Mafia, Drugs, Blackjack, Bank Robberies and Teens..

Well, these are just the subjects of the movies I grabbed in the last couple of days. There were tonnes of them that I've missed and I've been trying my best to wrap them up..

Denzel Washington's always been one of my favorites and add Russell Crowe to it, and its a super bonanza. At 175 minutes a touch too long, but American Gangster held it up throughout. Mafia movies are always exciting, and this one was a complete treat to watch. The true story of Frank Lucas' drug empire is definitely worth watching!

I remember how much I loved watching Good Will Hunting and the rebellious brilliance of Matt Damon. Jim Sturgess definitely doesn't match the former, but the quick paced story of 21 based on the life of Jeff Ma, an MIT grad is fun to watch. Kevin Spacey and Lawrence Fishburne add to the cast, but there aren't any great acting honors for the taking here. Its just the exciting script about how the best brains in MIT take to card counting in Blackjack. Add to that the popcorn and the regular drink and rest assured, the 2 odd hours spent will not be considered wasted.

I completed the hattrick of watching movies based on true stories with Bank Job. For some reason, since I watched Snatch and the 'Turkish' character of Jason Statham is still there in the head. I've since watched Transporter, Crank and a few others of his, and Bank Job was no exception. Its not a great flick by any standards, but again one of those which is fun (yet again) to watch. I think what really adds to the fun is the shocking story on which this flick's based. Once I wrapped this one, I hit the Wikipedia to look for the facts. There weren't many listed apparently since this subject is under 'D Notice' which calls for utmost silence on such matters, but all one needs is a hint, right?

I hate sweet flicks, but Juno was a revelation. Yeah, this was the fourth one in 2 days! Ellen Page is terrific as a 16 yr old pregnant teen, though I must admit its over the top at times. But there are times, when you don't give a damn to it. How many movies have been made which are comical, but tackling a pretty serious issue at the same time. Juno's the one..

Movies Galore..

Yeah, that says it all. Its been a long time since I've seen one. All in all three of them in the last couple of days. Enter spring break..

The Fountain was pending since long and it lived up to its branding of being a little obscure. Classify it as science fiction or the romantic genre, it stays true to the Darren  Aronofsky brand. It might not have the kind of impact that Requiem for a Dream had, but nevertheless, its a pretty good watch with Hugh Jackman really showing his class. It took me a while to get into the groove after I played it and I won't grade it as supremely entertaining, but definitely worth a watch for it really is a different grade of cinema. What more, it stars Rachel Weisz..

Pure unadulterated action was what I expected from the latest Sly Stallone's John Rambo.. Plenty of blood in it, but somehow it doesn't really invigorates as the earlier editions. But then, even if you are a Sly fan, you can't let this one go, for even at 60 this man can rip the enemies apart. :)

I don't know what drove me to watch The Notebook. Perhaps a high rating on imdb was the catalyst and though it was pretty decent, its not for me. I avoid watching such flicks, but then at times I do fall into the trap.

That was it for me, radically different genres to get the ball rolling. I've heard 10,000 BC is a drag, and I wonder how can the makers of Independence Day screw it up. But then I do remember Godzilla!

Wishy Wacky..

At times one needs bust the stress and there are a few movies that at times manage to land up in that category. Quality might not be the epitome of such a movie, but who cares. Sometime back I had written about Clive Owen's Shoot 'Em Up, which was one of the most outrageous movies I had seen in the recent past. A couple of days back I saw Jason Statham's Crank, and must say that it matches up to its title - it had eccentricity written all over it. A wacky plot and insane build up, but as I said who cares - Statham's exploits in Snatch and Lock Stock.. made me watch this, and though critics might have absolutely debunked this flick, it made for some pretty good entertainment. :) C'mon how many movies are based on the premise that a certain Chinese poison would kill you once your heart rate drops below a certain level. As again, one of those flicks where you need to keep your brains on the table to enjoy it.

If Crank was whacky,  then The Bucket List was wishy. A pretty intriguing premise again, where a couple of terminally ill chaps escape from the ward and head off to complete off a list of To-Do's before they die. Anyways, plots carry little meaning when you have the stellar combination of Jack 'the eccentric' Nicholson and Morgan 'the unamused' Freeman. Its a nice and easy watch flick, though a rating of 7.8 on IMDB is probably a little high for it.  

TZP.. Shoot 'em up!

Well, first things first. I'm not comparing these two flicks at all. Taare Zameen Par has set standards which will take a lot of work to go past. All the brilliant and supremely intellectual directors step aside, lets roll the red carpet for AK. Looks like most of the people would have seen it and few would actually question the sincerity behind it. Be it the dialogues or the music or the lyrics or the direction or the script or whatever, it was all first rate and to top it all, it was first rate entertainment. AK, Take a bow!

Sometimes, insanity also calls for brilliance, and when the two strike in balance, they call for a wow! Folks who've seen Shoot 'em up might differ in their opinions but it was great fun for me. Not since Kill Bill, have I seen such insane action and blood spattering with a subtle topping of humor. Action, which can't be described in words, but you've gotta see it to believe it. All in all, great entertainment! Never knew carrots could be that dangerous.. ;)

Back for Good!

Time flies by and boy, does it fly fast! It just doesn't seem as though a semester is over, and it just was freaking crazy and way too much happened during this course.
No time at all a couple of days back, and now I've got this luxury of watching back to back episodes of Prison Break, writing a blog and even.. doing nothing! Well, I kinda hated this life a few months back, but how badly I needed this for now.

India won, but damn, it was one of the most irrelevant series ever played. It was only sad to see how the arch rivals match-up is just losing all its fizz. It was not just the dull results, but the manner in which the game was played that was disappointing. Well, though I'll be up in sheer anticipation of watching India meet the Aussies down under, but deep inside I'm pretty sure that facing the likes of Lee and co. on the bouncy tracks won't be a trivial task. Add to that misery of the Indian attack and you are left wondering that all that the team can do best is bat for 5 days. Less than a couple of weeks left and it would be interesting to see how the boxing day opens. Sometimes I wonder if the real essence of this series lies in seeing the master perform for one last time down under. There have been numerous articles in the Australian dailies citing how the Aussie crowds would be fortunate enough this summer again to watch him effortlessly switch between spanking backfoot punches and elegant on the rise cover drives! I hope they don't get disappointed..

I've not seen much of John Cusack and can barely recall Runaway Jury, Identity, Con Air and couple others of his flicks. 1408 showed why he's damn good at his job. A li'l scary and fun at the same time, 1408 is pretty gripping right from the start, though am still wondering what the heck was Samuel L. Jackson doing in that nitty role of his. Talk about wasted talent..

I've not been keeping up to date with the tech news and its barely been a couple of days since I was done with my semester. Replication systems and security was all that I could think till then. I didn't give much to Grad school, but sometimes its imperative that you return to the best papers in systems to actually get a feel of whats happening on the application layer. Three years of work in the applications side didn't give much insight on what allows you to build 'em, 3 months of extensive reading in systems did give me a fair idea though!

Destination: Burma (Myanmar)

Rocky Balboa.. John McClane - we saw them get back last year belting the hell out of whoever came against them and now its time to let the master enter - John Rambo. Yeah, he looks old after his Vietnam stint, but then you can't count him out. Waiting for January 25th..