My date with the Oscars – 11 Predictions

 

The Oscars are here, and surprisingly this time, the fever is catching up here in India. From fierce online debates and prediction lists, the excitement this time is as high as ever.

Beauty With Brains!

INTRODUCTION

One Plus, a Chinese smart phone start up, made waves last year, when they launched the much lauded One Plus One. Packed with flagship level internals, and an unbelievable price tag, One Plus One soon became the heartthrob of the smart phone market. Earlier this year, One Plus announced its successor, the One Plus Two. However, the phone could not live up to the hype generated by its predecessor, and the continuance of the invite-only system made prospective buyers look elsewhere. And now, One Plus has launched their first mid-range smart phone, in an attempt to reclaim its lost glory. Will it?

The Underdog Who changed the Game!

 “You can have fun with cricket, if you put your heart and soul into it”

 

Brendon McCullum reminds me of John Lennon. Much like the legendary Beatles founder, McCullum effuses the impression of a rebel; aggressive and arrogant. He dispatches balls off the fence with disdain, and is not afraid to take risks and express himself. But, the more you know about the man, the more you realize how his philosophy has shaped his cricket; play for the game more than for the results; and results would follow. It is easier said than done, but that is exactly what McCullum and his team did, playing their cricket with a fearlessness and infectious passion that one can only associate with innocent kids.

Top 10 Films of the Year

Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the whole world

– Jean-Luc Godard

23 days, 30 movies, and I finally present my list of the 10 favourite movies of 2015. This would be my first review after 4-month hiatus, and it has been long and tedious one. Even then, there are still movies I want to see, especially Son Of Saul and The Forbidden Room.

For reference purposes, only non-Indian productions, theatrically released within 2015 in the United States were considered. In addition to the top 10, I also have a list of honourable mentions.

Kindly note that this is an intensely personal list, and my ratings or rankings are not intended to take anything away from these wonderful films. So here goes: —

Top 10 Films Of The Year – Honourable Mention

2015 has been a great year for the movies. A lot of movies managed to hold my imagination, so much so that a Top 10 list wouldn’t do justice to all of them. So  here are my honourable mentions:

Are you a nationalist?

 “The difference between a patriot and a nationalist is that a patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to war”

The Martian

I have always been a fan of Ridley Scott. A master of critically acclaimed blockbusters, alongside James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan, Scott has produced some wonderful pictures including Alien, The Blade Runner, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Of course, he has faltered with recent films, but is sure back in business, with his latest Sci-fi adventure The Martian. Based on a best-selling novel by Andy Weir, The Martian, starring Mat Damon is the journey of an astronaut Mark Watney, mistakenly left behind on Mars, and his subsequent fight for survival.

Guilty or Not!

As I am laughing at a brilliant sequence, one of many, in Meghna Gulzar’s investigative thriller, Talvar; along with humor, another strange emotion creeped in. One of a strange sense of guilt, of being part of this voyeurism that had gripped us, because, behind all the humor, was a tragedy. A tragedy of a young girl who lost her life; and her parents, who not only had to deal with their loss, but also the invading eyes of the entire nation. I had already started reading the papers regularly, when on the 17th of May 2008, the nation was already in the midst of one of the most high profile murder cases it has ever seen. The murder itself, the subsequent tirade of an investigation and the media trial; I was among the crores who devoured the case. And watching this movie today, I realized how we, as a society is as guilty as the murderer.

Film Of The Year!

Indian judicial system, in a lot of ways, is a joke. Yes, we have had bold and visionary judgements from our courts, but when it comes to the lower echelons, we still lag behind most democracies. Yes, it is still in better shape than our democracy’s other two pillars, the legislature and the executive, but that isn’t saying a lot, is it? We have a huge backlog of pending cases, they drag on and on, and many of our judges are still etched in our regressive cultural aspects.

Quantico – A Half Baked Potato!

Quantico has become a talking point,at least here in India. The American television thriller stars Priyanka Chopra, one of India finest actor and a superstar. And for her to bag a lead role in an ABC drama, its a big deal. Television is a serious business in the US (unlike here), and to star in a leading role is no mean feat. Kudos to PC for breaking the barrier. With all the buzz and the unprecedented social media campaign, great things were expected. The US premiere was on the 27th of September, while in India, it launched in the Star Networks just minutes ago! So, was all the hype justified? Is Quantico something to write home about? Frankly no!