The most fantastic trilogy ever!
"Arise! Arise! Riders of Theoden! Swords shall be shattered, shields shall be splintered! A sword day!!!! A red day!!!! Ere the sun rises!!!!!!
Death!!!!!! Death!!!!!"
(Rohan Horn blowing)
This particular scene when the riders of Rohan have assembled on top of a hill, with the rising sun behind them and a sea of orcs before them. The horn blows, the music starts and the riders charge and whenever I have seen this scene (7 to 10 times up until now), I have had goosebumps. It may possibly go down in history as one of the best scenes ever.
The movie did not do justice to the book - they usually never do. But Peter Jackson did one of the best works ever. If one would ever read the book, it would be rather inconceivable to make a movie out of it, because the movie demands expenditure and grandeur. I am sad that I can't write much about the three movies; but the three movies are awesome.
People have generally rated The Return of the King (part 3) as the best, but for me The Fellowship of the Ring comes first.
The bridge of Khazad-dum, the Shire, the mystery surrounding the elves and the Black riders, the formation of the fellowship - everything gels so well as an introduction to an epic of our times.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
The Resident Evil series
Fantastic! You see... there's something awesome about the combination of zombies (the living dead), hotties, guns and killing, stupidity and the sincerity that goes with the stupidity. I love the franchise and I am referring to the English movies.
The first one has been aired so often that it sets the stage for getting attracted to the series. The second was poor but it had Sienna Guillory (drool). The third one was cool - imagine, zombie crows! loving it :) and it had Ali Larter (the best hottie so far).
I saw the fourth one yesterday - Resident Evil Afterlife. Super cool :) It was made in 3d, but luckily I saw it at home in normal 2D.
Ali Larter again :) plus there is some confusion about what's happening with the Umbrella Corporation and there is a weird mutant type head honcho. Milla crash lands on the terrace of a building surrounded by zombies. Combine this with excellent shots and a 12 foot menace wielding a human sized axe. OMG. Brilliant stuff.
The first one has been aired so often that it sets the stage for getting attracted to the series. The second was poor but it had Sienna Guillory (drool). The third one was cool - imagine, zombie crows! loving it :) and it had Ali Larter (the best hottie so far).
I saw the fourth one yesterday - Resident Evil Afterlife. Super cool :) It was made in 3d, but luckily I saw it at home in normal 2D.
Ali Larter again :) plus there is some confusion about what's happening with the Umbrella Corporation and there is a weird mutant type head honcho. Milla crash lands on the terrace of a building surrounded by zombies. Combine this with excellent shots and a 12 foot menace wielding a human sized axe. OMG. Brilliant stuff.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Beatles!!
I was driving to work today and a song played and I heard myself singing along and tapping my foot (while driving) and just lost myself. It went on my BB status. And then I thought that I need to blog about these guys...
I feel fine, Can't buy me love!, All you need is love, Imagine, Help!, With a little help from my friends, Love me do, She loves you (yeah yeah yeah!!), Yesterday... and even after listing these songs, readers of this post will say.. "Hey! you missed out on "this" song..!!!"
The Beatles will be classic and timeless; when I heard "I feel fine" today morning I didn't realise that it had been released in 1964! That is 47 years ago!! Ridiculous eh??! The song feels like a 2011 release :)
There is humour and light-ness and flakiness and love and romance and joy and philosophy and sincerity in their songs. Lennon's voice is magnificent. Feel bad when people haven't heard songs like "What is life?" - this was sung by George Harrison, so Lennon fans tend not to like him :)
One can listen to The Beatles almost anytime and they can promise to make one think or make one forget thinking :) Cheeeeeerj!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
I feel fine, Can't buy me love!, All you need is love, Imagine, Help!, With a little help from my friends, Love me do, She loves you (yeah yeah yeah!!), Yesterday... and even after listing these songs, readers of this post will say.. "Hey! you missed out on "this" song..!!!"
The Beatles will be classic and timeless; when I heard "I feel fine" today morning I didn't realise that it had been released in 1964! That is 47 years ago!! Ridiculous eh??! The song feels like a 2011 release :)
There is humour and light-ness and flakiness and love and romance and joy and philosophy and sincerity in their songs. Lennon's voice is magnificent. Feel bad when people haven't heard songs like "What is life?" - this was sung by George Harrison, so Lennon fans tend not to like him :)
One can listen to The Beatles almost anytime and they can promise to make one think or make one forget thinking :) Cheeeeeerj!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Nick Drake
This is my second post about Nick Drake, the first one is here. I had to write about this (as I always do :P).
There is a song called 'Milk and Honey'. Nick sung this song which was originally by Jackson C. Frank in a 1965 album. Before he starts strumming his guitar and singing, Nick mumbles something so beautiful :D
"What could I do? What would be interesting?" But he says it more like... "Whattt-uh could-iii dooo-uh?" and when he says this, he is adorable or as my friend described it - orgasmic.
It is sad that he is no more.
There is a song called 'Milk and Honey'. Nick sung this song which was originally by Jackson C. Frank in a 1965 album. Before he starts strumming his guitar and singing, Nick mumbles something so beautiful :D
"What could I do? What would be interesting?" But he says it more like... "Whattt-uh could-iii dooo-uh?" and when he says this, he is adorable or as my friend described it - orgasmic.
It is sad that he is no more.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Zombieland
Alas. This be a movie that will fade away, but it be so precious :'(
It is an outstanding creation and I say it with a lot of sincerity. The humour associated with 'monster' movies has been dry and repetitive; the humour in this movie is phenomenal. Casting Jesse Eisenberg of "The Social Network" fame was brilliant.
Rules of surviving in zombieland. For example, "Do Cardio, it's the fatties who go first." One needs to be really high to come up with statements such as this.
Enticing zombies with a eukele? Using chainsaws? Having a fetish for twinkies? A zombie in a bikini? Cute little zombie girls?
Woody Harrelson (one might remember him as the zonked dude from 2012) and Abigail (from Little Miss Sunshine) have outstanding roles, especially Woody. As I write this, I am laughing.
"Gotta enjoy the little things"
It is an outstanding creation and I say it with a lot of sincerity. The humour associated with 'monster' movies has been dry and repetitive; the humour in this movie is phenomenal. Casting Jesse Eisenberg of "The Social Network" fame was brilliant.
Rules of surviving in zombieland. For example, "Do Cardio, it's the fatties who go first." One needs to be really high to come up with statements such as this.
Enticing zombies with a eukele? Using chainsaws? Having a fetish for twinkies? A zombie in a bikini? Cute little zombie girls?
Woody Harrelson (one might remember him as the zonked dude from 2012) and Abigail (from Little Miss Sunshine) have outstanding roles, especially Woody. As I write this, I am laughing.
"Gotta enjoy the little things"
Monday, May 23, 2011
Tagore's Speeches
The past is important and reading from the past brings us closer. Tagore had thoughts and these thoughts gave rise to speeches around the world. I am currently reading Speeches by Tagore in the book called "Race Conflict and other Speeches". An excerpt from a speech titled Women's Place in the World:
"A man's interest in his fellow beings becomes real when he finds in them some special form of usefulness or striking gift of powers, but a woman feels interest in her fellow-beings because they are human, not because of some particular purpose they can serve, uncommon talent which they may possess. Her exuberance of vital interest is spontaneously expressive; it makes her speech, her laughter, her movement, graceful and picturesque: for the note of gracefulness is in this harmony with all our surrounding interests."
...
"Woman has her natural power that penetrates through the surface to the heart of things, where in the mystery of life dwells an eternal source of interest; and therefore her love has not necessarily to wait for the excitation of surprising qualities. God has sent woman not merely to explore or exploit but to love the world which is a world of ordinary things and events. She is not in the world of fairy tale where the fair woman sleeps for ages till she is touched by the magic wand. In God's world women have their magic wands everywhere, which keep their hearts awake, and these are not the golden wands of wealth nor the iron rods of power.
Of late, with the help of science, civilization has been growing increasingly impersonal in character, so that the full reality of the individual is more and more ignored."
_________________________________________
Tagore wrote well and thought better. It's important for us to look back at what he wrote and from what I have read thus far, this essay has struck me most.
"A man's interest in his fellow beings becomes real when he finds in them some special form of usefulness or striking gift of powers, but a woman feels interest in her fellow-beings because they are human, not because of some particular purpose they can serve, uncommon talent which they may possess. Her exuberance of vital interest is spontaneously expressive; it makes her speech, her laughter, her movement, graceful and picturesque: for the note of gracefulness is in this harmony with all our surrounding interests."
...
"Woman has her natural power that penetrates through the surface to the heart of things, where in the mystery of life dwells an eternal source of interest; and therefore her love has not necessarily to wait for the excitation of surprising qualities. God has sent woman not merely to explore or exploit but to love the world which is a world of ordinary things and events. She is not in the world of fairy tale where the fair woman sleeps for ages till she is touched by the magic wand. In God's world women have their magic wands everywhere, which keep their hearts awake, and these are not the golden wands of wealth nor the iron rods of power.
Of late, with the help of science, civilization has been growing increasingly impersonal in character, so that the full reality of the individual is more and more ignored."
_________________________________________
Tagore wrote well and thought better. It's important for us to look back at what he wrote and from what I have read thus far, this essay has struck me most.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Udaan
My heart screamt when the father burnt Rohan's book of literary creations; that is how powerful the movie was. It feels good to know that Indian cinema is changing because it shows that Indian sensibilities are changing.
Udaan is a story of a boy who hasn't known the love of a family, but his life is alright because he has been living in a boarding school in Shimla. Things change when he is expelled from school and has to start living with his 'evil' father, Ronit Roy. Ronit Roy has played an outstanding character of a man who has married twice, carries a lot of emotional baggage from his past (possibly because of his own father) and has certain odd rules to how life ought to be lived and what his roles are as a father.
Ram Kapoor plays a fantastic role of Ronit's younger brother who seems to be living a great life with his own wife and a nice bungalow. He isn't rich but he lives a content life.
Rohan (the protagonist, played by Rajat Barmecha) is a great pick for his role; I have doubts about his acting abilities - then again, he's quite young.
The story is weaved wonderfully with Rohan's old friends from his school, his new 'friends' in Jamshedpur, where he moved to, Rohan's half brother, Arjun, whom I believe to be a fantastic actor and o so lovable.
Udaan paints a realistic picture of what life can be in a tier-2 city of India, where even an educated family has to sail through hardships.
This movie made me go back to my childhood and made me grateful for the wonderful life I have lived so far. This story can be a true one; the beauty lies in how well it has been picturised. The musical score and the direction gel. Well done Mr. Vikramaditya Motwane, you are a force to reckon with and thank you for writing and directing this story.
Udaan is a story of a boy who hasn't known the love of a family, but his life is alright because he has been living in a boarding school in Shimla. Things change when he is expelled from school and has to start living with his 'evil' father, Ronit Roy. Ronit Roy has played an outstanding character of a man who has married twice, carries a lot of emotional baggage from his past (possibly because of his own father) and has certain odd rules to how life ought to be lived and what his roles are as a father.
Ram Kapoor plays a fantastic role of Ronit's younger brother who seems to be living a great life with his own wife and a nice bungalow. He isn't rich but he lives a content life.
Rohan (the protagonist, played by Rajat Barmecha) is a great pick for his role; I have doubts about his acting abilities - then again, he's quite young.
The story is weaved wonderfully with Rohan's old friends from his school, his new 'friends' in Jamshedpur, where he moved to, Rohan's half brother, Arjun, whom I believe to be a fantastic actor and o so lovable.
Udaan paints a realistic picture of what life can be in a tier-2 city of India, where even an educated family has to sail through hardships.
This movie made me go back to my childhood and made me grateful for the wonderful life I have lived so far. This story can be a true one; the beauty lies in how well it has been picturised. The musical score and the direction gel. Well done Mr. Vikramaditya Motwane, you are a force to reckon with and thank you for writing and directing this story.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sigur Rós
The western classical music of today. This is the genre to which Sigur Ros fits.
I have 4 albums by them and I don't understand a single song; however, it is one of my preferred artists when driving or when sitting at home. I can listen to them when I am writing and even when I am reading. I have tried listening to true 'western classical' but cannot find the same temperament.
Sigur Ros is a true treasure of today. Today, with its loud music, independent styles, bold lyrics and unsoulful but excellent melodies, is a fantastic petri dish for various forms of music and expressions - in that clutter (even though I haven't heard as much music as I would like to) Sigur Ros stands out as being fiercely independent.
The capitalism of today has its merits - Rehman chose (or so I think) a song by Sigur Ros for the soundtrack of the movie '127 hours'. May be it's going to bring them more recognition, but that is the magic of music isn't it?
To fall in love with a band, an artist or a group that many don't know of, dislike or are ignorant of.
I have 4 albums by them and I don't understand a single song; however, it is one of my preferred artists when driving or when sitting at home. I can listen to them when I am writing and even when I am reading. I have tried listening to true 'western classical' but cannot find the same temperament.
Sigur Ros is a true treasure of today. Today, with its loud music, independent styles, bold lyrics and unsoulful but excellent melodies, is a fantastic petri dish for various forms of music and expressions - in that clutter (even though I haven't heard as much music as I would like to) Sigur Ros stands out as being fiercely independent.
The capitalism of today has its merits - Rehman chose (or so I think) a song by Sigur Ros for the soundtrack of the movie '127 hours'. May be it's going to bring them more recognition, but that is the magic of music isn't it?
To fall in love with a band, an artist or a group that many don't know of, dislike or are ignorant of.
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