Thanks Steven Spielberg

Tintin should be one of the best movie in the recent times. No one could have captured the essence of the Herge's Tintin novels better than Spielberg, be it the motion capture technology or the 3D usage, the movie was a treat to all the Tintin fans. The movie will definitely initiate the non Tintin-ians into reading the Tintin comics, may be they could not exactly connect with the movie the first time, but after reading the comics if they watch this movie again it should be an exhilarating experience. The backbone of all Tintin comics is Haddock and the Thompson Detectives and this movie captures these characters as envisioned by Herge, the dry humour and quirky comic retorts from Haddock are a stand out. To see this comic on the big screen was really a treat and was really wonderful. All the characters in the movie were motion captured, while snowy alone was still a CGI creation and the reactions captured from Snowy were also brilliant. The only gripe should be, not able to see the regular Snowy's thoughts/dreams/opinions that are also an attraction point on the comics, I know it is not practical to show bubble thoughts on the movie screen, but still that will continue to remain 'a must want' from me. This should be one of the few movies after Hugo which has done justice to the term '3D'. A must watch definitely.

Daily Routine beckons!

The last two weeks had been so brutal on my regular routine that I have totally lost touch with reality. All my regular activities were put on hold and a parallel routine emerged out of nowhere, this new schedule dictated my routine to the extent that after the two weeks, it is as if I am awake after a really long deep sleep. Seriously, in the last two weeks, I couldn't look beyond my work into my browser to take a break and today when I look into my RSS news feed,  it is as if I am from an alien planet. So many things have happened and it would take me a week to stay up to date, but on a deeper retrospection I sincerely feel that I have become addicted to my daily news feed. Initially I thought it was just a aberration on the part of my mind since it was not doing its routine, but after the 3rd or 4th day I realized my addiction was deep rooted. Anyways, since I did not have an option I survived the two weeks and the coming weeks are not going to alter anything.

So after a revelation, am I going to do anything about this? Nah! Just find the easiest way to get back to old routine and stay put.

Cricket Classics - Australia Vs West Indies 1999

This should be one of the best tests played between Windies and Aussies. A video below is a gist of the second innings. The reaction from Walsh when he plays the first ball says it all.



A more dedicated video on Lara's innings, its is a 40min video and pure Lara innings.



One has to remember that Lara had just lost an entire test series to S.Africans and had totally hit rock bottom before the Australian Series. In this series he again proved why he is a genius and why he is the prodigal son of the West Indian soil. The final moments of the test were so interesting that even today you would bite your finger nails before the last ball.

India down under

Another three more weeks before the Boxing day test starts in MCG. It is all exciting when the cricket behemoths battle against one another in a four test series with the third test scheduled at WACA. The squad for the Indian squad was announced last week with no major surprises, Bhajji was again not in the contention as Ashwin and Ojha are proving to be handful and it will really be a test of technique and temperament when they bowl against the best batsmen. In Australian conditions, except for the Sydney test, I think India will go with 3 pacers and 1 spinner and who will don the role of the single spinner will be an interesting proposition. Kohli and Rohit Sharma will again fight for the vacant middle order spot and it will be another closely fought competition to grab a berth in the test starting eleven. There is also speculation as to whether Zaheer will be fit before the tour and if he is not going to make it, it will be a really young bowling team that will face the likes of Clarke, Hussey and Ponting.

This should be a really interesting series after India's disappointing performance in England. So all eyes will be watching the Indian performance down under and hopefully we get to see the Ishanth Vs Ponting magic again! Lets hope at least this time around, India come back home with the 'Border-Gavaskar' trophy.

Politics Vs Growth

The FDI fiasco is getting murkier day by day and there doesn't seem to be an end except for Govt. to roll back their policy. This has stalled the parliament for the last 7 days and nothing concrete has been achieved either by the ruling political party or the opposition. This entire battle seems to be a game between the political parties to show their might and in this noise, the consumer's interest, in my opinion, has been pushed to the back burner. In a developing economy like India, policies of this magnitude must be discussed and everything in the policy needs to be worked out in cohesion to ensure the policy brings out the best for the country.

In the recent times, BJP seems to make an issue out of anything the government brings out in the form of reform. I sincerely believe a party like BJP should shed this image and try to work with the government when it is trying to hash out a policy that might serve well for the Indian economy on the longer run, thats the progressive way forward and also it will actually make BJP look pro-reform which is actually one of the points put forward in their election manifestos. Yes, this reform will have few negative impact on the society, but which policy of this magnitude doesn't ? As representatives of the electorate, these parties have a responsibility to provide the best for the people, ideally, they should help the government come up with the best case situation where there will be minimal impact to the people and also serve well for the economy. It might work in an ideal world, but no democracy is ideal so at least the BJP can back the government on crucial policies like these.

Even though there has been widespread agitation and protest across India, it all looks to be politically motivated than being sincere. There have also been reports where the trade bodies themselves have welcomed such a move which would help them with the money inflow and spur the demand. Anyways, from the look of things, this reform will be suspended for the time being till the Government can win over its allies. The wait continues!

Hugo

Hugo is yet another masterpiece from one of the greatest directors Martin Scorsese. This time around, he has created a movie which will be loved by all ages alike. In the recent times, the term '3D' has always been a promotional gig for the movies, but Scorsese has really made '3D' mean something. All through the movie, it is always like watching the happenings over the shoulders of the actors. The camera angles and usage were excellent and the movie's opening scene is a proof of that. Beyond the technical marvels, to pitch a movie based on Georges Melies and still not make it look like a documentary is an act of genius.   The later half of the movie is almost a snapshot of Georges's life after world war I, but still the screenplay was interesting and intriguing that you don't realize the tangent on the story line. The music from Hans Zimmer accentuates the movie's overall experiance and Ben Kingsley's acting stood out. Every support act in the movie has been carved to perfection and Zimmer's OST breathes life into the sequences involving no dialogues. If you ask me, it is a 'not-to-be-missed' movie and definitely needs to be experienced in the bigger screen.