The man from nowhere

Brutal. Relentless. Unflinching. Force majeure are some words which can describe this movie. I saw this movie during a phase of watching South Korean movies. And boy do they make very neat movies! I am stunned and stoned by the brilliance of it all. This is a story about the unlikely bond between a mysterious man and a sweet young girl, and the lengths that this man goes to, for this girl. Here you will see the faces of pure evil, innocence and selflessness. And the dark side, lots of it.

Image courtesy Asianwiki.com

The dialogues in the movie are top notch. Some of them become case studies in themselves. Our protagonist's words are measured in gold. Each and every word weighs so heavily on the dark fabric of this movie. That this is a movie in a foreign language never came in the way of my viewing. It's hard to think of movies when so little made such a terrific impact, and when words left unsaid almost brought a tear to the eye.

Image courtesy netflix

The soundtrack compliments and accentuates the mood of the movie by so many levels! It is dark and haunting, and so is the fabric of the movie. Light is used to amazing effect. At many instances I could feel my heart thump with various emotions - anger, fear, excitement, anticipation. This movie just took the word 'revenge' to another dimension altogether. This is fine cinema, to be enjoyed in the most immersive experience. This movie's style is paramount. Everything comes together so beautifully here. The action sequences are choreographed wonderfully

The ones living for tomorrow get f***** by the ones living for today.  Image courtesy http://www.hidefninja.com/

The script writers build up each character in this movie in a way that makes us connect very well with the characters. You will associate the intensity of emotions associated with each of them very clearly. The way the layers of our protagonist's character are unraveled, is done brilliantly. The camerawork left me breathless! There are many shots which will leave you at the edge of your seat. Some innovative shots were there, too. Watch this only if you can stomach a lot of blood and gore. I would watch this over and over and not get bored at all.

Also, this sequence is one of the most beautiful symphony of words, music, images and emotions that I have seen.

Image courtesy thoughtsonfilms.com

What is beautiful? When the purest emotions are expressed without saying a single world. This is what is disappearing in today's narcissistic world. And that is why this movie rocks.

I feel that a good review should never betray the story-line and should only give us glimpses of the high points. Have I done a good job? :) Do let me know your thoughts after watching this movie.

(thanks, Kripa, for some key points here :) )

The ghost army

This was a unique documentary which I watched, thanks to Netflix again! I know a bit about spies and intelligence agencies trying to gather information from the enemy, but this documentary was special as it showcases a different tactic - fooling the enemy by sending out false signals through various means, thereby diverting the enemy's attention from where the real action is happening. Novel, eh!

This unit from the allies operated during the second World war, and they relied on three types of deception : visual, sonic and radio. The visual department's aim was to create elaborate fake armored divisions at strategic locations. They also partly camouflaged the vehicles and  created fake tracks so that reconnaissance airplanes can pick up the 'clues':

Inflatable tanks :)

The sonic division recorded and overlay different sounds for scenarios - building bridges, tanks moving in, Captains swearing at the soldiers, the whole works. And they would play them over some real huge - ass speakers, so that the enemy would pick up the sounds and think that there is some major action happening :

Kick - ass speakers

The radio division studied the actual army's transmissions and used them in planned locations, so that this radio chatter may be picked up by the enemy, thwarting them to believe that something big was going on, when there wasn't:

Radio

The unique thing about these folks was that, they hardly fired an actual shot throughout the war! Their objective was to practically become sitting ducks, diverting enemy attention and fire towards themselves!

After the war, many of the folks from this unit went on well- acclaimed artists. The sketches that they made while at war became points of references to capture emotions which photographs may not.

This unit and their activities were kept under wraps for 40 years after World War two. This was because of the cold war. This tactical unit was supposed to have been very effective during World war 2, and the U.S didn't want the erstwhile U.S.S.R to prepare themselves against such tactics.

Anyone interested in World War two should definitely watch this, as this adds a few dimensions to your knowledge of the war.

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

The green prince

This is a story so gripping that few fictitious spy novels have even come close to it . It is so unbelievable that If someone had told me that this is not a true story, I would have believed them in an instant. There are just two central characters in the whole movie. And some dramatized scenarios involving a few others. There is quite a bit of actual footage, too, interspersed between these two people narrating events as they occurred.

This is a cat-and-mouse game, where the players are real, and the stakes are too high. Too high for us to even fathom about. This will give you tantalizing glimpses on the internal working of one of the best intelligence agencies in the world, and for that reason alone, it becomes gold class, instantly . I will not reveal the actual story, as that will be blasphemy. Shin bet (The Israeli security agency) and Hamas are the tag words here.

We are given glimpses of the weight both these men had to carry on their shoulders. Try putting yourself in either persons shoes. It is unimaginable. Each and every choice of theirs had dire consequences, being in the positions they were in. They carved their paths listening to their conscience, morals and justifications of 'right' and 'wrong'. And those paths were so radical and unexepected, that has made all the difference. That is why this is an almost- unbelievable story.

This is a masterclass in psychology, bonding, humanity with a message of hope. We understand some mind-blowing facets of intelligence agencies and how they work. After watching this masterpiece, we realize that nothing is 'predestined'. We are who we chose to be. We make our own choices. We shape our life, our path, our fight and our destiny. Choice. The problem is choice.

If you're interested in the Israel - Palestine situation , spies, the history of Israel, their security division and their previous exploits,  and what exactly is going on in the Middle East, you will revere this movie a lot!! Otherwise you may not appreciate this story so much. I was on the edge of my seat when watching this riveting story. Throughout the viewing, I uttered many expletives, too. Some moments were so unbelievable to digest. This was a truly brilliant story to know about. Thanks to Nadav Schirman for bringing it to the big screen!

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Particle fever

Trailer

This is another  mind-expanding documentary which I got to watch (thanks, Netflix!). It is about the Large Hadron collider (a particle accelerator designed to smash sub-atomic particles together, to understand the building blocks of everything), and the people behind it. What is everyone looking for? The Higgs- Boson, or the "God particle" (manifestation of a Higgs-field, which gives mass to everything known to us).

1,00,000 people from more than 100 countries have been involved in this experiment, which was designed beginning in the mid-80's. Billions of Euros have been poured into this experiment. Why, the layman asks. Why so much money and effort on a stupid experiment (whose outcome we don't know)? Because, the physicists explain, because the quest for knowledge is what makes us human. True story.

What is the experiment?

We meet many people who have devoted decades to formulating different theories, seeking out the pure truth. That was a true pleasure. The theorists are those who come up with new theories relating to the laws of the universe, and the experimentalists are those who work on designing experiments which will approve/ disapprove the theorists :) It is fun to watch fully-grown people gleam in excitement like kids at a birthday party, when it is time to launch the colliders for the first time.

We are given tantalizing glimpses of what supersymmetry (theory which predicts opposite particles for every particle in the standard model) and multiverse  are. The part about cosmological constant ( I knew what this was) and the multiverse theory just blew my mind!

This movie added some flesh and blood to the fledgling knowledge of all the things I mentioned earlier. Things are much more clear now!

The man who began it all - Peter Higgs

If you're someone who wonders about things like(jobless), "how big is the universe", "what happened before the beginning of time", "why, and how are we here", you should definitely watch this. Even otherwise, if you have a general curiosity of things around you, I feel you should still watch this, as you will learn a lot from this movie :)

The conclusion

Facts about the LHC.

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Antarctica: an year on ice

Desolation. Peace.

I watched this amazing documentary by Anthony Powell in a quest to understand more about this wonderful and mostly untouched gift to mankind. This is a labour of love, a collection of 10 years worth of work by Anthony. And this is a place that most people can not dream of going to. So, watch this, people!

Time lapse photography in itself is wonderful, as we see nature's changing colours in a new and beautiful perspective. Anthony blesses us with some out-of-the world time-lapse photography from the 'bottom of the world'. He reasons that, to truly understand this place, one must spend at least one full year here. The slow life. One cannot agree more.

Beautiful

There were many breath-taking moments in the documentary. At many occasions, I found myself with my jaws wide-open, babbling incoherently like a madman, completely stunned by the beauty of the place.  After all, it is a place which will challenge your physical and mental limits. The sun bouncing off the horizon during some days will challenge your mind, as you do not expect it. Watching the Aurora Boeralis has been a dream for me, it becomes a bit of a reality here. (can you imagine going through this in reality?)

Losing my mind

The different colours are caused by the solar wind interacting with Oxygen or Nitrogen at different altitudes :) Now, isn't that something wonderful to understand and comprehend, rather than obliterate your mind space trying to divide people based on language, caste, creed, religion, sex and country? Frankly, I do not understand many people. Not friends. People.

The winter time was one of the most fascinating. Utter darkness, days and days of it. Can you construct a pitch black sky with millions of stars at noon in your mind? As everywhere else, things come with a price. The stark serenity, the incredible beauty, the solitude and the vast gaps play havoc with minds. The T3 syndrome (muscles stock thyroid hormones to keep warm, leading to forgetfulness, cognitive impairment and mood disturbances) is one such example.

Nacreous clouds . Beautiful and dangerous.

The heralding of summer is welcomed, and we are awestuck by the great gig in the sky. The death of the ozone layer is the dance of bright lights in the sky.

The documentary did a good job of having the personal touch of getting people's opinions and experiences about the place, interspersed with mind-altering imagery of the frozen vistas of Antarctica. This was a very enjoyable watch! This is a place which will charm the wanderers, poets, philosophers and dreamers. If you consider to be one of them, then you just cannot miss this masterpiece :)

(Pro tip: try put this movie on mute. Watch it with floyd tracks running in the background. You cannot thank yourself more :). The words and the music will complement this documentary perfectly)

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Dazed and Confused

This is one movie which captures the euphoria, timelessness and invincibility of youth that we all go through, during our college days. And it does so, in a very real and simple way. We have lots of driving around aimlessly, lots of booze, seniors putting juniors in place, skirmishes with the law and problems with authority. Welcome to the last day of School. Welcome to 1976. Can one ask for more?

The movie has a very relaxed, easy- going air to it. There isn't a plot, as such. We drive around with different groups, each having their own unique characters and conversations. Ron Slater is one of the most memorable. Eternally stoned, very interesting and full of awesome conspiracy theories, flashes of 'Slacker' flit by :) Not a moment seems boring, as we switch from group to group ,adventure to adventure and conversation to conversation.

There are some very thought- provoking discussions here. They may look superficial and meaningless at first. But attentive or subsequent viewings will yield some true gems to the discerning eye. This is a movie with so many levels to it that I find it hard to describe :) We have so many memories fleeting by, so many tributes, and so many dialogues which have attained cult status.

The Kiss statues kick quite a bit of ass :)

Are you cool, man?
Like, how? :P

The word "man" is said 203 times in this movie. It's almost as if every sentence contains the word at least once :), except when the girls are speaking to each other.

A big chunk of the budget was spent in acquiring the rights for songs, and the effect is stellar, so dramatic! I can think of very few movies where soundtracks have been used to compliment the mood of the scene so well. Forrest Gump comes to mind. Anyone remotely interested in music from the 60's to the 90's cannot miss this movie at any cost!

Wooderson and co. at the emporium

There is a timeless sequence where Bob Dylan's "Hurricane" is played when the gang is hanging out and playing snooker. A great psychedelic effect is cast on us, and legend status is attained instantly. These few minutes are absolute bliss. If you haven't listened to the song or read what it is about, please do. Liquid gold in slow motion.

The range of characters and their casting is brilliant. You'll find more than a few familiar faces who went on to become very big names. Tag words = Friends, Interstellar.

Title credits goes to the mother ship :)

Alright, alright, alright!

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Sustain

At various points in life, there are good people, beliefs, music and other things which get you through troubled waters. These become the foci around which you pin yourself, so that when time (and escape velocity) are attained, you can let go and continue on a path tangential to the curve :P Here I attempt to chronicle some songs which reflected the times of yours truly at different phases.

Sometimes they nourished seeds on barren lands, sometimes they got boats across choppy waters, sometimes they became the tree in an oasis for the eagle to rest and regroup, sometimes they lent credence to a fledgling thought and sometimes they pumped sound into my ears, so that all other thoughts could just stay boxed in. Most of all, they sustained.

If - Bread

Album   : Manna
Year      : 1971
Line-up : David Gates - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, James Griffin - vocals, guitar, keyboards, Robb Royer - guitar, bass, keyboards, Mike Botts - drums

Bread was a soft-rock band from the U.S. This song is the melting pot of melancholy, all hues of blue, yearning, longing, remembrance, and everything else that connects these things. The lyrics are very poetic and romantic, although with a dark edge to them .The darkness is complimented by the hauntingly beautiful voice of David Gates, and I am left trying to figure out what I feel when to this timeless song. The words transport you to another place and time. The reverb adds the extra dreamy effect to this soothing song. There are some sights, sounds and experiences which move you to bits when you go through them. This is one such.

Thank you - Led Zeppelin

Album    : Led Zeppelin 2
Year       : 1969
Lineup    : John Bonham – drums, John Paul Jones – bass guitar, Jimmy Page – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, Robert Plant – lead vocals, harmonica.

One of the sweetest songs by Led Zeppelin. I used to go on a cornucopia of listening to this over and over again. I recall a day when I had listened to this for more than fifty times, back to back!! A simple and soulful intro leads us to the calming vocals of Robert Plant. The lyrics are truly beautiful and very poetic. It reminds us of the golden age of true music with feelings and deep lyrics which made so much sense! The mellow notes of the piano creates a truly magical atmosphere when listening to this song :)

Son Of Alerik - Deep Purple

Album  : Perfect Strangers
Year     : 1984
Line-up : Ritchie Blackmore – guitar, Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, Ian Paice – drums, Ian Gillan – vocals, Roger Glover – bass.

I do not recall when I heard this song first, it must have been at around the same time when I discovered the deepest hues of purple. Mention Deep Purple, and they are known for smoke on the water. They do have many more amazing songs, this one being one of them. An instrumental, it lends meaning to my thought - the solo of a song is that part which cannot be expressed in words. Some of the purest things cannot be uttered. They may only be expressed through music. This song stirs the deepest corners of your heart and brings some indescribable feelings to the surface! Do not miss Jon Lord's magic at 01:15. Flawless sorcery, as he takes us through light years of an intense trip in a few seconds :)  At one time, I had this song on loop for days and days together, such was its pull. I've tried to understand why this song is called so, all I've come to know is that Alerik was a Visgoth king. Classic rock at its best!

“I think nostalgia is great, as long as you don’t start earning too much money off of it”
- Glover ,1985

Nostalgia 1 - Thaikkudam Bridge

Album   : - - (single)
Year      : 2013
Line-up : Siddarth Menon - vocals, Govind Menon - vocals, violin, Vipin Lal - vocals, Christin Jose - vocals, Mithun Raj - lead guitar, Anish - drums, Vian Fernandez - bass guitar, Ruthin Thej - keyboard

Thaikkudam Bridge is a band from Kerala. Consisting of musicians from throughout the country, they sing in Malayalam. Nostalgia 1 is a collection of old Malayalam songs, covered by this band. The production quality here is excellent, and we see them performing live on a show called Music Mojo, on Kappa TV. The song begins slow, with the soulful vocals of Siddarth , Govind , Vipin  and Christin before launching into an explosive crescendo with the violin and lead guitar. Vian and Ruthin are a treat to watch as they launch into synchronized headbanging, and you can't help but join them! The hand off from violin to lead guitars is the high point of this beautiful arrangement! It simply doesn't matter if you don't understand a word of Malayalam. This song is really tight!!

The pursuit of vikings - Amon Amarth

Album   : Fate of Norns (Norns are female beings who rule the destiny of Gods and men)
Year      : 2004
Line-up : Johan Hegg – vocals, Olavi Mikkonen – Lead Guitar, Johan Söderberg – Rhythm guitar, Ted Lundström – bass guitar, Fredrik Andersson – drums

Amon Amarth is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. I had listened to the opening of one of their songs at a function at work. I had no clue what song that was, until I stumbled on it on youtube - and I was hooked!! This song really makes you want to grow a big beard, long hair, raise a deep, guttural war cry and head bang really heavily. Their synchronized windmill headbanging in this song is crazy!! I'm not really a fan of really heavy music, but this band and song are something special. You can feel the relentless, overpowering lava thunder down the slopes, engulfing everything in its wake and incinerating everything. The drumming is simply unforgiving and just obliterates everything else. You'll be left gasping for air at the end of the song!! If nothing gets you going, just listen to this song, and you'll be screaming for more!!

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*