Monday, May 29, 2006

Adrenalin rush!

X3 starts off with the much awaited Danger Room scene, which ends in Wolverine slashing off a sentinel's head in classic comic book style. The rush just starts there - the announcement of a cure, the rise of the Phoenix in Lake Alkali, and a host of new characters that includes the super furry Beast, Angel, Juggernaut and Kitty Pryde. The first half tries to do some justice to the characters - Wolvie learns that his beloved Jean Grey has gone over to the dark side, Storm is growing more responsible (and Halle Berry tries to be a better Storm!), and all sorts of mutants line up for the cure. But the second half is more of mind blowing action, which little regard to anything else. Not that I am really complaining; you get to see just how powerful Magneto can be, Bobby Drake finally turns into a full-fledged Iceman, Beast and Storm get some great moves, and Wolvie puts his claws to great use.

That said, I hated quite a lot of things about the movie. Nightcrawler, played by the awesome Alan Cumming in X2, fails to show up. Scott Summers was never one of my favourite characters and I really didn't mind when the first 2 movies didn't do the character justice. But here, he's finished off without a second thought. Professor Xavier is the next to go, while Magneto just sits by and watches! Mystique is cured, as is Rogue, and worst of all - Wolvie and Beast use the cure on Magneto!! Unforgivable. The one thing that kept me from hating it totally was the last scene that hints at Magneto getting his powers back.

Brett Ratner has made a great action movie, but it is a let down after a really great X2. Ratner has bitten off more than he can chew and while he manages to keep the audience fully entertained, he falls short of making a great last stand for the amazing X-Men. Still loved it, though - the movie does manage to capture the essence of the X Men saga, and Ratner has not messed it up (Thank God)! Verdict - Must watch.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Boring


The Da Vinci Code turned out to be one long and boring movie! I suppose that people who haven't read the book and have no sense of history would be left clueless as to what is going on. The movie stays more or less true to the book, but lacks any passion whatsoever. Its a rather distant, clinical reproduction of the book that is more worried about getting the story told than focusing on character building and any real drama. Which leaves very little for the actors to do - Tom Hanks looks lost and bored as Robert Langdon, the Harvard 'symbologist' and towards the end of the movie, seems relieved that the mindless tedium has come to an end. I mean, what kind of a line is "I need to get to a library, fast!" anyway?

Audrey Tautou is cute, but wasted. The real thrills in the movie are the deliciously British Holy Grail enthusiast played by the amazing Ian McKellen and the self-flagellating albino monk played by Paul Bettany. Bettany has really brought Silas to life as a tormented outcast who acts out of blind loyalty towards the scheming Aringarosa. Jean Reno is a treat to watch, as usual.Verdict: So, so.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

2 days left!

Apparently, Brett Ratner has undone quite a lot of what Bryan Singer tried to do in X Men 1 & 2 in terms of character development, and made the movie more special effects oriented. Sounds bad, given that there is plenty of scope for fleshing out the characters, especially Dark Phoenix and the Beast. Anyway, will reserve my judgement till I actually see it on Saturday. Just 2 days away!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Perfect!




Check out Wolvie in X3: X Men - The Last Stand! Isn't he the hottest thing?

Friday, May 19, 2006

On Bangalore, music, Kingfisher, crashing markets, being single...

Spent the weekend at Bangalore with some friends in a pretty cute studio apartment - hit Styx, my favourite spot on Saturday night. The only place I know that plays such awesome music. Loitered around on Sunday, Legends of Rock at night - not bad a place. Met some companies (Infosys, Wipro, the works) on Monday before catching my Kingfisher airlines back to Mumbai. Any airline that has a radio station that plays the Doors gets my vote! Go Kingfisher!! Returned to find the Sensex dropping like a stone, yesterday's 825 point fall was scary. Fingers crossed.

And to round up, everybody seems to be getting hitched/hooking up. Everyone except me that is. Not that I am complaining (maybe just a little), but is it the need for companionship? Or is it just procreation?

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Dani California



The new RHCP single Dani California has been playing non-stop on my PC for the past few days. Just love those guys. The video is hilarious, check it out here. Wikipedia has some detailed info on the song.

Monday, May 08, 2006

A bad land for Gods


What do you say about a book that has won awards as the best in SF, fantasy and horror? Neil Gaiman's American Gods is like nothing I've read before. I don't think a review would do the book any justice, but let me try anyway...

Just a few days before his imminent release from prison, Shadow's wife dies in a car crash. On his way to the funeral, Shadow meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday who claims to be the King of America and a God to boot. Wednesday hires Shadow as his chauffeur as he goes about rousing the old gods to fight against the new gods that have taken over America. So begins a wild ride for Shadow, meeting gods from various pantheons who arrived in America with the immigrants and being rescued by various women, including a couple of goddesses and his undead wife, culminating in his hanging from the sacred tree keeping vigil for Wednesday, who is really Odin, the Norse god of war. But is Shadow just a pawn in the game for supremacy between the old gods and the new, or are the gods themselves being set up for a fall? And what exactly is Loki, the god of chaos, up to?

I haven't read any of Gaiman's graphic novels, but he is simply brilliant here. I suppose the reason that the book won awards under so many genres is because it defies any sort of classification. It is one man's journey to self discovery, its science fiction, fantasy, horror, its an insight into the religious heritage of American society & of the lust for power, a subtle critique of soul-less America, and much more. A must read.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Casino Royale


The Casino Royale trailer is out ! It looks as if the Bond franchise is trying to start afresh - Daniel Craig is not really the suave spy we have come to know, and the action sequences seem pretty gritty. Perhaps Casino Royale will actually be a welcome change after the highly synthetic, gadget obsessed Bond films we have seen recently.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Song of the moment

I'm not looking for a warm embrace
I'm not looking for a friendly face
I've got everything I need
I'm not worried if you're coming back
I'm in a hurry 'cause I just found out
I've got everything I need
I've got everything I need
So even if you wanted to

You can't save me
You can't fail me
I'm back up on my feet baby
On the way down
Is when I found out
That I got everything I need

I'm not looking for a hand to hold
I'm not waiting for someone to show
I've got everything I need
I never found a wall I could not climb
I never seen a well as deep as mine
I've got everything I need
I've got everything I need
So even if you wanted to...

It doesn't matter if I'm qualified
Or if I ever learn to blow your mind
I've got everything I need
I'm not looking for a place to shine
I wake up and I'Â’m satisfied
I've got everything I need
I've got everything I need
So even if you wanted to...
- Everything I need, The Wallflowers

Landmark

Trent's acquisition of Landmark has turned out to be a good thing - Infinity mall in Andheri now has a swanky new bookstore. Picked up some graphic novels and 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman is pretty good. Will post a review as soon as I am done with the book. Can see Landmark gaining a pretty big share of my wallet in the days to come.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Women in love

I really hate to say this, but women in love seem to completely let go of good sense. It’s amazing how much a woman will put up with, just because she is in love. Recently, I didn't know what to say to a friend whose BF rammed his car into hers (on purpose!) and then slapped her in front the crowd that stopped to watch! Actually, I knew what I wanted to say - "How the hell could you let some one do this to you, silly goose!" I mean, the guy obviously knew he'd get away with it, else he wouldn't have done something like that. I really don't know who is to blame - the stupid p$%#k who treats his girl so bad, or the girl who is so blinded by her emotions that she doesn't have it in her to slap him back and walk away!