India Lost .... So what ??

Well today the whole country is recovering from yesterday's defeat and subsequent ouster of India from the world cup. Well so what ... we lost . We didn't have a good day and we lost to the better teams on that day. Are the team hyped ? Yes they are ... and they deserve to be 'cause India's where the money's coming from.

The repercussions of the loss are huge. There is a huge financial loss to the broadcasters, to ICC, and to the sponsors. Tonight's SA-Australia match already doesn't have enough ads ... and the channel is busy promoting their own shows.

So should the team be changed ? Well drastic changes are not needed, but definitely some players need to go. Uttapa ... lad you better perform. Agarkar ... well it just might be your last series. Kumble... time to retire from ODI's. Sehwag ... one century against Bermuda doesn't make you safe. Are tendulkar, dravid and ganguly due for retirement ... well not according to me because they still have some more time left and plus if they leave, do we have other batsmen in the country to fill their huge shoes ?? Yuvraj .. you just might be in for some promotion as a captain. Pathan you are still needed. Kaif .. you just might sneak through into the team. Chappel ... well goodbye and god bless is in order. So who coaches India next ? Well I hope its someone who's pretty unconventional and can shake up the establishment. So lets just wait till the next series ... and hope for better things. Do I hate the Indian team ? No not at all ... I still am a fan of the team, and will be behind them for better or for worse. So that means more sleepless nights in the future ?? Well .. ahem ... yes :)

The other thing about our teams loss was the response I got from the DVD library guy. He was so happy because his business will flourish once again. Speaking of DVDs, I rented two movies today. Black Friday and Last King of Scotland. Here is my take on both these movies :

1) Black Friday : The first thing that hits you about this movie is that it is going to be one hell of a hard-hitting movie It does deliver on the bangs and gives a very good journalistic view of the bomb blasts. It does not justify the bomber's actions, neither the brutality of the police. The director presents the story as is, and its left up to the viewer to decide what is right and what is wrong. The bomb blasts were one scary chapter in the history of independent India. The most chilling aspect is that the bomb blasts happened in the recent past, and I still remember the names of the people involved. People like badshah khan, jaaved chikna, Rakesh Maria etc have had their names printed on TOI plenty of times. I would recommend this movie to everyone who has a vague memory of the bomb blasts. ... The best part of the movie is the line from gandhi ... "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". It's so absolutely true !!

2) Last King of Scotland : I saw this movie as Forest whitaker had just won the Oscar. The movie tells the story of Ide Amin (Dictator of Uganda) through the eyes of a young scottish doctor. Both the characters have strong roles and have done a very good job of the movie. The acting by forest whitaker is excellent. He brings back the ruthless, diabolical dictator Amin to life, and he is so good at it. He does deserve his Oscar. The acting by the young doctor is also good. Gillian Anderson is wasted I felt. The movie has its ups and downs. I would recommend the movie for great acting .. particularly Whitaker's chilling portrayal of the dictator Ide Amin.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Movies over the past month ....

I just thought that i'd review some of the movies that I've seen over the past month. I am passionate about movies, and I generally try to watch atleast one movie a week. Here's my insight to the movies I saw in the past few months :

1) Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. :

The movie was good in parts, but it didn't add up to be a great movie. The director has toyed with a different movie style. I wished that the movie could have done more with Ranvir Shourey's character. He has an excellent comic timing. Overall there were good performances by Ranvir, KayKay, Raima Sen. The rest of the cast was passable. Ameesha and the guy who played her husband were the worst of the lot. My recommendation ... See the movie on DVD. There are some scenes that you would enjoy and some that you wont ! I would give the movie 2.5 stars out of 5.

2) Pursuit of Happyness : I saw this movie at home. Overall it was a pretty

decent effort by the director. But there was a feeling that the movie was well .... a movie. It somehow felt that the hero's life was full of good-luck and bad chances taken. I didn't get that feeling that this was real stuff. One thing I need to admit is that Will Smith has done a fabulous role and it looked like he put his heart and soul into the movie. As for his son ... well it seemed that he was put in the movie for the cuteness factor.. with his curls and all. The director didn't really depict anyone as evil in the movie ... and somehow I felt that his wife's role was underdeveloped. My recommendation ... See this movie if you really like fairy tales with a happy ending. I'll give the movie a 2.5 out of 5.

3) Apocalypto : I saw this movie with not a lot of expectations and to be honest I totally enjoyed the film. Mel Gibson must have gone through a lot while filming this movie and he really does it well. Some of the scenes are definitely not for the faint hearted. It shows how individuals, irrespective of the time and place, are the just the same. The movie shows how civilizations however great ultimately die off due to struggles within. We've seen this in the past with Indus, Egyptian, roman, Greek civilizations. I'm sure we will see this with the Americans too with their conquests in Iraq, Iran,etc. The chase scene at the end of the movie is spectacularly set. I'm surprised that the movie was not even nominated for an Oscar ( I guess that has to do with all the bad publicity that Mel Gibson got last year). My recommendation ... See this movie. I'll give the movie 4 stars out of 5.

4) Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny : This was a movie that not everyone would enjoy and have a good taste in. If you are a big fan of the Jack Black genre of movies, then you must see this otherwise give this movie a miss. I'm not a huge fan of Jack Black, but I definitely don't mind his antics. The movie is wickedly funny at times, and outlandishly disgusting at others. The latter beats the former by 3 points to 1. The music is not bad .. Overall My Recommendation ... If you like Jack Black showing off his butt ... then the move is for you. I personally didn't like it that much. I'd give the movie 2 stars out of 5.

5) Stranger than fiction : This movie has got a nice feel to it. I personally enjoyed the movie. I felt that your life cannot be planned and you need to take things as they come ... and you need to learn to take risks. Sometimes its just worth the risks. Its worth living the life for yourself than for the society. The acting was good. Emma thompson delights in a small role. Maggie Gyllenhaal once again does an amazing job. She seems so real. However the surprise of the movie was Will Ferrell. Its hard to imagine its the same guy from Talladega Nights. He plays the character straight and succeeds. Overall the movie has an interesting premise. My recommendation ... watch it ! I'd give the movie 3.5 stars out of 5.

6) Little Miss Sunshine : I'd seen this movie in the shelf of my DVD library for quite a while. Somehow it never moved from its location for around 2 months. One day I had no choice, therefore I decided to rent this movie. What a move that was !! It was one of the best movies from last year. Its as Indy as an Indy movie can get. It doesn't conform to the usual style of movies... yet its so endearing. The star of the movie are the characters. Everyone has done a great job in the movie. The best part of the movie is that everyone acts straight. Nobody acts intentionally comical. But when everyone in the family comes together, the result is hilarious. In terms of acting, Greg Kinnear does a great job; Toni Collete tries hard to be a good mom and at the same time save her marriage to an over-domineering husband. Alan Arkin is fantastic( he does deserve his Oscar). The casting of Dwayne (Paul Dano) is perfect. Steve Carell surprises (Its totally different than his Office avatar). Finally the small girl who plays Olive (Abigail Breslin) is the scene stealer. There are so many good scenes in the movie. The story is excellent. My recommendation ... Absolutely watch the movie for the great acting, and the story. I'd give the movie 4.5 stars out of 5.

I will try to review more movies I see ...