The fall

When people like Night Shaymlal and Tarsem Singh are out there why do we still say Indians aren't able to produce quality movies for international audience?! Wait Shyamalal .. yeah.. the guy who directed Village.. but who is this Singh guy... That's what I thought.. until I watched 'The Fall', and I am eating my words literally, calling myself ignoramus for not having known about him and this movie earlier.

The movie starts with a total bang of visual treats.. The slow motion of some of the fantastic scenes ever.. Cool angles.. and if you think they are disconnected, think again or rather, watch again! The entire movie flows literally in front of you and dynamic as a mercury broken free from a thermometer..The interesting scenes , tricks, where the girl, Alexandria sees the upside down horse, well really a reflection , a rudimentary pin-hole camera technique captured so beautifully, the way the story is ready to mould as the narrative goes, taking in the elements from the girl.

The actor - Lee Pace, the girl , Catinca Untaru and the nurse - Justine Weddell all fresh beautiful faces have done an excellant job. Specially the little girl with her broken English and cute smile. I can't stop going to the all the places and scenes that were shown in the movie.. the beautiful everlasting desert in captivating colours of gold and brown and yellow, the butterfly reef, the sea swimming elephant - incidentally is it Rajan from Andamans?, The way the mystic emerges from the tree, The blood of the blue bandit spreading on the canvas, the mystic folk who give the directions - I have seen this before in Baraka; are they the same people then?, Jodhpur, the city of blue houses.

What baffles me is, is the imagination of Alexandria or of Roy, surely the girl cannot have seen all these places and those beautiful costumes to put into her imagination, but then again it can't be Roy's either, remember the scene where she comes out of Darwin's bag? Or is it both's? Let me know what your thoughts are..

The delusional suicidal queen - Black Swan

The first time I took a celebrity's word, Black Swan was truly awesome. Must say, Slash's choice rocks - Slash :Watching Black Swan for the 3rd time. Darren Aronofsky is genius. Iii|; )'.

 
The movie opens up with everything my sister loves the most - Vincent Cassel and Ballet and icing on top - Mila Kunis. As for me, I love Natalie Portman. Having seen her perform in the Star Wars. The emotions she could convey of a lover and mom hood was class apart. And she din disappoint me here either. She was terribly good, specially the scene where she breaks down telling her Mom that she got selected to be the swan queen and the brilliant performance as black swan queen.

The story is kind of psychopathic thriller with the disturing scenes of the breaking nail and girls make out.. (eww). Interesting story of how perfection drives one to the depths of delusion.  Super direction, reminds me kinda of Fight club, with the way the dark side of the lead is introduced even before the character's role becomes clear. As for Mila, I have watched her in 'That 70's show' and she has grown out of the teeny character nicely. Something I need to watch out now is Cassel..

Benny and Joon

Think of a little bit of paint, a pint of madness and whole lot of special flavour of Johnny Depp, and the resulting brew is Benny and Joon.

Just the kind of movie I love. Joon's mental disorder is finely captured by Mary Stuart Masterson. The whole uneasiness, the pain, the random twiddling and outbursts and the uncertainity when Sam (Depp) comes into her life. Depp as ever, has excelled beyond my wildest imagination, just the kind of Chaplin I would love. His antics, his sincerity in the character very nicely carried. I just cant imagine having not watched this movie long before and having to retrace his movies past PoC (More on this later..)

Brillant sound tracks, my favourite is the song the movie starts and ends with, and so does my short excerpt. Do watch.

When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be,

I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next you
When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver up, Yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Video to the song

I  <3  WIKILEAKS

As the wikileaks news broke all across the world re-defining media and journalism, I went googling, what is wikileaks? (google Wikileaks -Can't give you url to wikileaks since 'they' keep shutting them down, but no worries, there are mirror sites, you can add one too , look into mirrors page in the site) what is all  this hullabaloo about?. I went through one story to another, digesting the video interview at by Assange at TED and the documentary by the wiki rebels on Wikileaks and Julian Assange, the making of wikileaks, the growth of wikileaks, the articles they leaked, the offensive by various governments and organizations and the majority of sympathy and support coming through various quarters of the hackers world, the common man, the media houses and curiously some governments.

After all that, I have understood one thing, the world needs wikileaks and needs it badly. These are the times when corruption, under table dealings and debauchery are common, Truth, valour, virtue are things that superheroes are made of, in short stuff that you dream of; wikileaks comes as the beacon of light in these dark times, standing firm against the perpetrators and does not hesitate to  show them in their true light. I believe Julian, and the evidence so far shows it too ,  is an innocent victim of the double dealing governments who want to shutdown wikileaks and running this lowly smear campaign since they are unable to find any law broken, to book wikileaks and its founders.

I hope and hope from deep inside my heart, that wikileaks lives on, that Julian and his team keep continuing leaking the dark secrets our governments and other corporates that hoodwink us from and force them to fear that they cannot get away with their deceits and lies and restore back a little of hope that our world is not so hopeless after all. Hail wikileaks!

Ideals of Wikileaks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDvfQ5gZ-Jw

Do your bit and sign this petition at Awaaz- http://www.avaaz.org/en/wikileaks_petition/95.php?CLICKTF

Jack Johnson : The magic of subtleties of words and music

 

I first came of know of Jack Johnson through a documentary I was watching called the Hawaii: Message in the waves, that tells us about how the current generation is departing from the deep knowledge of our ancestors about conserving and harvesting nature and the plastic pollution from the mainland that is killing the Albatross that breeds on the Hawaiian islands. Jack Johnson born and brought up in the paradise that is Hawaii, grew up admiring nature and is in the forefront on conservation activities at Hawaii. In the documentary in question he is singing a song 'reduce, Reuse, Recycle' at schools. How many of the rock starts really have concerns about nature and conservation? Hats off to JJ.

Now coming to his music, I will not bias my views taking his environmentalist activities in mind. ... I love his music, Yep, not only is his voice really good, he writes deeply meaningful songs and his band makes some amazing music.  I am listening to 'Only the ocean' from the album 'to the sea' in a loop and going totally high. The way he has expressed the ocean, huge , mighty not always loving but always by you, pulling you in.

 I love his views, his magic of words and the accompanying sweet music. There are many favorites of mine from his albums, like 'At or with me', is just a jolly song, 'Better Together' a very romantic song, "banana pancakes' just the right for a lazy morning. I even made banana pancakes one day learning them from the internet on one lazy morning which brought rains, and bunked office. :) and listened to this song.. Bubble toes, a cute song, sitting waiting wishing a very touching song,  Enemy (Worst Friends Remix) , breakdown,  dreams be dreams,  actually I'll stop here or i might end up listing all his songs.

Johnson's band is composed of:
   * Jack Johnson – Vocals, guitar
   * Adam Topol – Drums, percussion
   * Merlo Podlewski – Bass
   * Zach Gill – Piano, percussion

The music is soothing, acoustic, soft rock.. to kind of folksy.. I simply love his songs on mother nature.. a friend of my pointed to the this number from Brushfire fairytales, inaudible melodies a line that says, "yellow-bellied given names" suggesting that may be he does birding too.. great many connections.. I am yet to check out all his songs, and very excited too!

A look at his website and wiki page will give you all the info on this great albeit humble man - http://jackjohnsonmusic.com/home

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28musician%29

review of 'to the sea' - http://www.parcbench.com/2010/06/03/jack-johnson-%E2%80%93-%E2%80%9Cto-the-sea%E2%80%9D-music-review/ .. love this line "Did I mention that he is likely to enter this week’s Billboard charts at number one? You see, Jack Johnson is kind of a big deal. But he’s done it all in a quiet manner; he’s made a pop career for himself even without the help of American Idol."

Into the wild

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no  cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager  whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not  return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling  years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle  to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the  spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and  hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be  poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land  to become lost in the wild. - Alexander Supertramp May 1992

Sometimes a movie leaves you spell bound, sometimes they arouse in  you a feeling that rings true with your soul, sometimes they  enthuse you to do something, and sometimes just make you happy.  Into the wild does them all. The visuals, direction and acting is  flawless. Narrative fantastic. Though the movie tends to oscillate  more and more between the present moment and past, you still are  gripped until the end. And for those who love wild and philosophy,  this is just the right blend for you. Eddie Vedder's songs flow in the movie at every occasion. My personal favourite is 'Long Nights' that suits Chris's temperament just fine.

Going beyond the movie, Into the wild is a real life story of  Christopher McCandless, a young boy fresh out of college who  decides to set himself free from the bonds of society, family and  responsibilities. What follows is an amazing journey of a mind  seeking freedom, to taste the wild as it ought to be. He hitch  hikes his way across US to reach his destination, Alaska, where he  has decided to survive with the least dependence on the outside  world. He meets, along the way, some really amazing people who  lead him through this new life. Trampling on the road with  literally no money and working small time  to earn little to buy  stuff he might need at Alaska, Chris experiences moments, a kind  of new awakening.

What Chris did, is what all of us dream to do someday, but  breaking away, to live a life away from the family and friends,  luxuries that money can buy, all the daily things familiar to you,  all the mundane responsibilities and commitments that tie you down  is nearly impossible. We all want to backpack, a run away into  wilderness amidst the sparkling stream water , chirping birds and  dewy grass, but nature is not just beautiful, it can be  unmerciful, which Chris found out at his life's stake.

Some of the quotes that I love are:
Happiness is real only when shared

The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance  to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know  that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it  is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To  measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in  the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone  alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
— Bear Meat by Primo Levi

The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more...
             - Lord Byron

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not  take the initiative to change their situation because they are  conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism,  all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality  nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man  than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit  is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our  encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy  than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a  new and different sun."
— Chris McCandless

"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all  possibility of life is destroyed."
— Chris McCandless

"Rather than Love, than Money, than Fame, give me Truth."
— Henry David Thoreau

To taste the unknown without reservations
To place my hand in a dingy hole without fear
To jump into a dark pit just coz I feel it is worth discovering
To sing raucously in a crowded bus
To dance in an unknown street
To do my painting when it damn well pleases me
To visit an unknown town on my own
To wear any gaudy cloth that pleases my heart
To love the unknown no matter how creepy that might sound
To break bounds and lose oneself in an uninhabited place
We all have these desires
But we make them - rules
Tie ourselves down
Give every damned reason not to dare, break boundaries
Just chuck them buddy
Let yourself run wild