Fly Daddy Fly

Writer: Based on a novel by Kaneshiro Kazuki (Japanese born Korean Novelist).

Director: Choi Jong Tae

Cast: Lee Jun Ki, Lee Moon Sik

Plot Synopsis:

The movie starts off showing us the daily life of Jhang Ga Pil (Moon Sik). Jhang is a salaryman in his 40's and is married with a 17 year old daughter. The family are seen to share close relationships and Jhang dotes on his daughter. One day he receives word that his daughter is in hospital. He rushes there to find her badly hurt... the victim of a brutal assault by a group of young men.

In the hospital, Jhang is approached by a man who claims to be an official of a prestigious school. The man offers him money and tells him that he will also pay the hospital expenses in full if Jhang Pil overlooks the 'indiscretion' of one of his students. The student in question happens to be a rising star in the world of boxing and is also from a well connected family. The man warns Jhang that if he 'raises a fuss' then it would only lead to defamation of his daughter and that they could easily create rumors that would ruin her public image and credibility.

Jhang is forced to accept this deal under duress, but he vows to take his revenge. To prove that he is not a coward and will do anything for his family, he decides to physically attack his daughter's tormentor. When he approaches the offenders school, he drops the knife that he was concealing and causes a ruckus by brandishing it at random students.

Jhang is then accosted by Go Seung Suk (Lee Jun Ki), a rebellious high school student with talent for fighting who proceeds to knock him out. When he awakens, Seung Suk chides him for his cowardice in bringing a knife to the school and sends him on his way. However when he encounters Jhang once more trying to attack the offender, Seung Suk offers to train him so that he can have a face to face confrontation with the boxer.

The movie follows his training and leads up to a final confrontation between Jhang and the assailant. It also focuses on the growing bond between Jhang and Seung Suk...

My Thoughts:

Acting: Well there was a fair share of overacting at times, but I thought most of the actors did a great job and the cast was supremely well chosen since they all fit their roles perfectly, both in terms of appearance and acting ability. Moon Ski did a fine job portraying the emotions of a father who is enraged but at the same time helpless to persecute his daughters tormentor. There were many scenes in the movie where he made me empathize with him. The final scene where he tosses an envelope of money in the face of the school official and tells him exactly the same thing that the official had said to him in the hospital was EPIC! Well... I thought so anyway...

Story: I loved the story. Sure its a bit cheesy and follows the formula of an underdog overcoming the odds, but it was well executed. It appealed to me... it was an example of an ordinary man deciding to make a stand against a powerful foe and deciding that "Enough is enough" even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds..

Overall Score: 85% I would say.

Whistle!

Background

So... the scanslation for Whislte! (one of my favorite sports manga) was completed today... Just thought I should make a post about it... Since I did say there would be a good deal of anime/manga related content on this blog here...

Whistle! Is a football (*Sticks out tongue at the goras*) manga written by Daisuke Higuchi and was serialized in the late 90's and ended in 2003.

It developed great fan following since it was being serialized right around the time that the football world cup was held in Japan and South Korea. Additionally it was helped along by the Japanese team reaching the knockout stage and the Korean team actually reaching the semi finals. But despite all those contributing factors, the manga is pretty damned good all by itself.

Synopsis

Whistle! Follows the story of the young Sho Kazamatsuri, a short boy with a passion for soccer who was never allowed to play in middle school due to his short stature. He transfers schools when he enters High school in order to get a chance to play at a different team. However at his new school (Sakura Josui), people mistakenly assume that he was part of the starting lineup for his old school (Muasahinomori) which happened to be one of the best teams in the region. They quickly discover that Sho lacked both talent and practice and begin to scorn him. However, with his unrelenting passion, Sho quickly catches up to the rest of the team in terms of skill and in the end becomes an integral part of the team. The manga then follows his journey towards the top as he makes new friends, battles tough opponents on the pitch, and grows in skill with every encounter.

My Thoughts

I am a sucker for these underdog coming out on top kind of manga... dont ask why... I guess it is because I have known what it feels like to be in that situation... people who know me well will also testify that I nearly always choose to support the one person doomed to end up having his/her heart broken when it comes to anything involving love triangles or polygons...

But not only that... the manga has superb art... characters all look very distinct and the story is always exciting... there are a few training chapters which are usually the cause of boredom in many manga, but are well handled in this one with good inter-spacing of both humor and drama.

I am not sure what to say about the ending though... it was neat and nifty... and it followed the typical pattern of how sports manga usually end and it left me wanting more... but then... I also hate it when mangakas push their luck too much... as is happening with Hajime No Ippo now... so... in the end... I would say job well done...

If youre a fan of soccer and want to start reading manga... I recommend this one for a start... one reason is that it is a complete series... so you wont have to worry about waiting for new releases from scanslators... and 2nd is that its a superb series without too much in the way of manga unrealism/defiance of the laws of physics which you often see in sports anime/manga. In addition it keeps a good focus on the sports aspect even though it does take a few detours for dramatic effect.

BTW this manga does have an equally popular anime associated with it if anyones into that sorta thing....

Score

8.5/10 if youre a football fan I would say...

7.5/10 if you just like manga with no special attachment to football (*Sticks tongue out at the goras once more... LoL*) ...

How to Train Your Dragon

Studio: Dreamworks.

Voice Talent: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson, and David Tennant

Plot Synopsis:

In the village of Berk... where Vikings have lived for 7 generations... fighting dragons is an everyday occurrence... Hordes of dragons often swoop down on the village to carry of the livestock, people and any other food they can find whereas the Vikings band together to try and fight them off. The leader of this village is the mighty Stoick the Vast. A massive red haired warrior who dispatched dragons with ease.

Hiccup, Stoick's son, is not strong like the other Vikings, instead he has a keen mind and comes up with inventions which are geared towards the capturing and killing of dragons. Sick of the constant teasing and the overall bullying of the other kids and adults, Hiccup decides to venture outside during a dragon raid to try and catch or kill a dragon. Hiccup sets his sights on the rare and dangerous Night Fury: a breed of dragon that has never even been seen. using the catapult that he invented, Hiccup manages to shoot one down but is unable to convince the other Vikings that he has.

He decides to try and find the dragons body to prove that he had indeed brought one down and discovers that the dragon had indeed been downed... but was still alive... Hiccup prepared to strike the final blow but in the end was unable to bring himself to kill the defenceless creature. He cut the ropes which tied the dragon up and released him. The dragon attacked Hiccup and knocked him to one side before taking off haphazardly and flying away...

Hiccup realizes that he is unable to become a dragon slayer like he wanted to and returns home dejected only to find that his father had enrolled him in dragon slayer training. Unable to protest Hiccup attends the training sessions only to be mocked by his classmates and also his love interest Astrid.

He tries to learn more about dragons by reading a viking manual only to find that all dragons were merely classified according to how dangerous they were and that all vikings were supposed to kill all dragons on sight. Te one exception to this rule was the Night Fury breed of dragon which no one had ever seen and lived to tell the tale... the manual advised that in the event of an encounter with a Night Fury... one should just hide and hope it does not find them. Intrigued by the fact that the Night Fury that he had brought down had not killed him, Hiccup returned to the forest only to find the Night Fury trapped in a canyon, unable to fly out since his tail had been damaged.

Hiccup tried to approach the dragon slowly and they soon built up a bond with Hiccup bringing food for the dragon (whom he names "Toothless") and Toothless allowa Hiccup to touch and stroke him. Hiccup builds a replacement tail section for Toothless with his mechanical knowhow and mounts it on him. However the tail is not perfect and Toothless is unable to fly freely. After several iterations, hiccup succeeds in making a design wherein he is able to ride Toothless and fly high in the sky and perform aerobatics and suchlike. In the meantime he has also been acing his dragon slaying lessons since his experiences with Toothless have taught him about the weaknesses of dragons.

However Astrid suspects that Hiccup is hiding something. How could a wimp like Hiccup become so good at handling dragons in such a short time? She follows him and discovers his secret... what will happen next? A grand adventure thats what! Watch the movie to learn more!!

My Thoughts:

Voice Talent: Nordic accents seemed a trifle forced... but I guess I can let that slide...

Animation: Top notch... there is a reason Dreamworks is one of the best studios in the business and it lives up to its name yet again...

Story: Based off a book which I havent read, but I loved it. An adventure of epic proportions and the coming of age story of a young boy I think this movie will be even more of a treat in 3D. Visuals were all stunning and even the end of the movie credit rolls had good art going into them. All I can say is that it blows every post Wall E animated movie clean out the water... a must watch by any standards.

Overall Score: 95% Cant find much of anything to take points off for, but I dont ever give out perfect scores either.

Green Zone

Writer: Brian Helgeland

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, and Brendan Gleeson

Plot Synopsis:

Matt Damon plays the role of Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller serving in Iraq as part of a WMD search team. He is frustrated by the faulty intelligence that he is being fed by his superiors which always leads him to sites with no visible evidence of ever having been used to produce or store WMD's. He becomes convinced that the intelligence which they are being given (supposedly by a high level Iraqi general codenamed "Magellan") is fake. At a debriefing, Miller (Damon) brings up the point that the majority of the intel given to him is inaccurate and anonymous, stating that on his last three attempts to find WMDs, his team had come up with nothing. High-ranking officials quickly debunk Miller's theory about the intelligence being false.

During one such wild goose chase he is approached by a handicapped Iraqi man who calls himself Freedie. He informs Miller about a secret meeting of high level Iraqi generals taking place nearby. Sick of his fools errands... Miller decides to go off mission and try to capture the generals.

The meeting happens to be that of General Al Rawi... a top Iraqi general and his aides who have been in hiding in Baghdad. Many of his aides propose fighting other Iraqi forces and American forces, however Al-Rawi suggests that they remain where they are and wait until the Americans arrive and perhaps make the Iraqi army an offer to join their forces.

Miller raids the meeting... but nearly all of the high ranking generals (Including Al-Rawi) escape... Miller recovers a booklet from one of the captured men (Syeed Hamza) and is interrogating him about the booklets significance when a special forces team arrived and summarily takes custody of his prisoners and demands that Miller hand over all materials recovered from the prisoners. Despite Millers protestations the Special forces officers persist in trying to search him. A scuffle ensues where Miller manages to hide the book in Freddies pocket.

The Special Forces team had been dispatched by Clark Poundstone, a high ranking US official who was supposedly the one in charge of Magellan.

Miller reports the happenings of the day to Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson) a CIA officer he had met after the briefing where he had been reprimanded for questioning the intelligence that was being given to him. Miller gives him the booklet, and Martin confirmed that the booklet contained the location of the safe houses of Al Rawi and his aides.

Martin was of the opinion that Al Rawi would be useful in reestablishing order in post-war Iraq... he felt that the erstwhile Iraqi Army had to play an integral part in any post war system of government... Miller was mortified by Martins idea of dealing with someone like Al Rawi who had been responsible for thousands of deaths under Saddams reign. Martin told Miller that he should not be naive and that hard choices had to be made unless he wanted the situation to deteriorate further and for more people to die. He suggested that they contact Al Rawi and make a deal with him to find out the locations of WMD caches and promise him a role in the future Govt. of Iraq.

Poundstone however tries to stymie their plans and forcibly takes possession of the booklet from Martin. He viciously hunts Al Rawi and all his aides with orders to kill and not capture. Why is he willing to kill someone who could be such a valuable source of intelligence... perhaps better than "Magellan"? Watch the movie and find out!

My Thoughts:

Acting: Well... there is so much action in the movie... that there is no real acting going on...

but there were intense scenes and Damon and Gleeson did a fine job IMO. Kinnear was okay... he made his character look like a douchebag like he was supposed to... The actors who played Al Rawi and Freddie did the best work IMO... that meeting scene was superb...

Story: Dont know how well it will be received by the American public... I liked it. Truth be told I was always skeptical of the WMD claims. Powell talking about WMDS being made in the back of trucks which would be on the move in the desert seemed to be far fetched to me. The story also didnt meander at any time. It was tight and kept you riveted to your seat the whole way through. Shame that I was able to predict the ending though my friends all cursed me for a full hour after the movie.

Overall Score: 75% Points off due to the fact that I wanted to see more of what happened in the end... but they sorta just fade out and allow us to assume what may have happened... then theres other minor stuff... plus the fact that Hurt Locker really kinda makes every other Iraq War movie look mediocre by comparison... if you read worse reviews elsewhere... its probably because some people really get offended by the conspiracy theories that this movie puts forward...

Soap Operas... the 'K' factor and the Decay of Indian Television...

I dunno how the term Soap Operas even came about... but thats not even the point.... Lately... I have given up watching regular TV... like... everywhere... I dont even watch TV in the US... but again... thats not what I am really here to talk about....

I am here to talk about the decaying standards of the shows that the Indian Entertainment industry is dishing out these days... there are a few good ones apparently.... or so I am told... but those are few and far between... there used to be a time when we could turn on the television and ALWAYS count on good clean entertainment...

I am talking of the DD, Zee TV era... and some later channels... When shows like Nukkad, Buniyaad, Malgudi Days, Mohandas B.A.L.L.B., Flop Show, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Hum Paanch, Mungerilal ke Haseen Sapne, Fauji etc. used to rule the roost... I would give an arm and leg to have all of those shows on my HDD right now... which is perhaps more than what I would give even or Adachis Miyuki or Hiatari No Ryokou.... the point was... all these shows were great... there was real comedy... there was no backstabbing of family members by family members going on... there was focus on actual happenings in the country... there was a firm grounding in reality and the characters were a good representation of the target demographic... even if they were sometimes over the top or idealized...

I am talking about the days when mothers and daughters in law weren't always hatching plots to have each other killed... when sisters in law actually thought of each other as sisters and not adversaries (at least on TV!)... when the kids showed respect for their elders... when the humor was generally clean... when the drama did not require multiple zooming ins from different angles accompanied by random booming sounds to increase the impact of a scene... when the true 'drama' shows were about real people in real circumstances... nowadays... the characters are all operating at a total disconnect from the 'real' world... in the world of todays TV shows... everyone must be clad in ostentatious clothes and wear a full complement of make up and accessories in EVERY scene... no matter where that scene takes place... there are businessmen who somehow have free time to do so much other crap instead of actually handling their business... office workers who do anything but work... students who do anything but study... doctors who do anything but treat patients... etc...

It does not even matter what a TV show starts out as in India anymore... it will almost invariably devolve into one of those Saas-bahu shows (as I call them)... I hear there are some new shows airing on some channels which have shown some promise... a friend recommended the shows 'Powder' and 'Marriage.com' or sumsuch show to me... said they were pretty good... but she did say that if these were to somehow devolve into a similar formula... even SHE would lose faith in the Indian entertainment industry and its ability to provide good entertainment...

Then there are the 'n' number of 'reality' shows.... I am someone who is of the firm belief that there can be (and should be) no such thing as a reality show... it just does not work that way... unless youre doing some kind of wildlife documentary.... but I doubt that even counts... I dunno... I guess the overly faked 'emotion'.... the 'intense buildups'.... and the 'suspense' really dont appeal to me... people tell me not to knock it till I have tried it... but after subjecting myself to a couple episodes worth of Indian Idol and its 'American parent'... and a couple other 'reality' shows... I have decided that I would sooner take up residence in a Russian Gulag.... (Ok... that was a bit of an exaggeration... but you get my point... )

I guess I have been imposing my own views here a little... what I consider good entertainment is not necessarily what everyone wants... but I just hope that no one out there is merely settling for this drivel simply because they have never seen anything better....

Trust me... Dekh Bhai Dekh still blows practically every other comedy serial I have ever seen... foreign or Indian... clean out the water... and it does so without using ANY innuendo... and not much (if any) slapstick...

Bollywood...

This here is a post I had made in a forum where we were talking about Bollywood... To get a timeline... Love Aaj Kal had just been released... Like... about a couple weeks before this post was made... Tops... So heres my take on the great Hindi film industry.....

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I see movies like Love Aaj Kal and think... nice packaging and editing and filming and whatnot... but missing a story, and mediocre acting at best... then I see stuff like Chandni Chowk to China and I think... crappy everything... then I see a movie like Straight and I am like... Awesome... Its hard to pin down what I really think about Bollywood... but having lived in the US for as long as I have... I realize that Hollywood is not that much different... there are crappy movies being made here too... just not as many and they never get screened overseas... so you get a skewed perspective... try watching the umpteen number of Saw movies and you'll get what I mean...

Overall I would recommend this for Bollywood.... when making a movie....

1. Get a decent script... preferably one which is not ripped off from Hollywood... Cmon... theres a billion people in our country... cant one of them have a good original idea? I hear the ripoff of Juno is coming to Indian screens soon... or is it already there?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Try to cut back on the songs... sure they can be entertaining... but randomly sticking in item numbers/romantic songs really does not sit well with me... this is not to say that you should go the Hollywood way and get rid of them entirely... but just insert them in appropriate places... a song playing when the actors are in a disco makes sense... not when they're in college or a hospital or other such places...-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Limit the actors wardrobes (and save a fortune!!) Stop changing their outfits at the drop of a hat!! And give them decent outfits... I mean the getup that Big B had on in that movie.... Jhoom Barabar Jhoom... yeesh!!----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Limit the locales as well... going from Mumbai to Zurich to Kuala Lumpur and back within 3 minutes is expensive and pointless...---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Cut back on the overacting... Actors who I once used to like are seriously pissing me off these days... Some will crucify me for this... but there used to be a time when I liked Govinda... (I actually kinda-sorta liked his performance in Salaam E Ishq... but thats about it... in the last decade he has not been a single film that I remotely liked)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. I realize that sex sells... but come on... have some pride... dont you want to be able to say that your film did well because it had a plot and good acting and not because of that item number by XYZ-hot-actress.... or the fact that she had next to nothing on for the entire movie?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Let our heros be human... a guy gets shot... at least make it so that he looks like he is hurt... and let him run out of ammo once in a while... and dont go around showing stuff like (excerpt from Fanaa: Tabu blows up an enemy chopper with an automatic pistol while wearing a saree I think...)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Try to give the actors a realistic looking 'home environment' in the movie... eg An entry level worker in some company should not be able to afford an awesome apartment overlooking the city and drive a Lexus, wear a Rolex, Armani, Gucci etc... unless they explain it somehow... rich dad or what not...

Another thing which bugs me about Bollywood is the low level of professionalism (supposedly improving). You will often see the shoddy CG in a few films which looks very fake and negates the very point of having CG in the first place. You will see crappy performances where the actor does not get into the role, or care enough about it to refuse some of the more ridiculous whims of the director or whoever (Again... I will refer to the example of Big B's outfit in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom... a man of his experience and influence should have demanded a wardrobe change...)

Then there is the prevalence of nepotism... the star-parivars... which can be easily likened to political dynasties... People get in and get umpteen chances to 'prove themselves' simply cause they're the sons/daughters/relatives of someone in the industry, or someone who is otherwise well connected...
This is not to say that one can get a break anywhere without some kind of connections either; but what generally happens is that a struggling actor (not well connected) will only get one chance to prove himself.... whereas the well connected son/daughter will get umpteen chances...

The film Luck by Chance illustrates many of the flaws I have listed in a generally candid manner... but I still see no 'response' from the industry.... one of the few 'truthful' films made in the last decade which they are treating as an 'escape from reality'....

To the more rabid detractors of Hindi cinema... before you go off and talk about having every one of the actors and directors shot and restarting from scratch... here are some movies I think you should see... a selection of some Hindi movies I have enjoyed and consider worth my time (and money)... yes... I would BUY these movies... I am sure that there are those which have slipped my mind... but I think these should suffice... also I dont think any of them goes too far back beyond the mid nineties... except perhaps Satya... which means that there is still hope....

1. Satya: Words fail me... gripping stuff...
2. Company: Vivek Oberoi really shined in this one... as did Devgan... tight execution and no real flaws...
3. Apharan: Devgan again does a fine job here...
4. Sehar: Warsi unexpectedly slides well into this serious role... very refreshing... but Sushant Singh was the surprise packet...
5. Omkara: Back to the Devgan-Oberoi pairing... and a similar(ish) ending too... but really well done...
6. Shool: I had expected even greater things from Manoj Bajpai (Satya) after this movie... but he has not really delivered...
7. 1971: Manoj Bajpai brings back my hopes that he will deliver another jewel... this one was another stellar performance...
8. Rang De Basanti: Aamir Khan... I think an appropriate nickname for him could be 'The Tom Hanks of Bollywood' his films generally do not disappoint me... even if I dont always consider them to be masterpieces or 5 star material... I don't recall too many movies with him in them where I have walked away feeling murderous intent for the directors and everyone else associated with the movie... Excellent script and execution...
9. Dil Chahata Hai: Aamir Khan.... and a combo of some other promising talent... Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan... lighthearted and superbly executed...
10. Straight: Vinay Pathak once again proves why he is ready to take over the mantle of 'King of Comedy' with this one...
11. Khosla Ka Ghosla: A low budget wonder... this film exceeds expectations in every category... brilliant stuff...
12. Bheja Fry: You could call this a one man show.... Pathak hits a homer again...
13. Jhonny Gaddar: Great film...
14. Mithya: Interesting concept... well executed overall... no real flaws... Ranbir Shorey and Pathak really work well together (again!)
15. Namastey London: An unexpected winner... what makes this one great is that the cast is extremely well suited to their roles... someone either put a great deal of thought into it... or just got plain lucky... but casting Katrina as an NRI and Akshay Kapoor as the goofy !!!! Punjabi dude was an excellent idea...
16. Bhool Bhuliya: I realise that this one is a ripoff... but it was well executed... and everyone played their parts perfectly...
17. Dev D: Makes you wonder why more Hindi 'romance' films cant be like this...
18. No Smoking: Interesting concept... some over the top moments.... but very well done...
19. Luck By Chance: One of those 'truthful' films that actually tries to tell the truth without idealizing anyone... there are no 'heros' or 'villains'... just people... and their circumstances...
20. Lakshya: I liked this one cause Hrithik did a fine job of portraying his character and his growth from boy to man... and the director at least let him get shot a few times... and put his arm in a cast at the end...
21. Jab We Met: Another film which makes you wonder why more rom-com's cant be like this... a rare gem in a heap of rubble...
22. Jodhaa Akbar: Superlative music, great costumes, a decent script... and great acting...
23. Guru: Powerful.... Abhishek finally proves that he has Bachan blood in his veins by carrying this film practically entirely with his own acting... Mithun helped... but really... it was Abhishek all the way...
24. Sarkar: The 2nd iteration was not bad... but nowhere near as good as this one... Riveting stuff...
25. Hazaaron Khwaahishei Aisi: Shiney does a great job... as does Kay Kay... great film...
26. Munnabhai MBBS: It was over the top.. and yes there were the hospital song and dance sequences... but you will agree that this movie is supposed to be that way.... also... Sanjay Dutt really shines in this one... as does Warsi.... the same chemistry is also seen in Anthony Kaun Hai... but the execution is nowhere near as good...
27. Hera Pheri: ONLY the 1st iteration is worth your time... over the top towards the end... but the beginnings are firmly rooted in reality... and the combo of Rawal, Kapoor and Shetty really took comedy to the next level with this one...
28. Cheeni Kum: Big B proves that he can still bring it... Tabu is not half bad...

There are many other Hindi films which are good... in the sense that theyre not... terrible... theyre passable... average... decent... worth-a-watch... (whatever you prefer)... and these films also contain some stellar performance and excellent scores and whatnot... but are bogged down by other flaws...

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Now this here is a response from one of my friends.....

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Quote:

but having lived in the US for as long as I have... I realize that Hollywood is not that much different... there are crappy movies being made here too... just not as many and they never get screened overseas... so you get a skewed perspective...

Very correct. Only a handful of the Hollywood or foreign movies make it to India. And the ones which do make it are commercially or critically successful.

Quote:

Get a decent script... preferably one which is not ripped off from Hollywood... Cmon... theres a billion people in our country... cant one of them have a good original idea? I hear the ripoff of Juno is coming to Indian screens soon... or is it already there?

Copy-paste was/is favourite pastime in India as we tend to get "inspired" very often than others. So it would be wrong to blame just to Bollywood, its everywhere...

Quote:

Try to cut back on the songs... sure they can be entertaining... but randomly sticking in item numbers/romantic songs really does not sit well with me... this is not to say that you should go the hollywood way and get rid of them entirely... but just insert them in appropriate places... a song playing when the actors are in a disco makes sense... not when they're in college or a hospital or other such places...

Bollywood is very innovate, at least in this case. So what if they're in college or a hospital they can of course "dream" xD

Quote:

Limit the actors wardrobes (and save a fortune!!) Stop changing their outfits at the drop of a hat!! And give them decent outfits...

With corporate funding, there is no need to "save". Plus, there are "sponsors" of these wardrobes. Look at it this way, for a few seconds of TV commercial they pay lacs and here you get the entire 2:30 hours+ of time to showcase your collection.

Quote:

Limit the locales as well... going from Mumbai to Zurich to Kuala Lumpur and back within 3 minutes is expensive and pointless...

Atleast they are not visiting Nebula... after all one can visit anywhere in their "dreams" right?!? reminds me of Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne hey even that was based on James Thurber's novel lol!

Quote:

Cut back on the overacting... Actors who I once used to like are seriously pissing me off these days...

Don't blame them... blame the script and the director (or the actors love for $$$) I simply can't understand how actors like Anupam Kher, Om Puri agree on acting in movies like Buddha Mar Gaya (2007) ...

Quote:

I realize that sex sells... but come on... have some pride... dont you want to be able to say that your film did well because it had a plot and good acting and not because of that item number by XYZ-hot-actress.... or the fact that she had next to nothing on for the entire movie?

Who defines that the film did well?? The boxoffice?? As long as the movie is able to rake in moolahs who cares??

Quote:

Try to give the actors a realistic looking 'home environment' in the movie... eg An entry level worker in some company should not be able to afford an awesome apartment overlooking the city and drive a Lexus, wear a Rolex, Armani, Gucci etc... unless they explain it somehow... rich dad or what not...

Doh!! But that's how the 'home envoirnment' are "supposed" to look!!

Quote:

Another thing which bugs me about Bollywood is the low level of professionalism (supposedly improving). You will often see the shoddy CG in a few films which looks very fake and negates the very point of having CG in the first place.

CGI/Animation was never a strong point in Indian movies. Plus, CGI/animation costs $$$, and the producers would rather spend that on a foreign locale that on animation (which very few people appreciate)

Quote:

Then there is the prevalence of nepotism... the star-parivars... which can be easily likened to political dynasties... People get in and get umpteen chances to 'prove themselves' simply cause they're the sons/daughters/relatives of someone in the industry, or someone who is otherwise well connected...

Again its not unique to Bollywood, is everywhere in India ...

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After reading that... I decided to take things up a notch... LoL... Heres my final shot...

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Gah... I figure I could be a bit more elaborate....

I know that copy past exists everywhere.... but Bollywood takes it to its utmost limit.... on a personal level.... I find it sickening.... Its mass media.... something you are going to show to hundreds of millions of people... and many people use it to pass judgment on Indian culture as a whole.... people should have the decency or pride to showcase original work... It leads to people ridiculing the entire Indian entertainment industry (refer to one of Omkars comments... whether in this thread or another I forget... where he quotes some jackass 'Professor' from some university)

Dreaming is good... but seriously... I dont ever remember my dreams having high bit rate audio and certainly not synced with another person.... thats ESP shit there...

When I say wardrobes.... I am talking about the 10-15 times that actors change their outfits in the middle of a song sequence.... often wearing clothes that no sane person would wear in public... Wonder how much 'showcase time' they get when the audience misses an outfit change every time they reach for their popcorn?

Again.... dreams are good... but its just plain unnecessary.... and often there is a complete disconnect from the 'scenery' and the 'vocals'.....

One more thing about these 'dreams'.... why in Gods name does it never seem like a dream anyway? At least make some effort to tell the audience that this was just the characters imagination at work... usually it seems like the hero takes the heroines hand... they hop on a flight to some place halfway around the world.... arrive there in the next few minutes completely refreshed and not jet-lagged... wearing new clothes.... no need for Visas.... none of that random checking (which is common for men from India / Subcontinent area).... and when they 'wake up' life is fine and dandy and no one gives a hoot that they had been 'sleeping' at work, while in the hospital... while in class.... whatever.... heck.... come to think of it.... that must mean that almost no Bollywood couple in the past couple decades has been awake during a single one of their 'dates'....

As for the actors and their love for $$$ and whatnot.... like you said... it completely escapes me why veteran actors... people who have done some excellent work in the past would be willing to act in some really disgusting movies and take on roles which I find demeaning.... both to them as actors and me as a viewer... refer Bachchan sahibs role in the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom... which I have actually not seen... but have heard only terrible things about.... his prodigal son didn't do much better either...

Sex Symbols selling movie tickets? Sure... they dont care as long as they get their money... but I care... I care about the declining standards of what people define as entertainment these days.... horrible really.... show enough skin and you have a blockbuster.... does not matter what the story is.... assuming there is one...

Reality is tough... but thats what it is... an impressionable youngster might actually believe what he sees and think that working as a BPO employee is enough to be able to afford those kinds of luxuries....

CGI is my nitpicking... I wont fault them too much for that.... but seriously.... why are they so willing do a half assed job? No matter how much it is.... I refuse to believe that decent CGI is more expensive than hauling an entire film crew and their entire entourage and all of their 'supplies' over to another country.... getting accommodation and renting the locations and whatnot...

Nepotism is everywhere.... but seriously.... Bollywood again takes this concept to a new level....


Oh yeah.... and this is the part where I laugh the hardest in almost every Hindi movie which has the 'warning'....

".... any resemblance to real people or events is completely unintentional...."

What real people?? What real events?? Are you freaking kidding me?

The few movies where these warnings are actually applicable are often the good ones.... or the better ones at least...

Saiunkoku Monogatari: Colorcloud Palace (Sai Yukino)

This anime is by far one of the best I have seen in the past few years. I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who does not like it. Well... here goes....

SOURCE: S1 from R1 DVD and S2 from fan-subs.

THEMES/GENRES: Comedy, Drama, Historical, Fantasy, Political Intrigue, Shoujo.

PLOT SYNOPSIS:

The story follows the adventures of Shuurei Hong (or Shuurei Kou) in the kingdom of Saiunkoku. Shuurei is a descendant of a noble family which has fallen on hard times. Her family includes her father, Kou Shouka, who works in the imperial library as a librarian and a family retainer by the name of Seiran Shi. Despite being a a noble family and Shouka holding a prestigious post, they are very poor with Shuurei and Seiran having to work odd jobs to support themselves.
Shuureis dream was to one day pass the civil service examinations and become a government official in order to help the people. However, according to the law, only men were allowed to join the civil service. Shuurei takes her disappointment in stride and spends her free time teaching the children at the local temple.
One day, the Emperor's Grand Advisor pays her a visit and makes a startling offer. He offers her great financial compensation if she undertakes a task for him. Frustrated by her poverty, Shuurei decides to take up the offer without even bothering to find out the details. As it turns out, the advisor wanted Shuurei to enter the imperial household for six months as the young Emperor's consort, and teach the Emperor to be a responsible ruler.
The story details the growth of Shuurei's relationship with the Emperor and other members of the court, the various intrigues that surround imperial politics, and highlights her determination to better herself and her country.

MY THOUGHTS

Plot: Political intrigue... or just intrigue in general has not been depicted better (IMO) in any anime in recent history. Shuurei comes across as a remarkably resourceful young woman and her intelligence and foresight are remarkably well depicted. As a viewer you are always wondering what the final consequence of each of her actions will be. There is almost always a hidden agenda behind an action that will end up surprising the viewer. Only series I remember viewing which does Political intrigue this well would be The Legend of the Galactic Hero's (a brilliant series IMO)... every arc (in Saiunkoku Monogatari) is gripping and enjoyable... there is drama and tragedy... but plenty of humor as well...
Another impressive aspect of the plot is that it does NOT rely on fan service of any sort. Well... its a plus point for me because I feel ticked off when I watch anime which just try to squeeze in eye candy at every possible opportunity... thats not to say that the stories are bad... but just that they use fan service to an excess.
The best thing about this anime though is the supporting cast.... e.g. the villains... or anti heros... whatever you prefer... They are all very crafty... and some are very like-able... in Season 1 I totally loved Sakujun... he was my favorite male character... Season 2... well.. I dont want to post any spoilers.... but Season 2 had less like-able villains... although they were still just as crafty... Shuurei's allies are also generally all very well rounded and developed... and immensely like-able.... characters like To Eigetsu, Seiran, Shuei, Koyu etc are all depicted very well...

Animation: Very crisp and clean. There are no faults to be found here. I really liked the settings and background work. It really feels authentic...

Music: The OP to S1 is something I could listen to on loop for a good long time... its very good... Ending theme is not bad either... but whats really impressive is the mournful Ehru tunes and other BGM that is included in the series... it is all very good....

Voice Talent: No faults here either... I loved the Japanese original VA's but the English dubbers (R1... dunno about Animax) were also great.... fansubs for S2 are also good...

Personal Note: Get off your rear ends and watch this series if you haven't done so already...

Overall Score: 9.5/10. would have gotten the top score of 9.7 but S2 is starting to give off reverse harem vibes... and the ending was a bit more ambiguous than I would have liked. Although it was fitting in its own way.

ALBUM
Work in progress.

Summer Wars (Mamoru Hosada)

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Well.... peeps.... this movie might make history.... In the future.... it could very well be known as the calling card of Miyazakis Heir....

SOURCE:

Prints available right now are crappy (by my standards.... Blame all the Blu Ray Rips I have been watching recently...) and have audio and subtitle syncing issues... The English ones are hardcoded on top of the other subs... so sometimes it gets hard to read... but these are transient problems... cant wait for a better version!!!

PLOT SYNOPSIS: (Sourced from various sites and embellished)

At first sight, the world of Summer Wars looks practically identical to contemporary Japan. But there's one big difference: the existence of Oz. A mix between social network and virtual world (think of it like some kind of Facebook taken to new and radically extreme heights), accessible via phones, computers, televisions and practically any electronic device you can think of. A user can find anything inside Oz, ranging from the typical chat rooms to every kind of entertainment, shop, business and even government services like traffic, police and fire departments. Everything is connected to this massive worldwide network, all you have to do is register, create your own virtual avatar and log in.

Kenji is a shy and awkward man, his only real gift - at least as far as he's concerned - an aptitude for math, a subject in which he is skilled enough that he was very nearly Japan's representative for the global math Olympiad. With school out of session Kenji has taken a job as low level tech support for OZ, a job he quickly jettisons when Natsuki - the most popular girl in school - asks if anyone needs a job for the summer because she needs someone to accompany her to her family's traditional home to help out preparing for her great grandmother's ninetieth birthday party. Seeing an opportunity, Kenji jumps at the chance.

And things seem great at first. Natsuki is beautiful, smart and outgoing - exactly the kind of girl that Kenji would never have a chance with and he has clearly been idolizing her from a distance. The train ride is great. But then he finds out what Natsuki is really up to. With the family matriarch in failing health, Natsuki has promised to bring home her boyfriend to meet the family on this visit. But the thing is Natsuki doesn't actually have a boyfriend and so she has solved the problem by hiring Kenji under false pretenses. Once the pair arrive Kenji learns his true job: He must spend the next four days pretending to be Natsuki's boyfriend. But the panic he feels at that is nothing compared to the panic that sets in when what he believed was a math problem emailed to him by an anonymous source turns out to be an identity theft scam that cripples OZ and leaves Kenji framed for the chaos.

Watch as Kenji enlists the aid of Natsukis family tries to fight back and prove his innocence and save the world from the ensuing chaos!

MY THOUGHTS:

Plot:

The concept is brilliant... and the execution is even better... Mamoru creates an intricate network of characters (Natsukis large family)... and while he does not invest much time in developing them.... you still end up loving them all... with only the interactions between them to work with... He still manages to make it so that the viewer can walk away feeling like he somehow knows every member of the Jinnouchi clan...

The plot is great and 'clean' as well... making the movie perfect for family viewing... There is a little bit of everything in the movie... budding romance... comedy... some tragedy/drama... action.... and a peek into the lives led by members of large cohesive families... something that you very rarely get to see in an anime....

Animation:

What really astonished me was how effortlessly... almost seamlessly... he merged CGI with the traditional cels.... You would expect the transfers between the realms of animation to be jerky.... interrupting the flow as it were... but this is not the case...

The plot premise allowed the design teams imagination to run wild and they made full use of it... with creativity that can easily be likened to Miyazaki... Mamoru creates the strange and beautiful world of OZ and the various Avatars of the users.... The final fight scene took my breath away....

Personal Note:

In short... I believe that the successor who will take up Miyazakis mantle has just sent in his application... Fans of Toki Wa Kakeru Shoujo can expect to be pleased if not outright thrilled by Summer Wars.... and everyone can/should expect great things from this man....

Overall Score:

I dont ever give perfect scores out to anything I watch or read... cause theres always something that can be done better... but this one comes damn close to deserving one... as close as only a few others have...

ALBUM

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r175/OnimenoKyoshiro/Summer%20Wars/

9.7/10