A day out at the movies
So, I've seen Gravity and yes, it was completely worth the hype. Now, let me go out on a limb and say that it could well figure in my all-time Top 10 list. Yes, it was THAT G-O-O-D. Whoever thought Sandra Bullock could emote so well but the real star of the movie was the special effects. The 3D is completely immersive and non-gimmicky (if you ignore the debris that flies out at you for a few seconds in the 2nd half ) and at 90 odd minutes, the film just about manages to ensure that you don't suffer from a migraine on using the 3D glasses. The first 20 mts of the movie are sheer cinematic magic and IMO, even better than Avatar. Planning to catch it again on IMAX 3D - only hiccup being tickets are priced at 580 apiece. Gulp.
Also managed to watch Captain Phillips over the weekend and coming after the disappointment of Prometheus, it is safe to say that Ridley Scott is back in form. Even though the movie is 2hrs+, the pacing is relentless and after a certain point, I almost felt sea-sick and couldn't wait to see land. Tom Hanks is his usual capable self but the real revelation were the 4 actors who played the Somali pirates in the movie. I understand most of them have little to no acting experience and Barkhad Abdi as Muse was mind-blowing. The movie's biggest triumph is the fact that it went deep down to show the Somalis also as humans living in terrible conditions whose only hope of survival and stability is piracy. I'm a big fan of Paul Greengrass and though I've seen comparisons with the Bourne movies he directed in terms of style, I found this movie more comparable with his brilliant but under-rated United 93.
What's on Telly (not technically in Indian airs)
Breaking Bad has been making waves in the US for the last 5 years but all this time, I was blissfully unaware of it. When it comes to the Emmy's or the Golden Globe, I've tended to look more at Comedy, staying away from Drama (unless I see THAT name - Aaron Sorkin) and so it was till about 6 months ago... when I first heard about this show from my cousin. He's a big fan and watches the episodes streamed directly from the net which, I've got to admit, was something I'd never considered. Here I was, always looking for the nicest (read: good resolution small sized files) downloads from the internet when there was a completely easier option staring at my face... but I digress. Since then I've managed to complete Season 1 in one long day of binge watching and I must confess that the show sure sucked me into its world. Bryan Cranston is unbelievable as Walter White but I'm more a fan of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman (his voice mail message is a riot). I can't wait to get started on Season 2 and 3 which are already safely down to my HDD.
Meanwhile, I've also got the whole of Season 1 of Veep lined up for a weekend and I'm also downloading The Americans whose Season 1 pilot was quite an entertaining watch.
So much to watch, so little time.
Page turners
William Boyd's SOLO is an interesting novel. For one, it is the official follow-up to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the author was handpicked by Fleming's estate to take the series fwd.... of more interest to me was the decision to not set it in a contemporary context it like they have done with the movies but to set it up in the late 1960s in the Cold War days without the cars, cocktails and women :( I'm only 50-60 pages in but its been an interesting read so far. More on it later.
Also have Lee Child's Never Go Back waiting for my time and attention. I was never a fan of the Jack Reacher books and last year's movie did nothing to change my mind. However, there's been a lot of hype around this book and I just wanted to give it one last shot - hope I do not feel the same way as the title.
What else is cooking
Work, work and more work. Not been an easy couple of quarters with pressure at office building up to boiling levels but the holiday season will soon be upon us and with that, there will be a 3-4 week lull with hopes of a brighter tomorrow post the restart. 2014 can't come soon enough.
Talking on the phone to the other half takes a LOT of my time these days. Since Dee is growing up and does enough to entertain herself, the OH seems to have more time on her hands which isn't always a fun thing. Everything in her mind - from redoing our house to make it baby-proof, prepaying our housing loan, immunisation schedules, car servicing - gets discussed in detail and I yearn for the days of peace and quiet when the phone NEVER rang at home :-)
On the contrary, technology enabling greater connectivity does have its plusses too - I don't really miss Dee growing up as everything she does gets captured on video and uploaded on Youtube or I catch it live on Skype. Cheers, I say.
So, I've seen Gravity and yes, it was completely worth the hype. Now, let me go out on a limb and say that it could well figure in my all-time Top 10 list. Yes, it was THAT G-O-O-D. Whoever thought Sandra Bullock could emote so well but the real star of the movie was the special effects. The 3D is completely immersive and non-gimmicky (if you ignore the debris that flies out at you for a few seconds in the 2nd half ) and at 90 odd minutes, the film just about manages to ensure that you don't suffer from a migraine on using the 3D glasses. The first 20 mts of the movie are sheer cinematic magic and IMO, even better than Avatar. Planning to catch it again on IMAX 3D - only hiccup being tickets are priced at 580 apiece. Gulp.
Also managed to watch Captain Phillips over the weekend and coming after the disappointment of Prometheus, it is safe to say that Ridley Scott is back in form. Even though the movie is 2hrs+, the pacing is relentless and after a certain point, I almost felt sea-sick and couldn't wait to see land. Tom Hanks is his usual capable self but the real revelation were the 4 actors who played the Somali pirates in the movie. I understand most of them have little to no acting experience and Barkhad Abdi as Muse was mind-blowing. The movie's biggest triumph is the fact that it went deep down to show the Somalis also as humans living in terrible conditions whose only hope of survival and stability is piracy. I'm a big fan of Paul Greengrass and though I've seen comparisons with the Bourne movies he directed in terms of style, I found this movie more comparable with his brilliant but under-rated United 93.
What's on Telly (not technically in Indian airs)
Breaking Bad has been making waves in the US for the last 5 years but all this time, I was blissfully unaware of it. When it comes to the Emmy's or the Golden Globe, I've tended to look more at Comedy, staying away from Drama (unless I see THAT name - Aaron Sorkin) and so it was till about 6 months ago... when I first heard about this show from my cousin. He's a big fan and watches the episodes streamed directly from the net which, I've got to admit, was something I'd never considered. Here I was, always looking for the nicest (read: good resolution small sized files) downloads from the internet when there was a completely easier option staring at my face... but I digress. Since then I've managed to complete Season 1 in one long day of binge watching and I must confess that the show sure sucked me into its world. Bryan Cranston is unbelievable as Walter White but I'm more a fan of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman (his voice mail message is a riot). I can't wait to get started on Season 2 and 3 which are already safely down to my HDD.
Meanwhile, I've also got the whole of Season 1 of Veep lined up for a weekend and I'm also downloading The Americans whose Season 1 pilot was quite an entertaining watch.
So much to watch, so little time.
Page turners
William Boyd's SOLO is an interesting novel. For one, it is the official follow-up to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the author was handpicked by Fleming's estate to take the series fwd.... of more interest to me was the decision to not set it in a contemporary context it like they have done with the movies but to set it up in the late 1960s in the Cold War days without the cars, cocktails and women :( I'm only 50-60 pages in but its been an interesting read so far. More on it later.
Also have Lee Child's Never Go Back waiting for my time and attention. I was never a fan of the Jack Reacher books and last year's movie did nothing to change my mind. However, there's been a lot of hype around this book and I just wanted to give it one last shot - hope I do not feel the same way as the title.
What else is cooking
Work, work and more work. Not been an easy couple of quarters with pressure at office building up to boiling levels but the holiday season will soon be upon us and with that, there will be a 3-4 week lull with hopes of a brighter tomorrow post the restart. 2014 can't come soon enough.
Talking on the phone to the other half takes a LOT of my time these days. Since Dee is growing up and does enough to entertain herself, the OH seems to have more time on her hands which isn't always a fun thing. Everything in her mind - from redoing our house to make it baby-proof, prepaying our housing loan, immunisation schedules, car servicing - gets discussed in detail and I yearn for the days of peace and quiet when the phone NEVER rang at home :-)
On the contrary, technology enabling greater connectivity does have its plusses too - I don't really miss Dee growing up as everything she does gets captured on video and uploaded on Youtube or I catch it live on Skype. Cheers, I say.
