mariouana

Movie Review: Journey 2 The Mysterious Island

mariouana — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:55:36 +0000

I watched the first part, Journey to the Center of the Earth which according to me was good if you watched it in 3D… without that it’s just another movie. The same goes for the sequel Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

There are amazing 3D effects and graphics in the movie… but no fun in the dialogues, script and anything else. Josh Hutcherson playing Sean Anderson stays in the sequel too and meets his girl this time. The story is pretty much the same like the previous one… ‘There’s this book, lots to see, lots to discover, need to keep up the family name, ready for an adventure… etc.’ It has many scenes synonymous to the prequel, but you won’t lose anything if you haven’t watched the first part before this.

If you like reading books I suggest u read the book than watching the movie… but in case you do wanna watch the movie, watch it only for the 3D effects in a theatre. I’m giving it a generous 2.5 stars.

Movie Review: Chronicle

mariouana — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:24:47 +0000

Amazing. Superb. Freakin’ Awesome! Ok here’s the thing. If you share many of the interests of any of the guys from Big Bang Theory, i.e. if you like comic books, superhero stuff, mutation and other “cool” stuff, well… basically if you’re a geek… then this movie is a must watch for you, and you must watch it in the theatre! That’s it. Just get out this weekend and watch this one!

Chronicle is shot in documentary-style, just like a Hancock-Paranormal Activity sandwich, but way better than both of them put together! Its just a 1.5 hour movie, but it grabs you through every second.. and especially after the interval… you are not gonna blink!!! The plot is straight and simple. Three guys discover this alien substance in their locality and they “you know, like… check it out!” This substance was the cause of their new found telekinesis powers which they eventually learn to control throughout the movie. The only thing missing was that the guys did not seem shocked or surprised after they knew that they had these superpowers. That was a bit strange… as if they knew the superpowers were coming to them through courier! Do check out the camera angles… lots to learn!

This doesn’t have melodrama, no background music, no slow motion, no nothing… just a clean, simple, awesome film! The actors are cool and live up to the characters they portray. For me, this by far, beats Iron Man 2, Hulk and X-Men Origins: Wolverine in film and entertainment value. Going with 3.5 stars!

Movie Review: Agneepath (2012)

mariouana — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:12:42 +0000

I reiterate once again that I don’t believe in reviews since art always has many points of view which makes it more beautiful. Therefore, I review movies only by simple perception of an audience and not as an expert film critic, actor, director or anything else.

I watched the original Agneepath of 1990 just a few days back, gearing up for the remake… so let’s finish the comparisons first. I really appreciate the attempt made in the remake because they have not copied the characters as is, unlike in the case of Don. The new Vijay Dinanath Chauhan is not only an angry-young-man, but an angry-and-emotionally-troubled-young-man which is more real because all that he remembers is his father’s brutal murder. The famous character Krishna Iyer “Yem Yay” is not existing at all, which is fine because the entire focus of the movie is only between Hrithik and the vicious Kancha, brilliantly played by Sanjay Dutt.

The movie adapts the original screenplay very well and keeps up the ruggedness of Mandwa village whilst depicting it in modern context. All the main characters are sketched out very new and the only strong similarity you can draw is from the story line… it does have a few twists though! The original classic character played by Amitabh Bachchan is left untouched, with Hrithik playing it superbly in his own way. This I really appreciate.

Now, judging this version by itself… its awesome! The only thing I found interfering while enjoying the movie was the unnecessary background score and added camera angles which brought out an Ekta Kapoor Serial feeling sometimes. Chikini Chameli was good, but again it had the same old problem of Bollywood where the playback singer is just singing and the dancer is doing something told by the choreographer. Shreya Goshal’s laughter and expression from the song is just ignored while Katrina is busy doing her latka-jatkas… enjoyable, but not perfect. It’s a Karan Johar movie after all!

I will not spoil the climax for you, but please pay close attention to Hrithik’s six pack abs during the final fight… you will know why Bollywood movies, especially Johar’s are never perfected! It’s not about Hrithik’s body at all… that is always perfect, but how the movie makes mistakes even here! It’s needless to speak about the awesome performances by Hrithik yet again, Sanjay Dutt and definitely Rishi Kapoor. Priyanka has not much to do except a nice dance sequence which again pauses the reality of the movie.

The Verdict: Definitely a must watch this weekend; Karan Johar can make a good violent movie, Ram Gopal Varma, you better wake up! Because of the added unnecessary drama and obvious imperfections, I give it 3 instead of 4 stars!

Photo Credit: Dharma Productions and MedleyNews

It’s good to be back… again!

mariouana — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:36:40 +0000

My last post was back in November 2010, the month I began my first job, earning my first ‘hard-earned’ money. I began training in Mysore, the place where TED India was hosted that same year. The journey from graduating out of College from NMAMIT, Nitte, near my hometown of Mangalore, to learning to live the corporate life in Mysore was just brilliant… one of the best moments of my life, after my hostel days!

Training went on till March 2011 and finally, I began my 23rd year as a Software Engineer in April. I had moved out from Mysore to Chennai due to work and this made me miss my Mangalore city like never before!!! I was completely blocked away from blogging and hardly came onto facebook all throughout these busy days.

Chennai was fine… well, at least not as bad as I thought it would be. But even so, there was so much incomplete. Life is not all about having a job and getting salary, but being satisfied with where you are, doing what you love, living free and enjoying moments with all your friends and family. Anyways, I definitely know that life’s gonna change soon and change for the better… and it’s getting better already! I’ve reopened both my blogs, MPJTime and this one; I’ve also re-begun singing extensively after a long nine year gap, which I wish was never there, and this in year, all I pray and hope is that my focus on what I want and what I deserve gets sharper.

So what’s new in my blog this time? Well, it looks new, with a new logo, kept it clean and simple; I like it and hope you do too… check the poll on the right sidebar. I’ll be coming out with newer and more interesting categories of posts and of course, the previous ones will continue. You can contact me here or subscribe.

Special thanks to two special people, Mario Monteiro (Yet Another Mario Mario ) for restoring confidence in myself and in my music and Karthik Kastury for always being the Inspirer that he is. Big thank you to Navneet, Thangamma and last but not the least… Praahas.

Hope you all love my writing and let’s all stay addicted!

Inspirers: Aniketh D’Souza

mariouana — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:33:16 +0000

Been wanting to write about this person from a very long time but never got the time. To begin with, Aniketh and I studied in the same college for two years. I interacted with him through facebook etc. and even met his younger brother. But till this day… I haven’t spoken to him in person even once! Just met him on a few occassions. Shocking and surprising it may seem… but its true.

I’ve heard a hell lot about this guy. Well, I don’t have to tell you much. Check out this video to know more about this international swimmer.

He’s been among the Top 100 students, invited as Prime Minister’s Guests on Republic Day 2009, the Fastest Swimmer (India 2005) and also recipient of the prestigious Ekalavya Award from the Governor. For some reasons, one of which is the Government’s “don’t care” attitude to upcoming talents, especially in sports other than cricket, today, Aniketh is busy with his blogs and work at office; and he hasn’t continued swimming as he used to. I think that’s the case for most upcoming sports people. However, from the online interactions and what his close friends have told me, he comes across like a ‘just-another-guy’, with all humility, even after achieving so much at such a young age.

He’s the founder of The Value Network which is really an awesome venture. He also has his personal blog. What I love is his regular status update quotes on facebook and ‘System is broken’!
One more gem from Mangalore… and I always wanted to add him in this part of my blog. Best wishes Aniketh!

Check out other Inspirers or click here for updates.

This Year’s Google Doodles for Children’s Day

mariouana — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 05:46:22 +0000

The first edition of Doodle 4 Google India was held last year. The theme for last year’s contest was ‘My India’. The winner, Puru Pratap Singh, a 4th standard student from Gurgaon, got to see his Doodle on the Google homepage on Children’s Day last year.

The cute little competition is back again with over 108,000 doodles from across the country! This year, we can vote for our favourite doodles, one from each age group. Simply look through all the doodles here and their supporting statements and pick the one you like in each category. Then submit your vote. Remember you get to vote only once. The doodles with the most votes in each category will become the winner of that category and will win a Technology Starter Package.

Besides this, Google’s master doodler Dennis Hwang will himself choose one overall National winner. The national winner’s doodle will appear on the Google India homepage www.google.co.in on Children’s Day, Sunday, 14 November, 2010. The doodler will also win a Technology Grant of INR 200,000 for their school. Public online voting is open till Friday, 5 November, 2010 5:00 p.m. (IST). All those from Mangalore and elsewhere too, please vote for Akshay Raj from St. Aloysius High School in Group 3 of the Doodles. His doodle is as shown above. Do vote in all three categories and lets encourage these little bundles of creativity.

Happy Children’s Day to all you little ones out there and even to those who are kids at heart

Hollywood Releases of November ‘10

mariouana — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:25:43 +0000

November 5^th

127 Hours
Cast: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn
Director: Danny Boyle
Genre: Drama

Due Date
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis
Director: Todd Phillips
Genre: Comedy

For Colored Girls
Cast: Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Ealy, Kimberly Elise
Director: Tyler Perry
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Megamind (2D/3D)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill
Director: Tom McGrath
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family

November 10^th

Morning Glory
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford
Director: Roger Michell
Genre: Comedy

November 12^th

Skyline
Cast: Eric Balfour, Donald Faison
Director: Greg Strause, Colin Strause
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller

Unstoppable
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine
Director: Tony Scott
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

The Social Network (India Release)
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Bryan Barter
Director: David Fincher
Genre: Drama, History

November 19^th

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Director: David Yates
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

The Next Three Days
Cast: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson
Director: Paul Haggis
Genre: Thriller

November 24^th

Burlesque
Cast: Cher, Christina Aguilera
Director: Steven Antin
Genre: Drama

Faster
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Genre: Action, Thriller

Love and Other Drugs
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway
Director: Ed Zwick
Genre: Drama

My Picks: 127 Hours, The Social Network (India Release), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Click here for updates.