Reaching There

The Joker had a sinister motive when he asked his victims - why so serious? I asked the same question to me a little while ago; my motive was entirely benign. My thought process evolved from an interview of three-times Academy Award winner in Sun Times. I saw Lincoln a few weeks back and enjoyed the experience. Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis complement each other - the combination of aesthetics of direction and realism of method acting. I would love to talk about this more but some other day! Lincoln is a revered figure in American history and with this comes the burden to portray the character as godlike. I would let a quote from the movie The Insider to put forth my sentiments about human beings who are now considered heroes. Mike Wallace: Who are these people? Lowell Bergman: Ordinary people under extraordinary pressure, Mike. What the hell do you expect? Grace and consistency? The movie Lincoln shows the extraordinary pressure on Abraham Lincoln - a human ...

Dec 21 2012 Today is 21-12-12. Earth's crust is still stationary, at least it's not moving as fast as it should be if we were to consider today is the doomsday. The cosmos is shifting as well, everything moving farther away from each other at a speed that would dampen all records of Donald Campbell . (not connected but RIP Carl Sagan ) However that's also not new news since the Michelson-Morley experiment in 1887 gave a number to the speed of light and Edwin Hubble said all galaxies are moving farther and farther away. In comparison Charles Hapgood's theory of shifting Earth's crust and an impending doomsday doesn't sounds far-flung. So when Ronald Emmerich created a martini out of the apparent end of ancient Mayan calendar and Hapgood's theory, it added more chaos to the already panicked world. If recent history is to go by then humankind ain't doing a good job in trying to keep its home. The subprime of indulgence is eating away this...

Strolling in the Park A movie released in 1994 barely managed to recover its budget but it is now on the list of American Film Institute's 100 year...100 Movies. It's tagline "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free" is right at the top of my favourite movie quotes list. The movie is full of memorable scenes, the scene where Red and Andy discuss about hope and freedom - those lines & the acting is simply divine. However I didn't gave much attention to another line from Red, which is very early in the movie.  He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say...I liked Andy from the start. Mr. Morgan Freeman's character, Red, says these lines after his first 'deal' with Andy - a friend who would help hi...

H ow Do You Know is a 2010 romantic comedy that is neither famous nor infamous for any particular reason. However it was one of those films that are referred to as box-office bombs in Wikipedia. It recovered just forty percent of its estimated $120 million budget back.  I happened to notice Jack Nicholson while switching through channels on the television. Jack Nicholson is an actor whose acting abilities I have come to admire since watch him as Joker in Batman and as the nosy private detective in Chinatown. I thought I'll just stay with the film for a little while. It was turning out to be a one of those love-triangle films that takes you through the ups and downs of a relationship with a seemingly hopeless guy in love with a confused girl. Not a big fan of the genre but Reese Witherspoon's beautiful face made me continue with the film. Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is going through an existential crisis after being cut from the USA softball team. Lisa moves in with...

Robert Frost said, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life; it goes on". Perhaps he was referring to the cycles of birth-death-rebirth a human soul goes through. Or he was just referring to the journey a human being goes through in his or her life. In either case, the words don't become less significant. Life goes on, no matter whether we feel we are up for the 'now' or not; the wheel of life keeps turning.  Sometimes the wheel turns but ever so slight that the human eyes, although capable of perceiving scores of frames per second, are unable to even notice it. And, the life feels like a marsh where the aspirations are slowly sinking. Yet during these times the patience acts like a stick that keeps you afloat, without you ever noticing the divine intervention. In the world of contradictions here is another food for thought; life goes on yet it is ephemeral. I think you already knew that, but did you realize that? So life is not an en...

Note to reader: If you're looking for the book Jim Carrey referred to in the interview, I have had on luck in finding the book. So in case you came across this post for that answer - I'm sorry this post is not about the book but something he said. So if you're still interested, please do read on! I recently saw an interview of actor Jim Carrey on Inside Actors Studio. All of us know him as the pet detective in Ace Ventura, or the crazy guy from The Mask, or just as the most versatile comedian of contemporary times. However the interview showed me a whole different side of the actor. He turned out to be a lighthearted guy with a deep understanding of human nature.  Towards the later half of the interview James Lipton spoke about a movie called, 'I Love You Phillip Morris'. It is based on the real-life con artist, impostor, prison escapee; Steven Jay Russell; who falls in love with a fellow inmate; Phillip Morris. The movie portrays the same-sex story of ...

There are some movies you enjoy and a few you admire. Peepli Live definitely falls into the latter category. The admiration comes partly from the entertainment portion and partly from the things you can draw out from the movie. The movie, in general, is perhaps the most expressive form of art that directly affect the human consciousness. The images, whether moving or stationary, play a very important role for the human society as well. This form of art carries with it two contradictory forms; openness and mysteriousness at the same time. The qualities were aptly described in another good movie, The Brothers Bloom. In it one of the characters describes photograph as a secret of a secret; the more it tells you the less you know. Good movies, or photographs or books take you to a certain place and leave you there to make your judgement whether about a character or a situation. They are not trying to tunnel your thought process but just providing with certain additives which would help you...