotions reach out to you and frighten you and also make you sympathize for him. One moment you want him as your pet, and the next you want to urge James Franco (the scientist who raises Caesar) to get rid of him when you see his menacing eyes as the years grow on him.

Fortunately, the movie doesn’t have any gory scenes of apes stamping and crushing humans to death. That is a big, big relief after watching a season of ‘Game of Thrones’.

It has not got full 7/7 rating only because of its predictability. There are no twists in the tale; you can easily expect what’s going to come next (apart from the apes’ movements while they attack of course). Download a Blu-ray rip like me, go full volume with a 2.1 like me, and just sit back and enjoy the movie like me.

VERDICT: Watch it with full volume. It might not be an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but the action and sound effects might tip you off your seat every now and then. And of course, the visual effects are simply superb.

Witness For The Prosecution (1957) – 7/7

If you are wondering why this movie has been given full marks, then I have only one thing to say. Because it is damn good!! This is not a high school English or Hindi exam where you can never score full marks and also I am not someone who is a hard man to please or who looks at all the technical intricacies of a movie. In short, I am no Rajeev Masand, I am just a teen who loves watching a movie with a friend and a pack of chips.

Anyway, after coming out of three exams on a trot with one major casualty, I was sitting in my room, strangling IMDB so that it pukes out some above average movie that I haven’t seen. And puke it did, Witness For The Prosecution.

IMDB Description: Agatha Christie tale of a man on trial for murder: a trial featuring surprise after surprise.

And it is exactly that. I had heard about this novel vaguely and so I decided to watch it after convincing my “no-not-black-and-white” friend to bear with me just this once. Thankfully, he did not regret it.

There is subtle humor throughout with the promised twists and the usual trial in the court where all hope is lost for the defendant until our brilliant defense lawyer pulls one out of the bag. But, the story just doesn't end there (picture abhi baaki hain dost!!) and that is where the movie makes all the difference in the world.

The protagonist Charles Laughton, the defense lawyer, steals the show and I don’t really know all those actors, but I guess all of them did pretty well.

As I said already, I have given it full marks because frankly, I can’t see where the movie could have been better. I am a big fan of movies that involves trials and lawyers, a love that has started from A Few Good Men and I am glad to have found another movie to match it.

VERDICT: Must Watch!!!

Our New Rating System of 7

The Magical Number Seven, Plus Or Minus Two: Some Limits On Our Capacity Of Processing information By George A. Miller(1956)  http://cogprints.org/730/1/miller.html

 A landmark paper in the field of cognitive science, George A.Miller studies the human body as a communication  system with input as stimuli and output as responses for the stimuli while trying to the determine the channel capacity. This paper should be read by everyone who has taken a course in Information Theory as channel capacities of humans by absolute judgments of uni dimensional stimuli are plotted in a graph using simple and ingenious experiments on sound, taste, vision and touch. Similarly the span of immediate memory is studied using binary, decimal, alphanumeric and words by plotting their their ability to hold a number of bits and the process of recoding.

What does this have to do with the new rating of 7 in the blog? Nothing. There are many rating systems in the internet with some of the famous being that of imdb's scale of 10, metacritic and rotten tomato's scale of 100, critics rate of 5 or 4 or alphabetic scale. Well, anyone familiar with these systems of rating know well to spray an odour of skepticism for a movie with a rating of 8.3 or 92 and to give a fragrance of second chance for 6.8 or "racist insult to the audience". 

I'm not saying this system of 7 will not have any problems but it feels good to me, so you are stuck with it.

6 Black and White movies I would say yes to in a heart-beat.

   I know that a lot of people have an unreal bias against old movies with reasons ranging from black and white is dull to they don't have giant robots banging their heads against each other. Well, some reasons which I can lend some neurons to are the apparent temporal shift in the folkways and morays of their cultural and social setting of the content which does not connect with the audience of our present epoch or 'no S**T is F***ING going on in the movie'.   
   Here are six movies which I have chosen to get you acquainted with the golden age of hollywood. The only thing which I had in mind while compiling this list is a) the easiness with which the viewer could connect with the story and it's characters b) entertainment value as dictated in our present form of mainstream movies (which ironically are the rules handed over by the very movies i am evaluating) c) timeless factor of the movie. The movies are chronologically arranged and is not representative of their relative merit.

1. City Lights (1931)
    Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia cherrill ; Directed by: Charlie Chaplin ; Genre: Comedy, Romance

    Charlie Chaplin, the genius, the true artist, the laughter pill and I could go on and on. The story is simple, the tramp(immortalized by Chaplin) falls in love with a blind girl who sells flowers and helps her with her troubles. This is a silent movie with music, so sit back back and feast your eyes on the tramp. The ending scene where the tramp and the blind girl meet is one of the best scenes of all time.

    You can continue watching the tramp in Modern Times, The Kid, The Gold Rush and chaplin as dictator in The Great Dictator.

2. Rebecca (1940)
    Starring: Laurence Oliver, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders; Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock; Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance

   It is ironic that I should select Rebecca which is not a good representation to Hitchcock's body of work. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Daphne Du Maurier, this movie is one of my favourite psychological thriller. Anyone who has any misapprehensions over character depth driven by psychology in old movies will have mouth shut by this movie. For me, the twist - good, ending - even better.

   Following the footsteps of Rebecca are big foots such as Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Notorious, Strangers On A Train, Dial M For Murder etc. 

3. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
   Starring: HUMPHREY BOGART, Mary Astor; Directed by: John Huston; Mystery, Crime, Hard Boiled, Noir

   Humphrey Bogart, the guy who represents all the machoness in the world, the hardboiled cynic who doesn't fall for femme fatale, the guy who everyone who looks up to for finding their manliness. This movie also marks the directorial debut of John Huston who will go on to make some of the best movies cinema has known. Add to this potent combination, the novel written by Dashiell Hammett upon which the movie is made. This film serves as the best example of film noir genre and one of the greatest movies ever.

   Other film noir include The Big Sleep, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, Ace In The Hole, The Third Man and more.
 

4. Casablanca (1942)
    Starring: HUMPHREY BOGART, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid; Directed By: Michael Curtiz; Genre: Romance, Drama

   Casablanca is the name of place in unoccupied Africa during the early days of Second World War which acts as a gateway for immigrants from Europe to the gates of America. In this setting is our hero Rick Blaine who owns a club and is one day visited by his former lover with an another man and requiring help which can only be provided by the hero. 

   You will also love The Apartment, The Philadelphia Story, Notorious, A Streetcar Named Desire etc.

5. Stalag 17 (1953) 
    Starring: William Holden, Don Taylor; Directed By: BILLY WILDER; Genre: Comedy, Drama, War

   From one of my favourite directors, Billy Wilder presents Stalag 17 which is about a group of American airmen held in a Nazi prison camp who suspect one of their own(i.e the hero) to be an informer. William Holden plays a cynic who cares only for his own skin and the unknown traitor in the background who keeps us guessing until the end. Becoming a fan of Billy Wilder is a natural thing after watching this movie and William Holden got an Oscar for this film(which was already due in Sunset Boulevard).

   Other movies include Some Like It Hot, Its a Wonderful Life, All About Eve etc
 

6. 12 Angry Men (1957)
    Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb; Directed By: SIDNEY LUMET; Genre: Courtroom drama, suspense

    Passing my respects to Sidney Lumet who passed away earlier this year, 12 Angry Men was his first work for the film audience and who goes on to make Network, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon among others(watch them). This is only black and white movie in the top 10 of imdb's top 250 list. The entire movie takes place in single room with 12 guys just saying words. This is the best courtroom drama ever made and will stay there.

   Other movies include Paths Of Glory, Witness For The Prosecution, Anatomy Of A Murder, To Kill A Mockingbird.

Quick Book Reviews 2

1. Percy Jackson & The Sea Of Monsters - Rick Riordian (2005-09) ; Fantasy adventure, mythology

                                The Titans Curse

                                The Battle Of The Labyrinth

                                The Last Olympian  

   A series of five books with Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief leading the list is told by the protagonist Percy Jackson who is a demi-god meaning that he's the son of Greek god Posiedon and a mortal woman who is his mother. The book's main theme is reinventing greek mythology in the present modern setting of US. The books are laden with american teenage humour and appreciable action pieces. The books are a quick read which could work as a nice substitution for a no-good bollywood movie. Those people who are thorough in their mythology fundas or have passed the stage where going near the young adult section in a bookstore is beneath them will not regret in missing this book.

2. The Immortals Of Meluha (Book 1) - Amish Tripathi ; Historical fiction, action-adventure

   The book starts with our hero Shiva deciding to start a new life in a new place known as meluha for his group. There he drinks a potion called somras which makes his neck shine blue; therefore according to a prophecy he is proclaimed as the saviour of meluha and the destroyer of evil who have come to help help them, and the rest of the book deals with whether shiva accepts this responsibility and if so he is confronted with the nature of evil, and other such questions? A very interesting book from an indian author who succeeds in combining mythology and history to give a very enjoyable read. With action- good, language- simple & understandable for masses, dialogues - at times taking a philosophical tone in matters of good and evil. This book is wholesome fun and a great way to start historical fiction genre.

3. The Secret Of The Nagas  (Book 2) - Amish Tripathi

    Picking up right where book 1 ended, The Secret Of The Nagas exceeds all expectations laid out by Immortals of Meluha. The book is high on somras and the twists will catch you off-guard if you aren't careful enough. The book ends with a i-knew-he-would-be-alive cliffhanger while leaving you gasping for more. Secret of the Nagas is faster, cleverer and much better than its predecessor with the signs pointing to a very satisfying finale for the fans.
It would not be prudent on my part to suggest buying this book without reading Immortals of Meluha first.

Quick Book Reviews

FICTION

1. Only Time Will Tell (2011) - Jeffrey Archer:
  
   For anyone who has read at least one book by Jeffrey Archer - it's not too late, order this instant from flipkart, it's only Rs 200. This is the first of the five books known as clifton chronicles which as the name suggests follows the life of Harry Clifton from 1920 to science-knows-where. This particular book starts from 1920 in Britain after the First World War and ends in America during the start the Second World War with a not-so impressive cliff hanger.
   The best part for me in this book is the narrative style which is simply awesome. Jeffrey Archer serves you with a grand buffet of friendship, love, betrayal, sentiment, corny dialogues, gut wrenching scenes in a style which rightfully makes him the most favourite author in India.
 
2. 1984 (1949)- George Orwell
   
    If the whole universe cease to exist, I think truth and George Orwell's 1984 are the two things which will be left. I feel inadequate with my current vocabulary to write about this seminal work which is about a totalitarian and dystopian future. It's hard to think myself in the shoes of Winston Smith who is devoid of privacy, language, thought and free will. This is a book that should be read by everyone and is a timeless classic.
     
3. Animal Farm (1945) - George Orwell
   
   A novella of 112 pages, this a political satire on the events leading to the rise of Stalin. The story is set in an animal farm where the animals revolt against a brutal farmer only to face an even more tyrannical rule by a pig called Napolean. If you want to know how dictator get to do things and get away with them, this is the stuff. The book offers some valuable lessons in liberty and basic rights which denied leads only to one road.

FIFA 12 DEMO REVIEW

   Starting with minor details: The demo version size is 1.5GB and quick to install, but the catch is that you have to remove the previous version(i.e FIFA 11) before you install{ or go to this link http://forum.ea.com/uk/posts/list/987075.page }. A 512MB graphic card should be sufficient. You can choose from amateur to legendary which is a relief. To change the key functions to your own taste, start an exhibition match; pause; go to settings; controller; press ctrl whose default key is LT and you are there.

   The preview window for game configuration is the same as FIFA 11 and initially needs a changing in aspect resolution. After you start the game, you get the customary sequence of language and EA sports. And the first awesome change is the start page where Rooney comes to kick the ball and stops, waiting for you to hit spacebar. When you tap it both the ball and logo fly towards you which would have been supercool in 3d.

   You come across a tutorial which tell how they have changed the defense and blah..blah.. which I gave a miss, but on hindsight I think it was pretty much a warning. You have only 6 teams to choose from i.e Barca, Mancity, BVB, OM, Arsenal and Milan. And Messi's rating is f***ing 95!!!(By this pattern it will be 100 next year).

   The biggest changes which immediately registers in your brain are defense and ball possession. The ball possession in this new version is simply awesome. You feel like you are controlling an actual player, who doesn't easily give the ball to your opponent and shows improved body technique in handling the ball while facing an opponent.

   The second change, defense. What EA did was that they ripped the defense mechanism in 11 and put a brand new one. The defending, which was one of the sweetest thing in 11, where you keep holding s during the whole game and let the guys do the work for you doesn't fly anymore. In this game you have to know when, where, how to press your defense button. Fast fingers and timing: that's the mantra. The ball dynamics has clearly changed and reflects more real world play.

   In the graphics department, they have a new game engine and the graphics are very good looking.The dynamic tele mode is much more smooth and subtle in moving. The audience response is much more in tune with the game and the commentary is good as usual.

   Can't wait for the full version and pity there will be no LAN play(damn you EA). AND ENJOY!

Book Review: The Emperor Of All Maladies

NON-FICTION
1. The Emperor Of All Maladies: A Biography Of Cancer (2011) - Siddhartha Mukherjee

    
The caption of this book, "A Biography Of Cancer" is single dimensional to what the author presents to the reader in this book. In this magnificent study of a multifaceted disease known as cancer, the author takes us on a journey starting from 1600 B.C, where the earliest description of cancer is recorded on a papyrus to the present hospitals where the battle rages on day and night, harder than ever. This book is much and more about the people affected by the various aspects of this disease and their relationship to it.The author presents the story not as a professional trying to decode the problem but as a compassionate biographer trying to untangle the many faces of this disease and present it to us.

This book is fairly large with pages touching 600. I would strongly recommend this book to everyone and will make a valuable addition to your bookshelf. This is not a quick read and I would suggest to take in all the information the author offers at a pace suitable to you, and be armed with knowledge to take us one step closer in understanding cancer. 

6 Movies to kickstart your KOREAN movie phase

1. My Sassy Girl(2001) 
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
   If some willing enthusiast wanted to explore korean cinema, this may perhaps be the most recommended movie by any numerous number of sources.
   The movie has a long and meandering storyline, but is basically about a boy meeting a girl under unusual and hilarious circumstances and the events following more unusual and hilarious still.
   This is a very good gateway movie to understand korea's romcoms ,and the use of varied style and approach by their director.

2. A Moment To Remember(2004)
Genre: Romance, Drama 
   This movie comes under romance territory with a theme of Alzheimer's disease, which brings countless suffering to the heroine and hero while trying to deeply care for each other.
   The on-screen chemistry between the actors is a delight to watch while their heart wrenching plight through the turmoils caused by Alzheimer's disease is equally painful to watch.      
   The climax of the movie is emotionally charged one and is one for the ages.

3. Welcome To Dongmakgol(2005)
Genre: Comedy
   According to wikipedia, "The story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from both the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded village, its residents largely unaware of the outside world, including the war." What follows is a heart warming comedy where boundaries of enmity are broken , friendship and love found amongst the unlikely of people. 
   This is the type of heart warming and fuzzy movie filled with innocence to cheer you up during the bleakest of days.   

4. Oldboy(2003)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Vengeance 
   Take heed, for this movie is not for the weak-hearted. I was toying whether to include Sex is Zero over Oldboy but winning the grand jury prize at cannes shifts the scale dramatically.
   This is kind of movie which demands horror and awe for generations to come without breaking a sweat. This is the story of a man finding and extracting revenge for being imprisoned without any human contact for 15 years in a private cell, without knowing why or who did this. 
    If ever a movie truly deserved the title of mind f**k, this is it. And if thought Dark Knight was a dark movie, this is a black hole.

5. The Chaser(2008)
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
    The Chaser is an engaging serial killer movie with an upfront narrative with a lot secrets left to be unraveled with fast chases, realistic scenes and unnatural twists.  
    The direction rewrote all the rules in the book of crime thrillers to take us on a wild goose chase at the mercy of the clock. If you want a totally different narrative in a thriller, this is the movie to watch.

6.  Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War(2004)
Genre: War, Action, Drama
   This is an epic war movie encompassing two brothers through the korean war fighting for survival, love and hope. The movie clearly depicts the destruction and misery brought on by war on peoples livelihood, their loved ones and their happiness. This is a war movie on par with the best of hollywood in terms of its portrayal of war, music and acting.

Community(2009-):
Genre: comedy  
   This series is basically about a study group of 7 people in a community college. The dialogues are smart, funny and there's no dearth of movie references. With a rating of 9 in imdb, this is a must watch for anyone seriously loving comedy.
   People who enjoyed Modern Family, Arrested  Development, Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia will have no problems watching this.

Alphas(2011-):
Genre: Science Fiction , Drama
   To put into perspective, this is basically X-MEN meets CSI. The show is 4 episodes in and my favourite part about this show is that it takes itself very seriously and has huge potential for the future. Anybody looking for a seriously engaging drama can check this out.

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde

From the outside the movie looks impressive, "cowboys" and "aliens" in the title, Old man Indiana Jones, James Bond and the girl from tron. But from inside its just pitiful.

What could have been a fun and suspenseful film turns into a boring, silly routine of drama followed by action followed by drama till infinity. The writing team could learn a thing or two from koreans about mixing genres because the elements of western and science fiction are seriously messed up.

This will be a big disappointment for Harrison Ford fans(me being one of them) to watch him clearly dominated by Daniel Craig and this movie is an insult to his charisma. On the other hand, fans of Daniel Craig get James Bond in every scene instead of a cowboy which he should be. Olivia Wilde adds less glamour and more head-ache.

The only highlight for me in this movie was listening to background of the prologue scene which was clearly a amazing blend of western and modern music.

5 Time Travel movies which are more than just going back in time

I'm sure you have seen time travel movies where somebody goes back in time to change the future or stop something from happening , like The Terminator, Back to the Future, The Time Machine etc.
So I have compiled a list of movies that are more than are not just your average thriller or adventure. These movies have heavily interwoven plots where every scene is connected to every other scene in the movie, and which requires the complete attention of the viewer.

1. Time Crimes(2007)

   This movie is Time travel logic 101. This movie has the class time travel premise, A man going back 1 hour back into past has to face the consequences of his own actions. Sounds simple right, but when you actually watch the movie it doesn't look so simple. A very tight script, small cast, a BIG flowchart of logic and 90 minutes later, you my friend have the perfect time travel movie.
P.S: Please bear through the starting 5 minutes which is very boring and I promise that you won't regret it.

2. The Butterfly Effect(2004)
    This movie beautifully blends the two concepts of time travel and butterfly effect(where changing a particular event or choice of an action, can basically have enormous unforeseeable consequences, as it is popularly understood). If you strip the skin and bones of this movie, at it's heart it invariably contains a guy having the ability to travel back in time, trying time and again to protect his loved ones. With a background of emotional performance with fate catching the hero unawares at every turn makes this movie a engaging watch.  

3. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(2006)
   Well, look at that, we have an anime in our list. Following the lead of many famous anime movies where the central character is a adolescent girl, this movie revolves around a girl who finds an object which lets her leap back into time. This is a sweet and innocent take on the fun things which we would do if we can travel back in time. With beautifully crafted montage of school life in the first half, the second half follows into more serious matters concerning the device which lets her travel back in time, and her unresolved feelings for her friend. This movie tends to get confusing near the end and may require replay.

4. Deja Vu(2006)
   This is a typical Tony Scott movie, where the hero is working against the clock, hero is trying to save someone, cars exploding everywhere, dialogues coming out like bam-bam-bam against a backdrop of impressive effects and a dramatic score etc. The concept of going back in time creeps up quite suddenly during the movie and we to adjust our whole thinking accordingly. The reason I included this one is because this movie uses a plot device where the past is backtracked in the present and use of multiple points of view. If it is to entertain your entertain your brain in hyper activity mode, this is the place to start.   

5. Mr.Nobdy(2009)
   You wont stumble across this movie in the internet unless you are actually searching for it, and this is not a time travel movie.This movie with the worlds oldest living man recounting his life to a reporter. The screenplay of the movie is very non-linear with very experimental storytelling and a lot of hidden meaning. My favourite part are the montages which speaks more than what they show. This is an experimental film and it doesn't please everyone. World cinema enthusiasts can appreciate this movie.

Special mentions: Run Lola Run, Source Code, Groundhog Day are not explicitly time travel but they are about time manipulation just the same. The plot device for these 3 movies resemble the same- relive a particular time interval to produce the most desirable outcome in 3, 10, >100 times respectively in the following movies. Run Lola Run is experimental, Source Code - thriller, Groundhog Day - comedy and each movie gives the atmost satisfaction to watch.

Primer is supposed to be most complex and confusing time travel movie of all and I will be watching it soon.

P.S: On hindsight, the ending of source code does resemble that of Deja Vu in it's logic.

Movie review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

After a blitzkrieg of publicity and promotion, the last movie in the HP series is out with it's wands blazing. For Potter fans all over the world, this movie rewards their devotion and love of this series in manifold ways. The movie gives as much emotional punch as it's action, and weaves it's screenplay through a story of adventure, survival, friendship and hope.

For the people who have read the book, there are no big changes in the plot and stays true to the book. As for the rest of the muggels I would suggest you get your A's and B's of the last book right ,or a repeated viewing of part1 of HP7 might be necessary. To put it vaguely the movie revolves around finding four objects each containing a part of Voldermort's soul a.k.a horcruxes, and destroying them by our hero.

I specially recommend the viewers to watch this in IMAX 3D for it's jaw dropping visual effects and stunning depth provided by the extra dimension. This is my favourite 3D all this summer and the best in the series as well.

I have never felt so thrilling while watching the movie and the music could bring tears during the montage of Snape's flashback.

PS: A thrilling ride worth cherishing every moment of the movie.

Book review: Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones (Book one of A Song of Fire and Ice)
Written by George R.R. Martin

I came across Game of Thrones as the most anticipated TV show of this year. I watched the trailer and got to know it's based on some book. I watched the pilot episode for 10 and thought better to watch it later(The opening sequence was too awesome even for a movie). Well after 2 months I bought the book and it is the best fantasy book since LOTR and in a long time in the future.

The book is big, smart and has non linear, multiple sub-plots and each chapter told in third person of a certain character. If you want more specifics, follow this link to amazon and read the review of MISTER SJEM. He gives you the pros and cons on why you should read this book.

I cannot compare this book with Harry Potter or LOTR or Eragon. This book sets itself apart from the rest in terms of narrative structure, plot development and characters. The telling of the world and it's characters by the writer is vivid and does not give you a reason to skip it. One internal detail I should divulge is, this  book has a lot of sexual content and will not be available in the young adult section of bookstores.

PS: This book is not just for fantasy lovers but anyone who loves engaging plot with a web of intricacies and a chapters told from the perspective of several small and big characters.

PPS: This is a 7-part series with 5 books available. I'm right now reading book 4 and of the impression that I don't need to review the rest in the series because whatever I write, it doesn't change your decision on buying the next book once you read this one. That answer will be yes and you'll be hungry for more.

TV Review:Burn Notice

This is a spy thriller but not like any thing made before. The show is about a spy(Michael Westen) who is "burnt" meaning fired due to some unknown reason and how he tracks the people responsible for this.

This show is set in Miami and has the fabulous beaches and bikinis. Each episode deals with some main story line and also side missions which michael undertakes. The side missions are actually problems faced by normal people and michael solves them using the expertise of a spy and also with some help from his girl friend(who is "trigger happy" as the show proclaims) and a friend(Bruce campbell,this guy is the hero in The Evil dead).

This show also has a very interesting aspect. It also shows us how every day equipment like tape,shoe polish can be used for lethal purposes. It also has this voice overs by michael in which he explains making bombs etc. He also has a very unique way of describing things in a casual manner.

I completed watching four seasons. I felt slightly bored mid way in the 2nd season where the side missions dominate main story line. I find this very distracting as some times even 2-3 episodes have only the side missions and no main story line.

But the pace picked up in 4th season and i hope it continues in fifth season. 

This is a definite watch for anybody and it is light hearted at the same time brutal.

TV Review:Twin Peaks

According to TIME magazine twin peaks is one of the 100 best TV shows of all time(link).

When I looked it up in Wikipedia it said "Supernatural Thriller" and has an FBI agent solving the death of a local girl. All these things got me super excited and i started watching the show.

Having so many interesting things, i still can't understand how a show can be boring.I was bored from the instant i started watching this show.There is never a interesting moment and finally the show ends with a bizarre incident that i quite didn't understand what happened finally.

But the lead role of FBI agent portrayed by Kyle Maclachlan has a very unusual way of going through

the investigation which i found funny. He comes to the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the death of

a local girl and as he proceeds with investigation(at the expense of my boredom) he finds out each of 

the people in the village who appear to be normal from outside have secrets(for which i don't give a crap).

This show is aired in 1991 and is quite old and does not appeal to the present audience. This is a two 

season show but i was exhausted by the end of it. 

I seriously recommend not to watch this show even if you are a fan of murder mysteries.

TV Review:The Good Wife

Let me tell you this:The Good Wife is the most intelligent,compelling court room drama on TV. Don't have any impressions that this is a show for the female audience. But sadly, this show very much under appreciated in the media and internet. This may be the reason why you might never have heard about this show.
The show is about Alicia Florrick,wife of a district attorney(Peter Florrick) who is caught in a sex scandal.The main story is about how Alicia handles her husband's arrest and how Peter plays the  game of politics to get his position of district attorney back.The former part intrigued me a lot.You will be shocked by the tricks politicians play using internet to defame the opposition.


Besides this each episode has a case being dealt in the court by Alicia and her firm.After watching this series you will be familiar with all the court room jargon.
Alicia(Julianna Margulies) ,does a pretty good job and she signifies the strong woman.
All other characters also do a commendable job.


Take my word and just start watching this and you will be instantly drawn towards each of the characters.

Movie Review: Transformers Dark Of The Moon

Hey I watched Revenge of the Fallen in IMAX and even Michael Bay can't top that piece of crap. The trailer for Dark of the Moon was pretty good- the music, the slashing, the robots. Alas, I should have known better.

To add pictures to describe the emotions I experienced while watching this epic two and half hour movie I have included a short clip.

If you are one of those who just want to watch the latest Michael Bay movie you need to take a few precautions.
1. Before going into the cinema take a chain saw, cut a cross section across the fore head, scoop the grey, matter, grind it, burn it and throw it into the sewer.
2. After doing step 1, you wouldn't understand step 2 anyway so you are good to go.

OK, this is my serious assessment of Transformers:Dark of the Moon. If you just watch the occasional brainless summer movie without complaints about its story or characters, GO I'm not stopping you. But if you have any love for the art of cinema or respect films, I suggest you not to waste your money on this movie. You can torrent when the bluray hits piratebay and satisfy your curiosity.

There was one wow moment of 30 seconds when they airdrop in flying suits from an airplane. Had a very real sense of vertigo. Respect to Michael Bay for that clip in 3D.

FINAL WORD: This movie is a piece of shit. Period.

TV review: It's Always Sunny in Pliladelpdia

Let's keep this simple. The only reason I took a peek at the pilot is because that it has an insane rating of  9.4 on IMBb and I'm happy to announce that it's almost correct except it is under rated by 5.999... .

Season 1 has 6 episodes follows four people in their 30's running a bar in philadelphia. Season 2 introduces Danny De Vito(the short and bald guy in the poster) who becomes a regular. Season 7 is gonna start this fall in 2011.

This is basically a laugh riot which derives it's comedy from the insane doings of the aforementioned gang of 5. Looking back I can say that this show delivers some very hard laughs and laughing may extend to clutching your abdomen and jumping on your feet.

I'm currently watching season 5 and my last episode had a word play where the word philanthropist turns to full-on-rapist.LOL.

TV shows closest to compare this with: How I Met Your Mother, Entourage, Arrested Development

P.S: Not a sitcom, Hard laughs, Laughs per minute- very high, 5 main characters and 2 supplementary ones, Do not miss this.

Movie Review: Castle in the Sky(1986)

Director and Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Voice Talent: James van der beek, anna paquin, Chloris Leachman

Genre: Anime, Fantasy, Adventure, Treasure hunt

Two words to describe this movie -simply awesome. According to IMDb, the plot synopsis is - A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.That's the core of the movie but let me just throw some random words to give you a wider context- Floating castle, Pirates, Indestructible robots, Secret agents, Mystery crystal called Aetherium, etc. The movie has a very well thought out plot and a screenplay which holds the viewer from start to finish.

After watching this movie my first reaction was, How can this movie get everything right? I mean it's characters, storyline, music, dialogues, action pieces, suspense,comedy timing and every single frame of this movie are flawless. Even while watching I was reminded of a long litany of movies which were a pale imitations of its characters and plot elements like The Mummy, Titan A.E, Treasure Island and various others. 

Another beautiful thing in this movie is its music which i'm downloading right now. I can safely declare that this is like a animated Indiana Jones but with younger protagonist.

Final Word: This is a definite source of entertainment for any age, any time, any place. Please don't have any qualms about this being an anime or old movie.

P.S: I watched the English dubbed version and feel that its better to opt this version than the subtitled one.

Full Metal Jacket

Genre:War,Drama,Action
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Matthew Modine, Arliss Howard, Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey

Pre-impressions before watching the movie:
One single word is enough to persuade me to watch this film: Stanley Kubrik. Regarded as one of the most technically brilliant directors with an eye for photography. But does Stanley Kubrik manage to entertain us with this flick?

Post-Impressions:

There's a major star in "Full Metal Jacket": Stanley Kubrick's direction. The background score is superb and engaging.

The movie is about the soldiers in vietnam war: Their experiences in training and actual combat. But i did not find any scene that blows your mind or fascinates you. It's just the sheer brilliance and attention to detail of stanley kubrick that adds life to the movie. The camera movements left me awestruck as i felt i was part of the action. The movie end with finale of harrowing cat-and-mouse game with a sniper.

By the way,Full metal jacket is a type of bullet.

Bottom Line:
Watch it for if you appreciate stanley kubrick's movies. But i did not find it very entertaining.

Genre:Adult,Drama,Romance,Comedy
Directed By:Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Maribel Verdú
Pre-impressions before watching the movie:
D:<
Y Tu Mamá También translates to:"And your Mother too" in spanish and is an word used to insult.This is a mexican film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. This is a road trip movie and stars Gael García Bernal, the guy from Motorcycle dairies. Will this just be an another teen road trip movie we all have watched?
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Post-Impressions:

D:<
WARNING:FEATURES EXTENSIVE NUDITY.

This movie is very bold!!. I was shocked by the depiction of sex and drugs. Its about two teens in mexico going on a road trip with a older women.  This movie is literally filled with erotic scenes though they more of frantic comedy than erotic. Mind you,its not a entirely comedy movie. It has a fair share of scenes filled with emotion. Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal excel at portraying the rich spoilt brats.

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Bottom Line:
This movie is certainly not a "Just another teen movie". Its bold and original.

Cars 2

Genre: Animation, Sequel

Directed By: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis

Voice Cast: Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer

Pre-impressions before entering the theatre:

   K: <

This movie is meant for kids. How different can it be from cars 1? Cars being all about racing and McQueen winning a race at the end of cars 1, scoring a chick and gaining friends, so what could cars 2 be about? So I had to wait to find out.

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   D: <

cars first part was quite good and I was eager to watch the second part. Though my hopes were not quite high I thought the movie would be good .So, I with k and n set out to watch the movie in Prasad's multiplex in 3D.

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Post-Impressions:

N: <

Lets start this with a checkbox

3D: YES

Is it worth it: YES

Any previous knowledge of CARS 1 required: NO, just enough Japanese to know what wasabi means.

Is this just for kids: NO, There is a very good chances that you will love it.

Lets start with the bad news first:

If you are thinking "ooooh, it's so good to see Lighting McQueen back in action", stop right there because Lighting McQueen is not in the lead nor is the butler from dark knight. If you are taking another guess you are right, mater is at the driver seat in this movie. 

Another feature missing from this movie is what Pixar is known for doing best, serving your own tears  in a shaken martini.

When you take off your glasses during the movie, you do feel the colors a bit washed off.

At the end of the movie, I got a sick feeling that Pixar somehow let me down in a way I can't describe.

GOOD NEWS:

The first hero of this movie - THE ANIMATORS, even though the movie lets you down in its emotional treatment of its characters, the movie compensates by the sheer epic of sets, physical simulation and god, the shine of the cars except mater who doesn’t shine(you worthless piece of shit.)

The second hero - Michael Giaachino. Do indulge your ears in the stunning composition of this maestro, which makes this film hip, cool and the action scenes a ton of fun.

The comedy is light hearted and is included throughout the movie. Especially watch out for the cultural references regarding Japan, France and England.

Voices are as usual as good as it can for a animation movie. I had a special spot for the French racer Francesco Bernoulli voiced by john tutturo.

Cool Gadgets and tons of action.

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K: <

   Intro was supercool with a secret agent (fynn mcmissile) dashing into the screens (3D is nice ;)). Then the plot becomes routine, except for mater who brings out a few laughs and entering into a side mission of his own (I should say McQueen enters the side lines). I clearly remember this line:

"  Fynn: fynn mcmissile, British intelligence.

   Mater: mater, average intelligence. "

 This sequel features, what I assume an F1 car, Francesco Bernoulli, with an Italian accent. There is enmity from the start between McQueen and Bernoulli. And as the movie goes on we can easily guess what’s going to happen. The animation and the locations used in the movie were intriguing. One can look at the movie just for the sake of the good job of animation done by Pixar. Plot thickens as other participants' cars start blowing up during the races. I don’t want to spoil the rest.

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D:<

The first thing I noticed in the film was the 3D.I was stunned by the level of detail that went into 3D in this movie. As I was watching the movie I felt that I could actually touch McQueen with my hands. This movie is certainly bigger in scale compared to the first. It takes us around the world following the adventures of McQueen and Mater, though it is actually more about Mater this time around. The movie begins with a bang with the spy sequence and this sets the tone for the movie.

The quality and scale of animation is better than the first. But the plot is clichéd one and its quite predictable. Its about a Mater (dimwitted rusty tow truck) leaving radiator springs and going places. The rest of the plot is involves a James bond style action sequences and finally ends with a twist, which may not impress many.

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Post:

K: <

  The movie is worth a watch (only once).

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D: <

Go for the animation, 3D.

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N: <

Do watch this movie in cinemas to have a fun filled time for this vacation.

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