Update from Home

Thought I too would update on my happenings, the ICEMAN way..

Almost a week home now. These days I'm not getting anything to write about. Most of the days were spend doing nothing. After the first few days you find out how boring internet could be if you get to sit in front of it for more than 4-5 hours a day. The great world of television has never quite caught up with me. Don't find anything interesting there other than the occasional Star World. (Btw iceman, the tour de france has started. Contador's the best bet.)

Moved on to movies and TV-series. Reached 3rd season of "How I met your mother". Not as entertaining as "Friends" or "Scrubs". Still it's pretty entertaining and good time pass. In movies over the past few weeks,

Rebecca - 7.5/10. ya I'm watching the Hitchcock classic only now. Good movie. Very good buildup.

Remember Me - 8/10. A touching story, I felt the characters were potrayed in an intense way. RobPat shows he's much more than a romancing vampire.

The spy next door - 7/10. Entertaining and funny. For Jackie Chan fans.

Shutter Island - 8.5/10. Psycho.. real psycho. No more words.

Vinodayatra - 7/10. Feel good movie. Could've cut down on the preaching though.

Agnisakshi - 9/10. Watched it the second time after about 10 years. Timeless story, brilliantly taken.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - 8/10. Lots of mixed reviews on this one but I personally liked it. The feel of this one stays with you for long. Very beautifully taken especially Trisha.

Raavanan - 7/10. Though I missed out on majority of the dialogues due to language problem, I felt the plot was ok to good. The camera work is one of the best I've seen in Indian movies. But disappointing as a Mani Ratnam movie. Could've been better.

Kites - 5.5/10. There wasn't much right about this. Didn't expect much. Ended up laughing through some of the supposedly serious scenes. :-D

Disaster Movie - 0/10. Truly disastrous. Horribly Boring. Left me wondering what happened to the Scary Movies era when movie spoofs were as good as original.

On to other stuff, I've started reading the classic "Little Women". I'm not finding it much entertaining. Am still ruing the fact that I forgot to take the book I was reading (The Chamber) from IISc. I was seriously drugged (taking medicine for fever) while packing. Other than those, the list of things not packed included my iPod, toothbrush, shaving set etc.

Firefox 4 beta is out. Cool look.

Main project work hasn't started in proper sense yet. We've been attending some presentations and so on, but Self-Driving Car still seems a distant dream. Bach is having better luck with his one I believe.

Till anything interesting happens.. Signing off..

Tales of the Mobile Inverted Pendulum and more...

Hi guys, its been a long time huh? Of late i ve thought more than once about about scribbling something and posting it here but everytime something comes up (more commonly known as laziness). Finally having found the mental strength (albeit temporarily) to overcome that slayer of creative and non creative output, i thought i d share with my friends my views on "World Peace and its current state". Ya rite, dream on... I thought i d write somethin about whatever i ve been doin lately, so the people who were looking forward to an unbiased discussion on international matters pls wait till my next post, which according to my usual pattern should be anytime in 2011-12. Well as some of u guys know and many of you don’t i was home for the whole month of May and have been back here in IIT M since June first week. Mr. Vishnu Suresh, FYI: yes i study in IITM and oh yes its in Chennai aka Madras.

First week it was all movies, FRIENDS and NUMBERS, movies and even more Friends but from the second week on iv e been workin on my project from morning 10 to evening 7 everyday except for weekends of course. Find that hard to believe? Even i do, but that doesn’t mean it aint true... For those of you whom i haven’t bored yet with details of my main proj, its got something to do with stabilization of an inverted pendulum. For the common folk, remember Segway? Else look it up in wiki. So that has been taking up a lot of my time lately but being the fighter that i am, i hit back watchin movies at night and during the weekends i’ll be on a spree but the work has effectively stopped me from takin up a new book since im not the sort of guy that enjoys reading a book 20 pages at a time. In the morning, at the crack of dawn (if that is around 6:30, pardon me guys for another aside Johnny, FYI: Yes the sun rises around that time and people do wake up at that unearthly hour...) i wake up and hit the gym. Oh how i wish i could see those raised eyebrows and smirks right now. Anyways anyone who has known me long enough would know that getting me started on something is the real difficult part. Once i get going i’m a tour de force, unstoppable.... (except of course by the slayer mentioned earlier and sleep). Yes i’m pumping iron and do i have the results to show for it? Guys its been just 2 weeks it takes longer than that to see results (fingers crossed).

Now lets run thorugh some of the movies i’ve seen recently,

· Iron man 2 - 7.5, definitely worth a watch but not up to the mark set by the first.

· Percy Jackson - 6.5, a mix of Harry Potter, Greek mythology and what not.

· Pappy Appachaa – 7, usual dileep fare worth a few laughs.

· Lives of others - 8.5, definitely recommended, strong movie.

· Deja Vu – 8, good.

· Collateral - 7.5, again good.

· GI Joe - 7.5, i actually enjoyed this one, some nice action and loads of eye candy esp in HD.

· Batman Begins – 9, gr8 movie. Love it everytime.

· Green Zone – 8, definitely worth a watch. Good one.

· Man from Earth – 9, Gemo, thanks for the recommend given 1 yr back. Gr8 movie definitely recommended. Two thumbs up.

· Echelon Conspiracy – 7, instead watch Eagle Eye.

· 500 days of Summer – 8, warning: this is not a love story but definitely a good movie.

· Shakespeare MA Malayalam – 7, overall good even though somewhat over the top at times.

· Prince of Persia - 7.5, saw it in Sathyam theatre in Chennai. Defintely worth a watch. Entertainment value + Eye candy.

· The green mile - 8.5, Beatiful Movie... but 3 hrs long. else it wud have got a 9.

· Kill Bill – 9,VENGEANCE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD. And with style. How often do you hear the words beautiful and violence used in the same sentence and how often as beautiful violence? Those who have seen the movie will understand, those who have not, pls watch it ASAP. Tarantino is a genius. Direction is slick and stylish, the background score is brilliant and the action bloody good. WARNING: Not fot he weak hearted.

· Die Hard 2 – 8, get some popcorn, lay back and enjoy.

· Die Hard 3- 8.5, same here, but even better. Die hard = gr8 action.

· Kill Bill 2 – 9, Finally the bride gets a name and its time to kill bill. Its an eye for an eye world out there. BTW for those of you who could nt get enough of this, Kill Bill 3 slated for 2014. J

· I.G - 6.5, craving to see a Malayalam movie takes me to places i’d rather not be. Suresh Gopi starrer. Enough said.

· Law abiding citizen - 7.5, A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. Thats Gerard Butler. Good movie promises to be very good but felt it kinda lost direction a bit in the second half.

· Man on fire – 8, Pretty good. Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, the chemistry between them is real good.

Now over to the food front. Apart from the continuing KFC addiction, occasional pizza and a return to Kumarakom in the esteemed presence of Mr. Ajithnath aka Ulakan, we found time to check out two new restaurants.

The Rock, velachery. Gr8 sizzlers and nice desserts.

Tasty Jones : I m goin to stick my neck out here. This place served the best burgers i ve ever had. Yes better than McD. Maybe i am biased cos i prefer beef burgers to chicken ones and McD doesn’t cater beef burgers in India, but anyway these burgers were real juicy and simply the best i ve had. Yet. And i ve my eyes set on their steak offerings. So those of you guys in Chennai for whatever reason have some time to spare, visit Elliot’s beach, Besant Nagar, the very place where Dasan and Vijayan arrive in gulf in an Uru headed for California, only to realise its just Madras. The landmark near which they carry out their “transaction” is still there and readily identifiable. Then drop in at Tasty Jones for the best burger in town.

And guys, missing you all... I really miss the hangings outs we used to have at panchaara kaadu, museum, our club house, anywhere we had enough space to sit together and chat away to say nothing of the night outs. Hope you’re all having a gr8 time. Stay in touch. (Some guys think sending tennis scores and commentary is stayin in touch. Dude, i don’t think so...).

IFFK - '09

Once every year during the hot wintry month of December in Kerala comes the visual treat of movie splendor - IFFK. I chanced upon being part of the fest only twice, but both times it gave me immense pleasure to see the world through the movies.

Being back in hometown only for a brief period and spending the first few days in cinema halls, it almost became a fashion asking me the question- have you come home to watch movies. But if those asking the question had gone for the fest, they would've known why. The film fest took my breath away the first time and didn't disappoint this time too. I got to see just 10 movies this time around, due to various reasons. So I'm not in a position to make any authoritative appreciation/criticism about the fest. But who cares I'm blogging. Now START CAMERA ACTION...














The movies I liked the most were My Secret Sky, Broken Embraces and Rithu. My Secret Sky talks about the life of two children in the farms of Africa after their mother dies. How they come to town to fulfill their mother's dream of entering a hand-crafted mat in a competition. The movie had all the elements - a serious theme, moments of joy, beautiful shots etc.. The spanish master Almodovar is back this year with Broken Embraces. The movie has complicated relationships akin to the directors style. And the whole mesh of relations unravel amongst awesome camera-work. Watching the movie in first row of the theatre, the areal scene in which the camera zooms in onto a car driving in a deserted highway - unforgettable.

Rithu is the latest offering by renowned malayalam film director - Shyamaprasad. The movie tells the story about 3 friends in the current generation mallu youth. Although the movie might not have garnered as much critical acclaim as the directors previous movies, I hold it close to my heart cuz I'm part of that group and could connect with the movie so easily. Some readers might've noticed that I borrowed the title of previous blog from tag line of Rithu. Another movie which I felt is very good is About Elly. The movie captured the tension of characters during a catastrophic incident very realistically.

One thing different from the previous IFFK was that this time we went for desi films too, instead of the all phorein policy. That was a revelation in itself. Watching Thaniyavarthanam and Dev D felt as good as watching movies from abroad. But somehow we failed to catch the French New Wave. The two movies in that category that we saw - Cleo from 5 to 7 and Pierrot goes wild felt pretty ordinary. Cleo had it's good moments, but the comedy in Pierrot was completely beyond us. Looking for Eric is an ok movie, the best parts being replay of goals being scored by Cantona. I'm still confused about the ending of Divine. If someone watches it, please explain.

Overall, the film festival was a very satisfying event. Last time the mix of movies were better cuz we got to see more movies which were purely entertaining. Maybe we got our selection of films to watch a li'l wrong. But that doesn't take anything away from how much we liked it. And would love to watch many more films... next December. CUT!

Life rolls on...

Sitting in Instrumentation Engineering class taken by our HOD. Its raining outside... yes, its raining in chennai. He is talking about how to improve the accuracy of some voltmeter so that there will be 5 significant digits by blah blah.... I am sitting there with an old tamil song running in my head - "Kanmani anbodu kaathalan..." from kamal hasan's movie guna. Thats on the movies to see list. Wondering why he cant talk about something more interesting like Formula 1, flight, gaming, graphic cards... maybe i am better off with him not talking about such interesting things in his dead mundane drone. Thinking of Formula 1, wonder how the sport will survive given the japanese exodus from motorsports in general. Many companies planning to leave the sport next year and Kimi yet to get a confirmed drive. Hoping he will be in Mclaren opposite Hamilton. Battle Royal.

Saw "Kerala Cafe" while i was in Trivandrum last weeekend. Very good movie. 4/5. Some of the movies were really top notch. Suraaj An Shyamprasad team up to deliver the worst of the lot. Mruthyunjayam deserves special mention. Island Express and Makal were also good. For those of you who are wondering what this is all about, Kerala Cafe is a compilation of 10 short movies of 10 different directors, cast and crew. Mammooty gets only a few moments but shines in those moments to prove why he is considered one of the better actors around. He swings the mood of the movie with just one heartfelt dialogue... brilliant. Suresh gopi puts up a lacklustre display and dileep plays the only sort of role he is good to play now - "pongachakkaran". Makes us think of the stark lack of new talent prevailing in the malayalam movie industry.

That line of thought takes me to the Star Wars movies. There is a world of difference between "not that good" acting and bad acting. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker seemed a bit green to me in the first movie but credit to him for improving throughout the series and providing us with a good portrayal of one of the most remembered characters in movies, all time. But Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in SW2: Attack of the Clones was just unwatchable. Thank God for SW3: Revenge of the Sith, else the whole prequel idea would have been nothing but a waste of time and money. One of the most loved movie series of all time and still gathering new fans, i think it wins us over because of the fact that it is not just about ultra cool lightsaber battles, big spacecrafts, humanoid robots, aliens but about the human spirit, the capacity to love, to trust and the will to redeem oneself given a chance. For me Empire Strikes Back was the best of the series followed by Revenge of the Sith and then 6,4,1 and 2. And whoever came up with the idea of having the 10 yr old Anakin fall in love with Queen Amidala deserves more than a kick up their @$$.

Will be in Trivandrum in time for IFFK, International Film Festival of Kerala :) . Hopefully, will watch some really good movies from all parts of the world and from all eras. The movies to watch list keeps growing as i am still to settle down into any sort of routine after getting here. OK, class is done. He is taking attendance, the whole purpose of being here for one hour. Off to the next class and mind wanders to new thoughts...

Just loved it...

13 films in 8 days and i ended up asking for more. Here's my complete list:

1. PARIS JE T’AIME Dir:Various/ France/ 2006/ 120 min

2. BLIND Dir:Tamar van Den Dop/ Greece/ 2006/ 98 min

3. AFTER THE WEDDING Dir:Susane Bier/ Russia/ 2007/ 120 min

4. CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER Dir:Zhang Yimou/ Honk Kong-China/ 2006/ 114 min

5. LARKS ON A STRING Dir:Jiri menzel/ Czechoslovakia/ 1990/ 94 min

6. BAD EDUCATION Dir:Pedro almodovar/ Spain/ 2004/ 106 min

7. KUKUMI Dir:Isa Qosja/ Croatia-Serbia and Montenegro/ 2005/ 107 min

8. LABYRINTH OF PASSION Dir:Pedro almodovar/ Spain -France/ 1982/ 100 min

9. MY LIFE WITH OUT ME Dir:Issabelle Croixette/ Argentina

10. ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER Dir:Pedro almodovar/ Spain / France/ 1999/ 101 min

11. SLEEPWALKING LAND Dir:Teressa Puenzo/ Portugal,Mozambique/ 2006/ 103 min

12. TIME Dir:Kim Ki Duc/ South Korea/ 2007/ 97 min

13. WHAT I KNOW ABOUT LOLA Dir:Javier Rebollo/ France-Spain/ 2006/ 112 min

Of the above, the ones I liked most were Blind, After the wedding, Kukumi, All about my mother and Time.

IFFK '07

Thought I'd post a small write up about the International Film Festival of Kerala. It is hosted by by the Chalachirtra Academy, usually in the month of December.Many a times I'd wished view it, but December's always exam time. But thanks to UoK, the exams have been postponed to Jan this time around. (They haven't given the reason, maybe someone complained they couldn't see iffk)

Year in year out, they put up a collection of films that are both critically acclaimed and emotionally challenging. We (g3Mo, iceman and me) had the opportunity to see two films yesterday. First one was Paris, je t'aime, a collection of short movies which made us fall in love in/with Paris. Second was Blind, a beautiful and very touching movie. It's brilliantly shot too. Today I could go for only one movie - After the wedding. Excellent acting and good storyline.

awaiting more films.. JFx
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Now playing on Winamp: Maroon 5 - Kiwi
via FoxyTunes

MOVIES....

This is basically just a reply to all those lil buggers who think im only good at downloadin movies and never get round to seeing them.... Here is a list of movies i have seen in the last 3 and a half weeks including the tour...
1.Children of Men
2.Crank
3.Serenity
4.Inside Man
5.Arabikadha
6.Hallo
7.Transformers
8.Bourne Identity
9.Bourne Supremacy
10.Manichithrathaazhu
11.Thenmaavin Kombathu
12.Pokkiri
13.Maannar Mathai speaking
14.Toy Story 1
15.Toy Story 2
16.Fight club
17.Memento
18.Usual Suspects
And i am damn sure i have missed at least 3 or so movies... 10 to 13 were during the tour. 5 to 7 were in the theatre and the rest from my beloved ol collection. I was on quite a spree b4 the tour and i dont think anyone but inquisitivo and jfx at their very best cud have matched that spree... So everyone else take note and think b4 u run your mouth next time...
And a word of advice to serial movie watchers... Never attempt 2 conceptually heavy movies on the same day for eg: fight club and memento... this will take a lot of pleasure out of it and you will never appreciate both movies to their true potential... So happy movie watchin...
20 down 150 odd to go...

the departed

just finished watchin "the departed" and theres no way you'll do that without appreciating the craft of martin scorsese... the story flows with no slur or snag or jerks and you are taken along for the ride... even the score is brilliant and the twists and turns are timed just right and by twists i dont mean those silly ones they make for the sake of twists and which you ll guess far before it comes... no these ones will really get you of guard, well no more spoilers!!! and the language can be described in one word "f()(k"... great movie... thus i have relaunched my attack on the movie database... 1 down 150 odd to go.

Err....

Hmmmmm........no posts??? Damn!!!

I'm using my power of trash stacking for posting this blog. Oh!!! f**k.....

Yeah!! i finished LOTR recently. Quite a stunning book i must say...(Eh...I'm not starting out with another review.. ;-) ) I finished the movies too... But not very satisfactory i must say..One thing i realized on seeing the movies that my own imagination is better than using another man's perspective. Here are some of the disputes and concurrence i found between me and Mr.Peter Jackson.

• I never thought the dwarf would be that aged, never thought he would have a beard. The notion of dwarfs having 3 feet heights got me thinking w.r.t the small kids, so had a feeling he would be a young fellow.
• And most of you might disagree with me in this regard- I believe Aragorn's casting could have been a little more better.On reading the book i was inclined to expect a lot off kingliness from the actor,but i must say i like my king better than Viggo.May be they wanted an actor who looks good on a steed and of course he had the reputation from Hidalgo(which i must say was quite impressive...).
• But all credit to the movies for the splendid landscaping of middle earth, wah!! beautiful shire, the enormous black gate and the elvish cities of Rivendell and Lothllorien really remarkable work, the one area i believe my imagination couldn't quite catch up...
• The modification of real story at some places made me feel let down as a real fan of LOTR. The most infuriating thing was that they silently accuse Faramir to be like ordinary men getting corrupted for the power of the ring. From the book my impression about him was like steward worthy enough to be born in the race of the great kings, very just and very true.
• Also they show shire as a trouble free, 'cheerful as ever' place even when the rest of the middle-earth is under the shadow.
  

F**k again.. Donno wat the hell i was writing and why the hell i made the post...I'm listening now to a Linkin Park song which goes like

When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

To all of you i wanna say the same........

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest

Something's driving me insane for sure...perhaps its the primordial seeds of sanity left dormant deep inside my guts popping up....

Movies..more, more and more...

just thought i'd make a list of movies i saw in the past few months..
1. schindler's list
2. the english patient
3. little miss sunshine
4. the inconvinient truth
5. the crow
6. fargo
7. as good as it gets
8. groundhog day
9. sum of all fears
10. se7en
11. spiderman 3
12. 300
13. ta ra rum pum (yuk)
14. memento
15. shawshank redemtion
16. star wars, episode 3-6
17. the usual suspects
18. psycho
19. american beauty
20. my pretty bride (korean)
21. hotel rwanda
22. forrest gump (again)
23. chronicles of narnia
24. sound of music (again)
25. batman begins


there are many more..will add the rest wen they come 2 mind..