[Book] 10 Patients by Dr Wasim Mohideen

" I am OK, my wife. I need information."

"Ok, what information do you want?"

"I am suspect she having AIDS. Want to check her"

Your wife will need to come in person sir. I will need her permission to test her....

"Permission no problem. when I bring her?"
....
.....
.....

What else should we check for?

" I want to know what else blood to check." he said. "For diseases," he said and then looked down and sighed.  "Wife had sex with 5 mans"...

Stumped, right? You are wondering what is going on? Well, this is how one of the pieces in Wasim's book "10 patients" goes..  Each of the pieces are of real life instances that he has come upon, people who will have you wondering "is this for real?" ,"do such things actually happen" and every other possible gaping question will come bursting into your head. 

We all come across weird people, wacko people and then there are crazy people, but those who are featured in this book are none of the above, they are regular people except they have been through a lot or are going through some very troubling times. And then there are those who have you amazed, with their confidence, zest for life and positive attitude. 

All of 149 pages, this book was a pleasure to read.. It is not fiction, it is real, these are real people who came to Dr Wasim for consult/help.... 

When he shared the news of having a book ready to be published we wondered what it would be about. Would it be a piece of fiction, or about food [ he is a foodie] but this was quite a surprise. And I do hope he goes on to write more such books, not only are they interesting to read it gives us a reality check on life as well..

You can buy the ebook here on Amazon
Happy to share that the book was sold out on Flipkart within 3 days :D 

[Book review] Love, That Shit by Chandru Bhojwani

Title- Love, That shit

Author- Chandru Bhojwani

Pages- 143

Cost - Rs 195/-

One day, I received an email from Chandru asking if I would like to review his book. Since I enjoy reading and have no qualms about reading across genre, I replied with a confirmation. Within a few days an Amazon parcel arrived at home with the book in it. All of 143 pages, this is a light read indeed. 

The book opens with a note about how being in Romance is such a euphoria while breaking up is quite depressing, it is a book that goes on to explain why we feel what we feel. Every single person who has ever been in a relationship will be able to relate with this book with ease. 

Extract from the book: Like a rollercoaster, relationships have their nauseating ups, downs, twists and turns... Sure, like a rollercoaster, relationships are also fun and exciting but what happens when the ride isn’t as smooth as you thought it would be?..... 

Now those of us who have been in love know that it is no cat walk, far from it. We go through crazy range of emotions, feelings, mood swings and our entire life goes for a toss.. The pages take us through the journey called "being in love" " the aftermath of a broken relationship" and all that happens in between.  Spread across 23 chapters, each one starting with a witty quote, there are instances where the author has used anecdotes to explain the whole concept to us. The one thing that the author mentions every now and then is that we are not alone, there are quite a few others going through something similar.  

Unlike other self- help books, this book is not preachy, not does it judge you for doing what you do. He has stuck to being general, while making sure the readers connect with all that he says.  There were instances where I was left wondering if it is the author's lessons from being in love, but then shrug that thought away as I move on to the section about single men/women and their attitudes, the different circumstances and situations in a relationship and much more. Oh and he has also spoken in length about matrimony woes, arranged and love marriages, the In law factor and why marriages fail a lot more these days.  Going beyond just romance, he teaches us how to deal with LIFE... 

It was a breezy read, I think I was done with it in a few hours. Quite liked his simple style of writing. But if asked about how the book stood out or was it wow, I would have to say No. For all of us who has been thorugh atleast one relationship, we know what we went through and how we dealt with it. Apart from this, we do have friend/family circle from where we have learnt about different experiences as well.  Do give it a read if you are into the whole Men are from Mars -Women are from Venus or other such books.. 

Mentor Your Mind, Tested Mantras For the Busy Woman by Mamta Singh

The book i received had a very interesting title, albeit long, it had me curious to see what the pages held within... It was-  

Mentor Your Mind, Tested Mantras For the Busy Woman 

by Mamta Singh

Genre: Self help

Pages: 168

Published by Sterling Publishers

This book is a guide, rather a handbook for every woman who feels she is busy and has no time for life! There are some woman who am sure will call this book their Bible, it all depends on how much it helps you or not! 

I found it quite fascinating. Within the first few pages, it becomes evident that the Author has done her share of research or belong to the sect of women who needs some insights and tips on dealing with their crazy schedules and lives. 

For the urban women, the women of today, who look forward to carrying off the corporate job, and manage their homes, taking and maintaining their body is an essential aspect, it is not enough just being healthy.  

This book is divided into three broad categories- Mental Fitness.. Physical Fitness and Spiritual Fitness! Each of these talks about the areas that fall within and that needs to be addressed....

We see in our daily lives how many people inspite of being "Fit" fall ill, or suffer from ailments. This is primarily because of the unhealthy lifestyle, eating habits, or no control of the mind. The book talks about how valuable it is to control our mind, rather to mentor our mind, give it the guidance it needs to help detox the body, mind and soul.  

Be it Meditation, or Physical Exercises, the chapters contain not just guidelines or explanations, there are surveys and questionnaires to allow us, the readers rate ourselves. This gives much more depth to the lessons held within the pages, the words make more sense and they help us get clarity on what we need to do, or which direction to take. 

In the chapter" How can you tell it is time to see a doctor", the Author talks about various circumstances and how people react to each of them... With a little summary at the end of every chapter, there are little points given that will help make ones life better, giving them  better health , both physical and mental... 

There are interesting quotes scattered through the book, take a minute to read them, think about them and see what they really mean.... 

“The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” ~Jim Rohn [this is a quote at the beginning of Emotional Fitness Category]

 If work or life has been bogging you down and you are looking for something to help make your daily life better, then i suggest you pick up this book and spend some time reading through the words.... There are tips, guidelines, schedules, examples, surveys and so much more that will help us define our lives and work towards making them better!  

To Summarise- The book address 6  key mental maladies, 6 of the worst emotional afflictions and offers 7 spiritual self-service techniques that  the urban woman are most commonly faced with. And this has been done via - 3 simple self-evaluation questionnaires; 13 easy-to-follow step-wise action charts, and illustrations; 20 mentoring  based schedules; and then there are the detailed 16 explanatory tables....  I can promsie you this- the book is not boring, the book is not preachy or like a lecture! It is interesting and well chalked out... 

Hats off to the Author Mamta for coming out with this book, keeping it simple and straight forward!! Good luck! 

I Am

I had been listening to I Am's OST for a few months and finally i found the movie, it was one movie i was looking forward to watching...!! The movie is about 4 individuals, it is 4 stories, it is 4 lives, ... it is all about PEOPLE!! Though the people involved in the plot are from different corners of the country- Kolkata, Bangalore, Srinagar and Mumbai, with the stories ranging from artificial insemination, child abuse and gay prostitution, they're connected by a common thread of disenchantment.

Onir's I AM opens with a Rabindranath Tagore's quote from Gitanjali, 'Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high...'
 

Meet the ‘I’s:


I am Afia

The 1st story opens with Afia [Nandita Das] looking for a sperm donor to fulfill her wish of getting artificial insemination done. She meets her doctor, and insists on meeting the man before taking a call, which is how she meets Purab Kohli. They spend time getting to know each other, breaking barriers before going ahead with the procedure. Their relationship goes through a transformation at the fertility clinic while waiting for the doctor to come in.

I Am Megha

Megha [Juhi Chawla] is a Kashmiri Pundit battling with life and emotions after having been chased out of Jammu & Kashmir when the military took over the land. She goes back, meets their Muslim family friends Manisha Koirala but interacts with them quite curt and to the point. There is a lot of anger and resentment in her voice during the one day she spends in town. 

I Am Abhimanyu

This is a story on Child abuse..the victim is Abhimanyu [Sanjay Suri] who grew up abused by his step-father on a day to day basis... He grows up bitter, severing all ties with his family, quite unsure of his sexual preferences..  The entire movie flows through the stories, while showing the different phases in Abhimanyu’s life, as the abused child going on to a manipulative adolescent and thence to whining adulthood, in a very short share of the total running time. It is only when his mom calls to announce his step father's death that he finally confronts his demons and lets it all out to her...

I am Omar

This is probably the most devastating story in the movie, the one that will shake you up. It is about Gay relationships and this plot is about  Jai (Rahul Bose) and Omar (Arjun Mathur)... Jai, who is obviously doing well in life meets Omar at a coffee shop one lazy evening. He is drawn to Omar, takes him out and giving into his strong feelings, wants to go all the way. Omar convinces him to just get naughty in his car, only to get accosted by a vulgar homophobic cop, who scares Jai beyond repair. It is later than Jai comes to know Omar is a con and was playing him all along... Abhimanyu Singh as the cop was so ruthless and brutal with his foul language and crude behaviour, quite revealing how people react when they come across a Gay guy...

I AM is more than a movie, it is not exactly a documentary either. It tells the tales of people we meet on a daily basis, but whose lives are so deep, and go beyond what we see on the surface.  Each and every story has its own unique rhythm. The emotions and feelings, the experiences that each of the actors portray is quite surreal, making us think while the credits roll on the screen at the end of the movie... 

Cast : Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte, Shernaz Patel, Anurag Kashyap, Rahul Bose, Arjun Mathur, Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh, Nandita Das, Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koirala, Purab Kohli & Anurag Basu
Music : Amit Trivedi, Vivek Philip & Rajiv Bhalla
Director : Onir
Producer : Onir & Sanjay Suri

Siya Seth Decides to Die by Sneha Mehta

Siya Seth has committed suicide. After her death, she decides to bare it all, telling the world her story. Siya, a school girl [17 years of age] was a victim of parental abuse since she was 8. Though she tries doing everything possible to gain her some peace and comfort, her hidden secrets keep haunting her, not letting her rest, driving her over the edge at the end. 

Review of Siya Seth Decides to Die...Pages 255. Rs 100

Publisher- Diamond Books, Delhi

When i 1st read the title, i was taken aback. Made me wonder if the author had been inspired by Paulo Coelho's Veronica Decides to Die, but as i read through, i realised this is fairly different.  

The opening lines -

“Life sucked me dry. I felt like a diagonally parked car in a parallel universe. People rolled up, collided, had accidents, and recovered; while I lay bruised. externally and internally. Seen and unseen. I committed suicide. For my own good.”

had me engrossed.. Though i kind of knew where the story was headed, i was curious to see how Sneha's novel would be... 

Siya seems to be a a regular teenage rebel, one who is very bold, and yet on other hand she is coming to terms with adulthood, trying to deal with changes in her physical appearance and inside of her. She goes on with life, with only a best friend- Reva.  

Although she has it all, Siya does not seem to live in peace. There is something that is haunting her, giving her sleepless nights and endless nightmares. She even dates the good looking Randeep, which does not sit well with her best friend Reva. She bunks school, bribes a policeman in Marine Lines, bluffs her way through the day, visits a man who is proficient in Past life related issues, who claims to heal her soul for just Rs999. But, none of this seems to help... And we, the readers wonder why?!

Siya is a depressed teenager who has a dark secret buried deep inside her heart. She is depressed, lonely and sad. She is also stinking rich, an only child and has servants attending to her day in and day out, so nobody can understand why a filthy rich and good looking teenager could be miserable. As readers we do know it has to do something with her dark secret.

No prizes for guessing what Siya’s dark secret is..you will know it if you have read the blurb on the back cover of the book, or if you read through the 1st 50 odd pages.  The book starts off strong, but after a while makes us wonder where it is headed. Siya takes her own sweet time in revealing the truth, and what was really going on in her life, and why she committed suicide. 

The abuse, the victim and the culprit, the emotions running high and the society's role in all of this could have been highlighted better. I felt the plot kind of fizzled out after a point, and the extent of Siya's trauma dint come through the pages.  Also, there were quite a bit of grammatical errors and typos here and there, which the author and editor should spend time in polishing! 

But hats off to Sneha for taking such a sensitive and prevailing issue and attempting to bring it out to the world!

About the Author

Sneha Mehta is a student of organizational psychology and a freelance writer. 

[Gizmos] New Toys in town!!

Wow, i have managed to write 74 posts, and this will be my 75th post on this blog!!! :)

Gadgets have always fascinated me.- either reading up on them, or analysing something new at home or just keeping myself updated on whats new in the market across the world!! This does not mean i bring home everything i oggle at, nah, am too much of a practical person for that!! [psst, aother reason is i cant afford em all now can i?]

In the past 10yrs since i started working, i have been through 4phones, actually 3, the 1st one was my granpa's- a big chunky Motorola that will today pass for a walkey talkey!! :D The joy of earning , saving up and buying something on your own is simply divine.. and thats the way its been for me!! Starting with the basic Nokia 3315 to Sony Ericsson w550i [ a swanky phone that swivels that had many an eye turn and too many wonder how to open and use;)] and finally my N95 8Gb....


Nope, i dint lose/break/throw any of my phones, actually never thrown anything expensive, or anything that falls into the 'gadget' category!!! About a month ago, my N95 started giving me problems - the backlight on screen kept flickering and then one fine day it died, leaving me in a mini state of panic...


*Calm breathes*... went to Iconnet, the guy took 20mins, pulled it apart[was totally fascinated], replacedc the Slider cable and said "here you go, and ummm, be careful" As luck would have it, i went to Blore and in 2days, the screen blanked out on me again!! Nothing helped.. so picked up a basic[ as basic as it can get] Nokia phone, used it for a couple of days while contemplating on a new phone/ fixing my N95...

Thats when the Twitter buds [@Macdeepak and @SridharSuresh] came into action, helping me decide and ta da..in 2days flat i was holding my Blackberry Curve 8520..

Never have i spent so little time and bought a phone in few hours!! My friends' friend called, spoke, said he knew someone.. called back saying bring the cash, take your phone!! Voila!! what fun!!! And well, i love it...

Verdict: The Blackberry Curve 8520 is probably a basic model[ amongst the new range of BBs] but it is a beauty and am loving it!! Infact another twitter friend - @Avni_Iyer has also bought the same thing few days ago and written about her Phones/gadget experiences so far here

Price - Inexpensive.. Rs13000 to Rs14000 - Damn good deal when compared to how much i shelled out for my N95

Features- Well, it pretty much has it all ,-

Email sync- upto 10email ids

[yep, thats mine..isnt the butterfly background cool. :-)]

App world - thru which one can download various apps- Twitter, FB, Gtalk, BBM[blackberry messenger to keep in touch with fellow BB users], linkedin and some more. Today discovered there is an F1 app for it- keep track of timings, schedules, winners, etc!!Other messengers are also available!

Applications: Notepad, Tasks, Ms Office and some more..

Keyboard - This model has a qwerty keyboard, which is fairly fun to navigate [ exact same as the E63,E71, E72 and the Samsung B7320]

Weight: Very light weight [again when compared to my N95, this feels weightless]

Camera : 2mp.. decent pics [cant compare to my N95.. that was Carl Zeiss lens, 5MP, but heck i have my cybershot:)]

Music: Yep, you can download or transfer songs from other phones/computer and listen... good speakers!!

Phone book: Phew,if i had to fill in all entries for contacts, i'd grow old even before using the phone :) You can store multiple numbers for a person and it has a smooth search option as well..

Ease of use - Totally.. very easy to find your way around and use the features , plus you can once again alter the position of folders, apps and arrange them in a way that suits you.

Once you load your Sim into the BB, all you do is call your service provider and ask them to activate BIS and choose a plan depending on your usage... :-)

Battery life - Good.. as good as my Nokia.. 1.5days easy!!

Rate : 9/10 [ dont ask me why not 10/10.. just like that!! ;o)]

For more information and reviews you can check out this

===========

Time to move to another gadget, that i got to play with...Dont jump to conclusions, not just yet!! A new gizmo that has been released in USA, not in India, but i managed to get my hands on it... A friend had left a FB message that the iPad rocks and i replied saying " I wanna see, hasnt it been long since we met?" and the dear
friend that he is called right away and we met for lunch at another friend;s house the next day!! :)

Walked into A's house, said hello to her dad and saw it sitting there pretty on the sofa.. But dint want to seem too desperate, and turned left, said hi to A, V and R[owner of the 64Gb iPad].. Managed to have some lunch and next instant was on the iPad fidgeting and firing questions at R....

Verdict: This new baby from the Apple's basket is a bigger version of the iPod Touch... Took me to my childhood days when we used a slate to write, only thing missing in the ipad was a chalk stick!! :D

Weight: It is about .68gms, and dint feel heavy inspite of my holding it for nearly half hour

Keyboard: Same touch concept, and very easy to type[ atleast i found it easy for am used to the pop up touch keyboard on my iPod touch] to type long notes/messages, i found it convenient
to place the iPad on my lap and type- cos i use both hands to type!

Features: Exactly as your iPod touch... Touch screen....mail, photos, music, etc etc...

Missing: Camera, USB slots, Drives and the App store does not work yet in India, maybe when it is officially launched, it might kick into action

Price: well, my friend got it for a deal...But MRP right now is high, so wait for official launch!!

Rate: 7/10 [ you will agree with me when you see/play with one!! ]

You can read the Review of Ipad here

Books books.. Am back to you, my love!!!

Its been a while.. and now am finally back to reading like the maniac i am!! Had bought a couple of books at the newly opened Full Circle abt 2months back!!! And now those books keep me company at night before hitting the zzzzz..!! i love you booooooks.... every page is divine!!!

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I have read his earlier books.. Blink, recommended by a friend, following which i read Tipping Point[ which is in fact his 1st book]...

In this book, he talks about what makes high-achievers different from others.... According to him, we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and not enough to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and even links their birthday or month or year to their success. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made Beatles the greatest rock band.

Just about 100 pages into the book.. will finish reading and write complete review!!!

The 2nd book i've started is Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon... The cover looked appealing and it was related to India, so thought let me give it a shot!! Not bad i must say!! :)

Alexander Frater follows the monsoons-unsteady northerly progress, pursuing its bliss and destruction as well is his own family ghosts, Elegantly insightful and humorous, he captures the delirious celebration and relief with which India greets its liquid transformation. If all travel books were this good, everyone would just stay home and read.

The last book in the list was what i got day before evening-- Chai Chai by  Bishwanath Ghosh

This book has me engrossed... its a super light read.. things we can relate to, identify with.... He decides to roam the towns beyond station yards — towns with unique names like Itarsi, Mughal Sarai, Arakkonam and Jolarpettai, Jhansi, and Guntakal.. All he does is mix with locals, learn about history, discover the lives of those who pass by that town.........

There's a discussion on this tomorrowe... Hoping to go for it... will be my 1st such book meet.... :)

[Movie] Reel on.. I

The past couple of weeks, work has been good, busy but not crazy busy, so managed to catch quite a few movies.. Indian and Foreign.. Am just gonna go ahead put up the names and a mini review on them...!! :)

Kanthaswamy

Director: Susi Ganesan

Actors: Vikram, Shreya Saran and a host of others... 

Rating: **

A movie that has been in the news forever was quite a disappointment and had way too many frills and fancy stuff.. After 3hr 15min, we walked out thinking had it been for an hour, it would have had quite an impact. the story is also nothing very new, or original, its all about how Vikram and his 10 buddies are the new age Robin Hood, taking from the corrupt rich and giving among the needy....Revolving around the Kanthaswamy temple, it is a movie where wishes made by Devotees on the tree comes true...  Way too many traces of Gentleman and Anniyan is a bit of a spoiler here... !! 

  

Shreya- dont even get me started on her.. Not only does she not look good[ some mite beg to differ..] but Suchi's voice is a total mismatch... Flat with zero emotions... And whoever did dance choreo for Shreya needs to take dance classes.. The best scene acc to me is the Fight in the corn field and ofcourse the En Peru 

meenakumari dance by Umaith Khan.. Her dance, lip sync and movements were soo awesome, i loved it... 

Watch the movie if you are a crazy Vikram or Shreya or Shankar Fan... dont expect too much, you wont be disappointed!!

=======================================

Quick Gun Murugan

Direction: Shashanka Ghosh

Cast: Rajendra Prasad, Naser, Raju Sundaram, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Rambha, Anu menon aka Lola kutty..

Rating: **

Quick Gun Murugun is an unlikely Superhero with sufer Gun powers. A Sincere South Indian Cowboy who considers it his duty to serve and protect all around him. All i knew of this character were the little snippets shown on MTV and the Ennada rascala in Om Shanti Om!!

The movie basically revolves around [mis]adventures of Quick Gun Murugun and his fight with his arch villain Rice Plate Reddy!Not to forget the Rowdy MBA and Mango Dolly who are all part of his clan!! Rice Plate has a bee in his bonnet because he wants to be the supreme overlord of Dosa-makers, and kidnaps anyone who possesses the perfect recipe for making lip smacking Dosas.
 

Though i dint really enjoy the movie, or wasnt laughing my head off, there are some funny scenes , only one i remember is the  take off on Clint Eastwood's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' parodied  in Carnatic mix... A movie meant for those who like Slapstick comedy, and dont mind seeing Southies being ridiculed!! maybe if i were a northie, i mite enjoy it more.. who knows!! :)

==============================================

Ninaithale Inikkum

Director: Kumarvel

 

Actors: Prithviraj, Karthik Kumar, Shakthi, Priyamani 

Music :Vijay Antony 

Rating: ***

Ninaithale Inikkum is a remake of the Malayalam film "Classmates".... Its just a tough guy with a heart of gold Shiva beats up bad guy Vasu. He has the support of friends Shakthi and Bala.

On the other side is Meera , the daughter of an MLA and she opposes Shiva at every turn. Then there's Sethuraman the silly hostel warden, the cook Subramani and a pointless lecturer character who make up the college side of things. Completing the troop is Shali  a quiet Muslim girl, who at the end you see a completely different side to... The story just ping pongs between present and past, making you wonder what you are watching... and if this is the today or yesterday!!! 

Loads of bits and pieces for the audience to remember, until the end where they finally fall into place..
i've heard the mallu original is a beautiful movie, after watching this 2hrs of "makes no sense, songs start off for no rhyme or reason" movie, i think i'll take a peek at the Mallyalam version to understand the story!!! 

============================

[Movie] Women and life...

Last week was hectic.... or was it the week before? Nah, i think every week is almost the same story...

Work...Home.. chores... cooking,etc... and well, tonnes of fun weaved between all this!!

Saw 2 beautiful interesting movies... actually saw 3, but this post is about 2.. both related to WOMEN...!! :)

1st one was an Israeli movie called Aviva, My love!  [me and a friend of mine caught this at the South India Film chamber]

Aviva --

Works in a hotel, yearns to write, jots down ideas on a small writing pad

Takes care of her family

Puts up with her jobless husband,

who, she loves, but has been cheating on her [with her own sister]

Cares about her sister and 

wants her away from her abusive husband

[knows she still is secretly in love with her ex boyfriend]

Aviva--

Takes her writing to a famous writer [or rather once upon a time famous, Oded]

Tells her, - he will sell her stories as his

in exchange for a decent sum of money....!!! [ the f@$%  B!@%#] 

A son, confused and lost

A daughter, stubborn but sweet

Another son, glued to the TV....

Aviva ---

Dealing with a psychotic mom

a dad who loves her, but is not respected 

[cos he once cheated on her mom]

A doctor who says -" let me look at you"

in exchange for not being able to pay for her son's treatment...

Finally... Aviva -

The woman, who takes charge of her life

The woman, who finds joy in writing

The woman, who is loved and respected by her family......!!!

 =============================

2nd Movie - The Guitar

The movie by Amy Redford [Robert Redford's daughter] slides through the journey of this one woman - Melody "Mel" Wilder!!! She is diagnosed with a terminal illness, given 2months to live, fired from the job, dumped by the boyfriend. ... 

What does she do ?

Leaves her home... Moves into an expensive Loft apartment for 2mths [on rent], shops like crazy[ all from the comfort of her new home], buys the most expensive materials, fabric, clothes,and everything else you can dream off!!!

Makes friends with Rosco, the delivery man and Cookie, Pizza girl... What follows are the scenes filled with plenty of lovemaking..[all candlelight and exotic linens galore] ....... Melody doesn't connect to people as much as she does to her most extreme purchase -- a red electric guitar she's longed for since her unhappy childhood (shown thru streaks of  flashbacks) .... With sudden realization of how much time has gone by, Melody visits the doc where she discovers-- Thanks to her complete transformation[of life], the tumor knows not where it lives and has gone away..............!! Oh shit, What happens to melody? What does she do with all the stuff? the payments??? watch the movie to know!!! :D

50th post -- Movie spree continues....

Yayyy, just discovered this is my 50th post in this blog!!! :)

The past 2 months i've been watching movies like crazy... Every night before sleeping, i grab a movie and then zzzz.... Some are big award winning ones and others are unheard of , but nevertheless Good movies... here are some more i feasted on...

Vicky Cristina Barcelona-

The one for which Penelope Cruz won a Best Supporting Actress award... wonder why though!!! 

A movie set in Spain, is about two gals who go on a vacation... end up spending time with a casanova, and finally get to meet his estranged wife and its one big Sex based trip.... As the movie's title suggests, it's about Barcelona[ the town] as well as Vicky and Cristina[ the two friends].

The places, tour given of Barcelona... amazing acting by all the women are what leaves an impression.. For those, who are against sex, explicit scenes in movies, this might not be their cuppa tea...!!!

August Rush

A movie i picked up in Pondy... its about a kid who is a musical prodigy, in search of his biological parents!!! the only familiar faces in this movie was Johnathan Rys Meyers[ the hot looking hunk from Bend it Like Beckham] and the infamous Robin Williams...

Evan Tyler flits about from one home to the other and ends up with Robin Williams where he starts playing the Guitar in new ways and ends up in the park earning a living...He is also on a quest to find his parents... The blending of classical, rock and street-sounds music was phenomenal. The movie was funny, poignant and a tear jerker.... Must watch!!!

Tropic Thunder

 

This movie is sheer time pass, ahem, there were some scenes where i was bored and almost switched off the dvd... Borrowed the dvd from a friend , and thought why not!!! Glad i dint shell out $$ to buy this movie... And i have no clues why and how Robert Downing Jr was even nominated for the movie.. Arrrgh!!! silly ass movie produced by Ben Stiller simply isnt worth it...

The film stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film when their fed-up writer and director decides to drop them in the middle of a jungle, forcing them to portray their roles without the comforts of a film set.

It is a satirical comedy about movies in Hollywood and takes a lot of patience to sit through.... but if you like wierd wacko stuff,go ahead.... :)

Small Change [Argent de poche, L'] 

The movies opens to kids running down the narrow lanes in France , and with every turn, more kids join them and finally they all rush like water down the river towards the school..  The movie is all about the kids finding their ground, a Single mother looking for her Mr Right and so much more..

It is also the best film from the group of “new wave” directors of the ’60s, including Truffaut and fellow movie critic turned filmmaker, Jean Luc Goddard.  

Small Change is not a single story, but a series of stories from a small town in France. It is shot in a naturalistic style, with naturalistic acting. Truffaut was famous for taking non-actors and making them actors. I guess you could call him the original actor’s director. The man had a way of coaxing a good performance out of his child actors that is truly astounding.It’s multiple stories, about multiple people, and their interaction inside this small town. The child actors are superb, as are the adults.

The Women

The movie i saw last night is about 4 best friends and how their lives change when they discover an ugly secret about one of their spouses..Upon seeing the name Meg Ryan i told my friend, i wanna watch this, am taking it with me... :)

 This is what is called a Chick flick... all women..[kinda like a diff version of Sex and the city]. A high flying corporate executive, a mother of 4, expecting her 5th child[Debra Messing says - she will try try till she gets a baby boy], a lesbian who flaunts her model girlfriend and a wife who is more than happy to sit back and let the world go by..  A fun movie with various splashes of emotions thrown in.. a mother who tells her daughter to not do anything when she finds out about her husband's affair, a manicurist who loves to gossip [ using whom the women turn tables around and reunite the couple] and the final scene where Debra is ready to deliver the baby and all the women are in the labour room is just wacko...awesome.. hilarious... and voila, she has a baby boy!!!!

I wouldnt say this is a must watch, but watch it if you have the time and someone lends you the Dvd!!  :)

Phew.... gonna sign off now... i think there are a few more i dint mention.. will come back for another one!!!anybody got a drink??? ;)

[Movie] Changeling

One more movie i had picked up a Pondy was Changeling, infact the only reason i bought the movie was cos the cover looked interesting... But last night, managed to watch the movie and wow, it was amazing... Moved me, disturbed and affected me.... Here is a peak into this fascinating story, which reallly happened way back in LA... A movie that is a must watch, has been directed by Clint Eastwood

 

Set in 1928, "Changeling" is a about Christine Colins (Angelina Jolie) who loses her son, who was home alone while she went to work and her battle with the Los Angeles Police Dept. Christine gets upset to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found and no sight of him across the neighborhood. From there on, she works tirelessly looking for him, and trying to get the Cops to help find him. When all hope seems to be lost, she gets a visit from the LAPD and she comes face to face with a nine-year-old boy claiming to be her son. Inspite of her refusal, the kid states all details related to her son and the cops convince her he is her son!!!

Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. When Christine points out that he is not her son, she is treated first as a hysterical, traumatized woman and then as a lunatic and a threat to public order. She is ignored, smeared in the papers and then locked away in a mental hospital....  Christine then, with the help of the Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich), ploughs through the red tapes, corrupted Cops and emerges in bringing out the truth....

 

What was most disturbing about this movie is that the stark reality of what actually happened to about 20 kids who went missing, the teenager who reveals scary truths along with the Cop-Lester Ybarra [Michael Kelly] who is responsible in working on this case,but who is shunned by the Inspector.

 

 

 

Its been a while since a movie touched me so much... Had me thinking of the Nithari killings that happened in India, which was in the news awhile ago!!! Why do people  act the way they do??? What happens to the mother???? does the search ever end???????????? .............................

 

Books am reading....

 

been reading this for some time now.. but just cant seem to finish it..everytime i pick it up, i start at the beginning.... :) 

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An amazing book.. picked it up cos a friend recommended it, and must say i've not been able to put it down.. got another 20pages to go!! very nice..funny, wacko.. and so insightful!!  

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Bought it at Odyssey cos it seemed interesting, just started on it!!!