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..

Back finally..

Another semester went by. I start off with every semester thinking its going to be better than the last one, thoroughly determined to take it easier, but some things never happen. It just always hits hard anyways..

It was interesting though at times and not so at others. I hate theory and it was evident by the theory course I took. On the other hand, I just can't remember the last time building so much code for academic projects. It was tough while I was doing it, but looking back, I guess it was interesting!

Anyways, back for now and though I guess I'll be a little busy during the summer working over some project, but I guess regular posts will be on my agenda for sure..

TR's Top 10

MIT's Technological Review just released the the list of top 10 technologies to look forward for this year, which they think are most likely to change the way we live.

Even though energy conservation, miniaturization and data mining seems to form the crux of most of these technologies, but its the ideas which are truly revolutionary. Here's the complete list, and though all of them seem pretty fascinating, the concept of Probabilistic Chips and Modeling Surprise really intrigued me the most.

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!

Finally, it arrived..

..it indeed did. Nine years is a long time, but then when it came, it was all the more sweet. Few would remember that the last time he hit a ton in a winning final was against the Zims in 1999. He's been there all this while, scoring runs at a scorching rate, but when it came to the finals, it looked as though the law of averages seem to catch up with him. Perhaps it did him this time as well, probably this time the other way around, since he hadn't scored many in the earlier games.

Fantastic knock, which was not as imposing as the one Hayden played earlier in the day, but it was balanced. Talk about cricket being played as much in the mind as outside. There weren't many outrageous punches off the backfoot or the booming straight drives, instead what we saw was creative batsmanship at his best. This was mind over matter and no brownie points for guessing who won.

Being an ardent fan that I am, I was literally praying that India wins the toss and bats first at the SCG, since I've hardly seen teams chasing successfully on that ground. The pitch gets a lot slower and lower as the day progresses, and although the ground is at its magnificent best under the lights, it has more often than not been a burial ground for the chasers. But at last it changed..

A great game all in all - the Aussies showed why they are the best fielding side in the world yet again which meant that the Indians had to chase an extra 25 runs. They did and with the master there to see it till the end, it was all the more beautiful. I'm not saying that the Aussies are past their prime or anything else. There's still daylight between them and the others, but its good to see a few teams at least take the game by the scuff of the neck and give them a fight. After all any game needs two 'teams' to make it a contest.

I really expect Gabba to be everything but SCG in terms of the pitch. Indians are one up, and the Aussies are a bit wounded. Some fellow Aussie bloggers want their team to hit the deserts once again as they did when John Buchanan was the coach to strengthen them up. Interesting.. all I have to say is ask Stephen Waugh first - he'd have some scary stories about the desert storm he witnessed way back in the summer of '98 at Sharjah!