India's MODIsh and Positive MODIfier - Part 1

"Corruption is like a cockroach. It rears its undisguised, unmistakable yet evidently recognizable ugly head in all the right and wrong places"  Courtesy - Vignesh Venkatasubramanian. Yay! That's me. Self-Congratulating myself for coming up with it!

So, we are starting now...

Long long ago, No! It is certainly not a Disney Story!!, when the date on the calendar read May 26, 2014, Narendra Modi was indisputably and majestically crowned the King of India, OK! Prime Minister!!, overthrowing the endlessly corruption-rampant Congress government by a phenomenal majority in the Lok Sabha elections. 

The election result was the strong emphatic outcome of the vehement anger which the 1.25 billion people had been harbouring and wanting to showcase at the right moment to the people in power who had taken them for a jolly ride. It took the powerful Indian population to upset the apple-cart in 2014. Ah! Abraham Lincoln would have been very proud on that day!!

As there is always an rotten egg among the majority of the good eggs, scams and governments are like Batman&Joker. They simply cannot live without each other! However, the period between 2004-2014 was an one time event in the millennium when even the scams were themselves utterly shell-shocked that they would have prayed to Hades to hide them away in hell for eternity! Such was the enormity of skulduggery that it created a humongous outrage in the common man.

Italy has always been a money-making powerhouse for churning out the very best in the world - Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Ermenegildo Zegna, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bianchi, Lavazza, Prada, D&G to name a few. Am I forgetting something? Definitely Yes. How can I forget it? She has also produced the best of the best which the majority of the Indians love very much. No. Congress supporters. I am talking about PIZZAS in this instance! The whole nation knew who was the actual Prime Minister even though the highly reputed and eminent economist Manmohan Singh was the face of the country who lead our country from the front. 

Unfortunately, India was driven from the back which also punctured and pushed away Dr. Abdul Kalam Sir's vision of India to be a developed country by 2020 to merely a wool gathering process. A wise man once said "Just because you have your surname as Tendulkar, it doesn't  mean you are a great cricketer". Don't even try googling the name of the wise person as that individual is none other than the person who is typing this blog but hope you got the drift of the message! Likewise, a single day was not gone when people used to censure him for being silent on crucial issues that eventually lead to the ultimate demise of the Congress government in the last election.

Standing at the crossroads, Indians were fed up of the paper tiger and wanted a real tiger who would fiercely hunt for the development, growth and progress of our motherland. With an enviable track record that even Usain Bolt would be jealous, pun sprintly intended!, Narendra Modi was the obvious choice, without even a MODIcum of doubt,  to be India's 14th Prime Minister for the way he had commendably marshalled his resources and commandeered Gujarat to her glittering glory during his stint as Chief Minister of the State between 2001 - 2014.

On a more serious note, NaMo has been meticulously and industriously sweating his way to achieve the above objectives since 2014 from the day his uphill and arduous transformation journey of India commenced until today.

I am not going to deep dive into the achievements of NaMo's various reforms and schemes that are already helping millions of our brothers and sisters who live across the length and breadth of the country after he took the oath as PM. 

Though his plaudits are myriad in number and still counting, the blog is going to clear the air by revolving around the fact that he has faced severe flaks from all corners of the country for his extensive foreign trips which has caused such a furore that it resulted in the creation of outrageous memes like:

                                                      

                                                           X----To be concluded----X

It's a MARVELlous day..!

There was a time in the recent past when the world of sports was dominated by a few single men and women, of course!, and teams. The Formula One was dominated by Ferrari and Red Bull. Tennis by Fed-Ex and Nadal. William Sisters' as well. Cricket by Australia. Golf by Tiger Woods. It was like these men, women and team can do nothing wrong once they are on the field. Flawless was given a whole new meaning and it looked like they were literally making the word 'flawless' kowtow before them to an inordinate degree. Such was their flamboyant excellence that they had tremendously and painstakingly imparted to their arduous practice and impeccable perfection in their selection of shots and timing that they mercilessly decimated and reduced their opponents to ashes. 

The war between DC and Marvel Comics is one such highly lucrative battle between the two heavy weights comprising of multitude of our admired superheroes and their triumphing fantastic abilities over the bad guys. A myriad of spin-offs, prequels, sequels and reboots are hitting the big screens every now and then like the villains beating our beloved characters. At times, these atrocious characters win but most of the times, they end up on the losing side. Oh My GAWDDD! I have side-tracked big time from what this blog was actually intended to be. Or Did I? :)

It was very refreshing when the first installment of The Avengers was released. It took the super hero movie to an entirely all new level and set the benchmark for the  rest. Unfortunately, even the second Avengers flick couldn't match the phenomenal success of its predecessor. Be it from Marvel or DC, the genre was becoming more banal and highly predictable in their scripts and visual cacophony that a  new inspiration was needed to revive the interest. It really doesn't matter to the hardcore fans who pay out and fight over whether DC is better or Marvel is the best but this important point really matters to those who are otherwise yet love to watch their superheroes in action - DC or Marvel - it doesn't matter.

Just as the world was reeling under the effects from the Avengers 2, Ant Man was a blessing in disguise, pun giANTly intended!, for the Marvel Studios. Not that Avengers 2 was bad but it could have been better. I am not going to go into the review for Ant Man here as much has already been talked about how freaking awesome the movie was by all the reviewers. It's just that movies like Ant Man are what the general people need to see when they shell out their money and indulge themselves to some stunning actions. 

Take for instance. The final action sequence set in Lang's daughter's house. That is one of the best choreographed VFX in a while. You know that the Yellow Jacket and Ant Man are so small yet strong when they viciously combat each other on the railway track and derail a train in their battle. But, from the perspective of the girl, it's just a toy train that merely flips and falls to one side. You are simply wowed and definitely have to admire the director's ingenuity and creativeness for such an unbelievable and memorable setting involving the two fun-sized pocket dynamites. 

Not to forget the dialogues. The Ant Man has really got some cracking one-liners that has surely left everyone in stitches. "Ant-thony". "No No. Not those 3 wombats". 'trail by fire..or water". Or the 'n' number of such situational comedies that simply lit up the screens alight with laughter. Ant Man was on the lines of The Avengers 1 which completely revolutionized the parochial and stereotyped view of how a super hero movie can be - entertaining yet funny, serious yet light-hearted instead of merely breaking down buildings and destroying cities - God knows how many times the Golden Gate Bridge was destructively demolished and quickly reconstructed using the CGIs!

We have had a whole lot of superhero movies that has been released this year as of date - Batman Vs Superman, Suicide Squad, X-Men, Captain America. But, none of them could even close to Deadpool that was screened in the very early time of the year.

Just like how the titular character has his face severely marred by the execrable actions of the villain, Deadpool is also beautifully ugly - in a positive sense especially with reference to its humorously dirty jokes and use of  abusive language and crude connotations in the movie. Deadpool is one whirpool of a wacko who is eccentrically childish and insanely funny with his utterance of profanities.

Right from the start of the first scene where the title credits read "A CGI character, A Gratuitous cameo" etc., you know that you are in for something different - something new - something original and Deadpool hit the nail on its head from its first frame till the please-stop-my tummy hurts- End Credits Scene.

There was not even a dull moment or a yawn-inducing or when-this-would-end kind of feel when you watch this movie. It's paced fast, Dementedly Insane. Bloody Humorous, Pun is Gorily intended!. And absolutely not at all a family friendly flick. Gosh! I am in love with my beautiful alliteration - family friendly flick!

Now, these are the sort of inside and pop culture reference jokes that has elevated Deadpool from being dead to being alive! I will just make my point here by giving small examples. "Did you see 127 hours? Spoiler alert". "You will come talk with Professor Xavier. McAvoy or Stewart. These timelines can get so confusing".  These are some of the decent delicious hilarity that is definitely bound to warm the cockles of your heart. Yes. There is plenty of violence. Brutal bloodshed. And with Deadpool's magical and surgical healing ability, it was like Ichor flowing in his body!

Deadpool was crazily ridiculous, lunatically zany and provided many a hysterical laughter that the sanguinary which splashed all over the screen did not cause much revulsion. It was more like watching a Tarantino film with dashing entertainment! 

Ant Man and Deadpool are the rare breed of super hero flicks that defy the conventional formulaic standards by being idiosyncratic and quirky from their genre yet it is these kinds of out of the bolt movies that really makes our innate child-like attitude to tune in and watch our much adored superheroes battling against their enemies and save the day time and again.

PS:

Why the hell did I write about Ant Man and Deadpool now? Simple. I wanted to watch something amazingly side-splitting and at the same time, it should involve super powers. What best can cater to such a need of mine other than to see back to back the soft, pleasant rib-tickling Ant Man and the crude, gross screamer Deadpool to make it a very gratifying day.

GoT Season 6 Wrap up: Part 3 (Concluding Part)

Acknowledgements:

Thank you for patiently reading through the GoT series blogs. This would be the last in the list. I am extremely sorry that they have been a tad too long. Just felt I wouldn't be doing enough justice if at least the major talking points of the season, the show and the author are not covered in their entireties. I have packed small surprises in the end. It's there in the middle as well! No no no. Please don't scroll down immediately. Kindly make your way through the end as such and have yourself a spectacular finish like the GoT Finale.... :) :) 

Continuing from where I left in Part 2 as it ended with me speaking on Women Empowerment,

From being a meek, blinded, weak and weak-kneed individual, Arya had stupendously transformed herself into a ruthless fighting warrior with due support from her Needle. It was a good retribution when she slits Walder Frey's throat right in his own backyard. Likewise, Sansa, who if you remember was a quixotically romantic person when she wanted to marry Joffrey, underwent immense upheavals with the Boltons and Lannisters to the extent that she was sangfroid and accepted the hardened fact that her bro, Rickon isn't going to see the light in the evening during 'The Battle of the Bastards'. She also shows and vents her frustration out to Jon that her intelligence could be of great help for forming the strategy to vanquish the dreaded Ramsay once and for all. But alas, it fell on deaf ears and Jon was made to look like a blundering fool in the fight! However, that small smile which Sansa gives at the end when Ramsay was torn apart by his beloved dogs told the extent to which she had rejoiced the horrific happening for all the monstrous atrocities that Ramsay had inflicted on her. Nevertheless, the journey of the growth and development of Sansa as a very practical and hard person is quite incredible.

It was also a great scene especially the flirtatious smiles and confabulations when Yara meets Dany and forges an alliance with Dany in exchange for her to rule the Iron Islands. The banter was simply too good to be true between the two power laded and strong-headed ladies.

                                                 The Sabaash Conversation...!

In spite of all such good happenings, you simply cannot forget or ignore Cersei, however bad and vile she is. She single-handedly masterminded and destroyed the Sept and the entire Tyrell's generation sans Olenna when Cersei was to be brought before the trial. It was only Margaery who knew something was awry and something sinister was going on right beneath their noses when Cersei refused to show up. Just like the wood-headed Jon who refused to hear out Sansa's know-hows on Ramsay, the High Sparrow was so self-righteous and self-satisfyingly smug that he was blown to smithereens before he even knew what hit him even though Margaery made valiant attempts to tell him that a big tragedy was on the horizon. The cruel and sadistic grin which Cersei gives when she sips into her drink was more than enough to display her callous, ruthless and cold-blooded feelings that she had been harbouring for all of them who died in the Sept not to forget the the wicked 'Shame, Shame' she utters when Sept Unella was left alone with Gregor. I really don't want to even know what happened to her! The icing on the cake for Team Women in S6 has got to be Olenna Tyrell for the way she completely sews the Snakes' mouths when she is in deep discussion with Ellaria to take revenge on Cersei.

                                        No? Good. Let the grown women speak..!

But, the best reaction of the season award should undoubtedly go to Sam Tarly when he has his first sights on the thoroughly imposing, utterly overwhelming and absolutely amazing racks of lakhs of books in the Citadel. It was like when you meet Rajnikanth or Salman Khan during a flight journey and you tell them 'Hello' and the extremely excited, enthused and emotion you feel when they also say 'Hi' in response! Kudos to the VFX team who had burnt their midnight oil to create such a mind-numbing, gorgeous and a scorcher of an eye candy setting.

                                       That Single overpowering reaction said it all..!!

Speaking of Kudos, GoT has always had some scintillating BGMs throughout the course of all the seasons. However, E10, in particular, is by far THE BEST of all - the gloomy, haunting, shady and sinister overtones of the scenes were perfectly captured and presented delightfully in a rhythmic cadence of the sudden rise and fall in the terrific and chilling piano backscore to the extent that the music not only complemented but also dominated the gripping screenplay right till the very end until the Media Player can play no more. No nominations are even needed to be there for the music category for this year's awards as the undisputed winner is GoT. 

As we are on the lines of undisputed, sex and nudity had formed an integral part of the GoT universe like Tom and Jerry! It was really heartening to see that the two essential components were kept to a bare minimum, pun is wickedly intended!, but a lot of emphasis and stress was given more to the plot, story, music and VFX in S6. Hope this trend continues in the next season as well.

I am not much of a conspiracy theorist. But, from what I have seen and the signs given in the show is that Cersei might turn out to be a Mad Queen and murdered by Jaime (Reminding you the Prophecy here!) which may earn him the moniker 'The Queen Slayer' as well. Dany and Jon may end up marrying each other and destroy the White Walkers with Snow and most of the men like Little Finger being killed in the battle. Valar Morghulis! Remember?  So, No brainer. Dany might ascend and sit comfortably on the uncomfortable throne provided she is also not killed which would eventually leave us with only one worthy contender - Sansa - to rule in the event of Dany's uneventful death. Also, maybe, we get to see Jaime and Brienne romancing each other more after he kills Cersei. But, Valar Morghulis! So, Jaime might have to die as well.

Last but not the least, the dull murmuring of the choir starts to sing, the flags gently sway, the impressive dragon faced, gold-plated ships floating forwards in the water, the choir antes up their tone to mesmerizing degree and hits the high note consistently with regular crests and troughs like a musical sinusoidal wave, the cameras from the top view shows the gigantic shadows of the formidable dragons cast upon the ships below. Suddenly, the redoubtable and awe-inspiring dragons swoop down with their loud screeches flapping their mighty and powerful wings by nonchalantly dipping them into the water before rising up and swiftly flying towards their mother, Dany who is in the fore front of all the ships gracefully smiling with her friends. The camera shows a captivating and breath-taking fleet of ships en route to Westeros with the potent dragons waiting in the wings, literally!, to wreck havoc and destruction in the coming seasons.

As the famous Greek saying goes "A face that could launch a thousand ships". In the case with Dany, it is not only 1000 ships but also her nearly indestructible dragons as well! 

BRING ON THE IMAX FOR S6 E10..!! ...Magizhchi...:) :) 

PS 1:

Just like how Rama saved his Brahmastra for the last, I had saved the sweet devil for the best. She not only stole my heart but also stunned it.  Yes. I am speaking about Lyanna Mormont. This badass character is the favorite for everyone as the screen blacked out for good this year. Young. Fiery. Strong. Authoritative. Commanding. Highly Pragmatic. No Nonsense Attitude. Self-Assured and Masterful. 

That inspiring and rousing speech she gave still lingers in the mind and gives me goosebumps which not only left Jon Snow wide-eyed but also me. House Mormont remembers! The North remembers!!

Lyanna Mormont is the find of S6. It would be good if we get to see her more in S7 and S8. Oh. But wait. All the so-called favorite characters are the first to be killed in this show.. :'(

PS 2:

The one epic scene which simply blew everyone's head away. At least mine. Plug in your head phones. Needless to say, keep the volume to the max and revel yourself in the aural concoction of intensely stirring beats and vocals.

                                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCMaaC1tyPg

Hope you had a great time reading my GoT based blogs as much as you love watching the entire series.

Thanks again...!

                                                           X--------Concluded--------X

GoT Season 6 Wrap up: The Rocket just started exploding at the Right Moment - Part 2

Until the 1996 World Cup, the fielders were sprayed all over the park and the teams followed a standard template to have wickets in hand to have a go at the bowlers in the final overs of the match. The 15 over rule introduced during the Wills World Cup marked a significant and important moment as the entire Cricketing landscape underwent a sea change especially with the dashing Sri Lankan openers - Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana - firing on all cylinders with the fielding restrictions in place. The maverick pair broke the traditional and stereotypical mindset of playing risky shots only during the dying overs of the innings by scoring at will in the first 15 overs taking advantage of the new rule, consolidating slowly and steadily in the middle overs and blazing all guns in the end overs. Just wait for a moment. You will know why I brought in the small yet momentous cricket history for the review.

GoT S6 started off really well with the resurrection of Jon Snow during the 2 episodes, then saw a lull in the subsequent segments with a strong peak when the White Walkers stormed the cave and Hodor was killed in the process. There was another brief respite when the show's pace was going slower than the slowest Sunny until Arya Stark took back her identity in E8. Just like how the batsmen in Cricket provided the much needed impetus to have a impactful finish to their innings, GoT burst out all the fireworks in their kitty with 'The Battle of Bastard' and an IMAX deserving E10. Yeah. You read it right. I am willing to shell out 350 bucks for this episode if 'The Winds of Winter' is screened in the IMAX format. I will discuss more on this as the review unfolds.

Jaime had nothing much to do in the season except being a negotiator with Blackfish and having a subtle romance with Brienne when she failed to persuade Blackfish to make him come out of his senses to surrender to him and escaped in a boat. Infact, Davos had more role to play than Jaime throughout S6. There were traces of sparking romance in the air between Dany and Tyrion when she emotionally anoints him as 'Hand of the Queen' 'Clever Fellow. Can't argue with his logic' - This dialogue totally sums up Tyrion's tryst until the dawn of S7. On Sansa's request and beseech, Little Finger comes in the nick of time and saves a desperate-for-help Snow army when they were about to be shellacked by Bolton and his men. He also sweet talks her to accept his proffer that she become his queen when he is at the helm of the Iron Throne someday in the future - a tempting offer made by the shrewd, astute and calculating Petyr Baelish but turned down by the experience gained Sansa.

Speaking of Sansa, S6 had evolved itself into a mighty show of Women's Empowerment. What I mean by this is that you can see the girls and the women taking the matters into their own hands by breaking themselves away from the enormous shackles of manipulations, restrictions, lack of freedom etc. that were cruelly chained to them by the barbaric and egoistic men. They have changed the entire ecosystem in S6 with their brave, daring and courageous moves and tricks that will give even Varys and Little Finger a run for their money.

We will start with Arya. 

                                                      

                                                                 X--End of Part 2--X

                                                                   (to be concluded)

BFG - BIG in Heart

Expectations and hopes always run amok whenever a Spielberg flick hits the screen. It was again no different this time as Roald Dahl's classic was transformed into a visual paradise by the ace director.

BFG gigantically stands,pun intended, for Big Friendly Giant opens up with the bespectacled and orphaned Sophie taken into custody by a stupendously tall elderly person to his home in the Giant Country as he felt that Sophie might spill the beans about him to someone. The adventure for Sophie begins there and so for us too.

The first half was very slow as Sophie and BFG exchanged many a conversation to give us the backdrop of the gentle and timid BFG's kind-hearted nature and his dreamy, pun intended, nature of work - collecting, bottling and sharing dreams. It was really an eye-popping moment when Sophie and BFG threw themselves into the colorful and mesmerizing dream country to gather the good and bad dreams. We are also introduced to his wild bunch of bird-brained, loutish, uncivilized and man-eating towering companions who treat the pusillanimous BFG to the point where Sophie could take it no longer and constantly ask BFG to pay them back with their own currency. Being a soft person, BFG was taken for a ride, literally!, by the boorish and savage monsters. It was a sight to behold when BFG was made to skate on a truck from the top of a hill along with the hidden Sophie.

The transition into the second half which was racier and more funnier than the first was a big, again pun intended, sigh of relief. How Sophie and the BFG mapped out their master plan to finally put rest for good the mighty tall Barbarians involving the Queen of England was a masterstroke on the part of Roald Dahl to even conceive such an ingenious idea to tackle the Fleshlumpeaters. The execution to translate the wondrous imagination onto the big screen by Spielberg was equally impressive especially the scenes involving BFG inside the Buckingham Palace and the slinky actions that followed with the capture of the man-eating giants by the army who wisely deported them to a remote and uninhabited island leaving them behind with snoozcumbers. The irony is that they hate the vegetable very much! 

It was a squealing and cackling delight to watch BFG inside the Palace along with the Queen and the expressions that were carted out by everyone on seeing the giant. The Frobscottle was hilarious to the extent that it left the entire theatre in splits, pun is viciously intended here! Not to mention the BFG's absurd jabberwockies through out the course of the movie that provided the very much desired comic comfort other amidst the snail pace of the first half. Though BFG lacked the needed momentum prior to the interval, it picked up pace in the second half and sprinted towards the finish line with top honors.

BFG is that kind of sweet and nice movie which you can just watch once, laugh heartily and forget it sweetly! It may not be Spielberg's best but BFG certainly provided a great relief amidst a tumultuously hyped super hero and horror genres that were tearing down and blasting the world apart, the explosive pun intended. 

GoT Season 6 Wrap up: The Rocket just started exploding at the Right Moment - Part 1

"Why did Katappa kill Baahubali?" - This question transcended all boundaries - political, religious, caste and other yada yada yada - and was chanted like the sacred Gayatri Mantra by people from all walks of life who used their Sherlock Holmes' brains to decode this conundrum by placing themselves in the Director's shoes. I am still not sure.....whether his shoe size would have fit many! Overlooking my pathetic joke, I can see your confused faces through my screen as to what relevance does Baahubali has got to do with GoT. You will know the answer soon. 

A himalayan earthquake measuring on a Richter Scale of 20 shook the Internet to its very bare foundation in a positively disastrous manner when Snow was laid down on the snow as Season 5 drew to its gory close. All the survivors (Read:Fans!) screamed only one single question with one voice "Was Jon Snow really dead?". Just like the ubiquitous Katappa question was being hollered all over the net, Snow being alive or dead circled the world at a pace quicker than QuickSilver! Though the much agonizing wait for Jon's fate was revealed earlier this year, people are still waiting with bated breath for the other big thing. Rumors are that BB2 will be released on April 28, 2017. So, BB2 fans. Sorry for the inconvenience. You have to clench your teeth and scratch your head for some more time to get your riddle cracked. And Oh! You also got the reason why I brought up Baahubali's reference in the previous para. So, all's fine and dandy!  Let's get started with our important matter at hand.

Prior to the premiere of Season 6, there were reports that the budget for GoT had breached the $10 million dollars per episode. Personally, I did not find anything that grand or worthy for such a gargantuan expense to be incurred for the first 7 episodes. In fact, the show was heading towards a cataclysmic and irreparable disaster had it not been for the identity proclaiming "No One", the classy "The Battle of Bastards" and the simply lost-for-adjectives and indescribable "The Winds of Winter". The finale saved the almost sinking Titanic by helping her to reach the shores not only safely but also with galores of appreciation showered upon its captains and crews alike for stupendously steering this gigantic vessel intact, unharmed and with great honor.

S6 E1 continued with the last thread left behind at the end of the previous season. The resurrection of Kit Harington by Melisandre was no surprise at all as she was the only person who possessed the inexplicable and supernatural powers of the Lord of Light. The real question which was bothering me for one full year was "How soon?". The answer to that simple question was clarified in Episode 2 though it was really a sort of anti-climax in the way he was brought to life. In the blink of an eye, Jon opened his eyes and revived from his deep sleep by the Red Woman. What he does with his new life was answered quickly enough when he promptly executes those who assassinated him on charges of treason and rallies for troops along with Sansa which ultimately culminated in "The Battle of Bastards" thus helping Sansa to reclaim the fallen Winterfell into their hands. It was truly a rejoicing moment not only for me but for the countless Starkians when Winterfell's rightful Coat of Arms was raised up. Sansa should have the right mind atleast now to change the name of Winterfell to Wintergot! Once again apologising for my poor joke, on a more serious note, Oxford should consider rephrasing 'From Rags to Riches story' as 'From a Bastard to the King story' for Jon being accepted as the King in the North though he had a very timely help from an extremely unexpected person. I will cover that most important part later.

Being on the topic of "The Battle of Bastards", I am sure Ramsay Bolton would have realized by now that Karma is really a BITCH, literally! In one of the earlier episodes, he had his own half-brother to be savagely eaten by his blood-thirsty hounds. I was aghast on seeing such a heinous act though inherently I knew it was all an act! Ramsay was devil incarnation in human form and there had been many a day where I wanted to thump him for all his monstrous actions. It was indeed a fitting poetic justice when he was torn apart by his ravenous dogs at the episode's conclusion. Likewise, Wun Wun wonderfully won won my heart with his heroic sacrifice by breaking open the strong, sturdy and cannot-be-broken-heavy gates of Winterfell. Truly, "The Battle of Bastards" was then legitimately wun, pun is wickedly intended!

Discussing about dogs, The Hound made a sudden appearance like a sneaky subliminal ad and butchered those who brutally murdered his saviors.  After that, he vanished like a wisp of smoke. Just like how the vestigial organs in our body do not know for what purpose they exist, Rickon Stark is also one such character. I am still wondering why he did not swerve to his left or right when Rickon was running towards the riding Jon Snow before he was killed by one of Ramsay's arrows. Nevertheless, I am also left wondering how many people actually pitied for Rickon's death other than Jon Snow even though Sansa foresaw her brother's death like Professor Trelawney!

But, what really opened up my limitless possibilities of endless thinking was the death of the gentle and highly loyal 'Hodor'. Bran's visions are constantly shown throughout the season including the hint of confirmation of the most popular R+L=J fan theory. During one of his visions, he unintentionally wargs a young Hodor when they were attacked by the White Walkers and the hordes of wights. I was over the moon when I saw the White Walkers once again in full action but this time it is even better and yes, Bitter too! The action sequence made my blood run cold, again pun intended!, and visually spectacular. The brightest part was that it stretched close to fifteen minutes with the saddest part being the only pure soul in the show finally succumbed to Bran's new powers. GoT is already teeming with Dragons, White Walkers, Lord of Light and other political developments that are literally happening everywhere. The last thing that we want on our plates is time travel to complicate the already densely complex story. With this, I tearfully bid adieu for now and say "Hodor Hodor Hodor" three times to commemorate the brave person because of whom Bran lives to fight another day.

Disclaimer
As ever, the points mentioned above are strictly my standpoints alone. No one is to be held accountable other than me.

                                        X------------------- End of Part 1---------------------X

The Curious Case of George R.R. Martin

Everything has to have a beginning. Even our universe has one though we are still figuring out how the mega event happened - at least in this dimension - to have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Is it going to be a short primer on Astrophysics? Nay. 

4 years ago, my tryst with the famed and acclaimed Game of Thrones began when I watched the first few minutes of Season 1 Episode 1 where the almost immortal and dreaded White Walkers were shown and the epic theme music erupts like a fountain with the Da Vinci-esque settings announcing the cast. Like millions, I was not only glued to my seat but also hooked to it like the fisherman baiting a piscine with his fish hook. The arduous and fascinating journey commenced not only for the characters but also for me.

7 kingdoms. Plenty of kings, lords, knights and bastards. Magicians here and there. And the dazzling Dragons. GoT is indeed a perfect recipe for a very complex story from the mastermind GRRM. Though I have not yet read the books, I could still see shades of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings kind of feel when it came to sketching out the extensive characters, several kingdoms and new languages to such an attention to detail. I was completely amazed and stunned by the spectacular level of intricacy he had given to each and every person, place and thing. 

Shredding the veil to pieces, GoT is nothing but a multi-layered and extremely complicated chess game where every individual tries to gain the upper hand by employing strategies and tactics to subvert their opposition - either single-handedly or by an alliance or by collusion to have a title shot at the Iron Throne using mostly (99.9999999%!) treacherous and deceitful means to satisfy and fulfill their objectives. But,one thing is rest assured. This is one chess tournament where Viswanathan Anand cannot even think to salvage a draw! The outright winner is.....No no no..It's neither Dany nor Snow but GRRM himself. More specifically, the victor ludorum has got to be the ultra bad GRRM present inside GRRM who is responsible for the wide spread butcheries and the rampant Butterfly effect prevalent in the GoT universe! Getting down to the brass tacks, it's like the Good GRRM tries to check mate the bad GRRM but the latter always has an ace up his sleeve to disturb the rhythm of the game.

Drugs. Booze. Incest. Rape. Nudity in all permutations and combinations - Frontal, Full-Frontal and Dorsal. Kids. Men. Girls. Ladies. Women. Not even old women and old men were spared when it came to explicitly bare their bodies onscreen. Likewise, only animal sex has not been shown in the series! Gays, Lesbians. What not! GoT is nothing short of free porn packaged with wars, conflicts and political schemings at the highest level!! Jokes apart. GoT is a classic example which can be shown as an useful learning tool to people to see the negative effects for themselves when a state or a country falls into a steep decadence of no return and how a society stinks to high heaven when lawlessness & power blind those who are in authority fixated only to their craving to holding on to their position instead of improving the lives of the people. I am not here to preach or lecture a moral lesson but the fact is that the majority people are usually like how the rulers are. When the head is not proper, you simply cannot complain about the tail!

As a kid, I had a strong inclination to beat Draco Malfoy black and blue whenever I used to devour HP. The same kind of feeling, if not magnified x100 times, I experienced when Joffrey strutted around the scenes like a prick and manhandled everything in sight. I felt the intense emotion to give him a tight hard slap that he would never forget in his life to blow off my steam. Luckily or unluckily for him, he was poisoned! 

As we are on the topic of poisoning, I am not sure what GRRM has with marriages. He is so obsessed with not giving us a proper wedding. It's either Red Wedding or Purple Wedding. The entire internet broke out into an unanimous frenzied tizzy when the only decent people on the show till then - The Starks were brutally murdered. I am waiting for the day when an episode would be titled "Happy Wedding" and an actual happy wedding takes place with no killings! 

Speaking of killings, none of the characters are spared - be it major or minor. Death wickedly smiles, laughs and patiently waits to embrace them at every step and turn the characters take. It seems like the sword of Damocles hangs above each and every one of them. Such is the extent of the deepest level of political subterfuge which has came out from the genius stables of GRRM. It was a really good thing that he wanted to be a writer. He would have given the cops a run for their money had he been a master criminal with such brains! 

Mentioning of master criminal, I am silently reminded of Sidney Sheldon. SS was not a fantasy writer but a fantastic weaver of fiction. When you analyze his writings, you could see a distinct pattern that will emerge from all of his books -Women are the protagonists. However, they are treated very cruelly and badly by men and the society. They are used as sex objects and ultimately become mentally and emotionally strong to rule the world! The pattern sounds familiar?? In GoT also, we find that the leading players are all women who were savagely toyed around by vicious and cold-blooded men as ragged doormats - be it the good Dany or the ruthless and merciless Cersei or the case hardened Stark kids. The chief hero of this epic saga could have been anyone amidst the many likes of machiavellian Little Finger, extremely logical and cool-headed Tyrion, King Slayer Jaime and our very beloved Jon Snow but GRRM focusses particularly on Cersei and Dany to sit on the coveted prize. However, it was really nauseatingly sickening and gut-churning moment for me when I had to watch Cersei (Yeah! She is extremely vile and bad) to take up the Walk of Atonement that literally lasted for eternity! with the Sept shouting 'Shame, Shame' with a tinkling of the bell. I was completely shell-shocked that the directors had given so much extra screen time for the scene to prolong to such an extent before Cersei was draped in her clothes when the same time could have been reserved for showcasing the dragons.

GRRM gives the magical touch by introducing the inhuman White Walkers and the fearsome Dragons as early as Season 1 to give us a sense of foreboding that the White Walkers would walk with their army of wights any time and also a strong bonding with the dragons who can decimate the wights with their fires. 'A Song of Ice and Fire' is indeed an apt title for the epic fantasy series that has really exploded like an active volcano ever since GoT had its first release in 2011. Conflicts, Violence, Cruelty, Barbarism, Revenge, Torture, Betrayal, Sex, Mind Games, Sorcery, Loyalty, Love, Friendship, Finding your Inner Strength - GRRM neatly packed a humdinger of a story that left everyone in tears and the whole social media to buzz like a busy bee for the next one year debating whether Snow was alive or dead when Jon Snow was snowed by his own brethren at the Night Watch when Season 5 ended on a dramatic note. Theories and speculations were travelling at a speed faster than light that would have left even Einstein scratching his head for the answer that was on the mental lips of the utterly shocked audience. Season 6 review is for another blog. So, I am not going to touch upon it now. 

With mega serial scripts like "Kolangal" and "Metti Oli" running for more than 1000 days, GoT is that prized picture perfect product by GRRM for any Indian Soap director to run the show not only for 1000 days but also for generations together without a break! I sincerely hope that GRRM doesn't sell his rights to any Indian mega serial producer but simply HODORS them!! 

Disclaimer

This blog is just my personal observation on the highly popular TV series GoT and its revered creator. All the opinions and perspectives are solely mine and mine alone with absolutely no intention whatsoever to defame anyone in anyway or any manner.  

Suicide Squad - Barking Karazieeee but a Complete Let Down

The expectations were sky high and as deep as the Mariana Trench when the first teaser of the Suicide Squad was released a year ago. Jared Leto was recognizably unrecognizable and stunningly indescribable along with his tattoos as The Clown Prince of Crime. With the subsequent tantalizing teasers and mind-blowing trailers, the anticipation for the movie was sprinting like an in form and red hot Usain Bolt and assured of an Olympic Gold Medal much before its screen openings. As with the colossal clash between the Batman and Superman proving to be a damp squib earlier in the year , Suicide Squad also commits a terrible suicide because of its inherent fundamental flaws.

Before delving deep into the fatal fractures that could have otherwise transformed this gang of worst people into something truly remarkable and extra ordinary,  let us see the positives. 

If Heath Ledger was the heart and soul of The Dark Knight as the devious and psychopathic Joker, then Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn really steals the limelight from Will Smith and everyone else. Her wacky mannerisms, uber cool attitude and rib-tickling nonchalant dialogue delivery are not only commendable but also clap-worthy. Suicide Squad would have been dull and boring affair without the pitch perfect casting of Margot Robbie as Quinn. She elevated the entire movie from the abyss of dismal hopelessness to a tolerable and wildly funny movie watching experience. Will Smith as Deadshot was bang on target, literally and figuratively, with his subdued nature as a caring father to his daughter and his penchant towards hitting the prey at WILL, pun intended! The rest of this wacko team were ably supported by El Diablo, Captain Boomerang and Killer Croc who had their roles justified with a meaningful purpose rather than being just another tag along. Oh...Wait...You did not tell us about our famed Joker. How can I forget THE JOKER? Unfortunately, David Ayer had forgotten him and Jared Leto's screen presence was barely noticeable for the efforts he had taken to make him as memorable as Heath Ledger. But, in the highly limited screen time, Jared Leto sizzled as the wild and deranged Joker who would go to any extremes to save his beloved Quinn from the obnoxious clutches of the blackmailing Waller.

So,what's not right with the movie?

Well. Suicide Squad is extremely decent in the first half but post-interval, it is complete mayhem. I know it's August but I still have to use only MAYhem here! Turning a blind eye to my poor joke again, be it the ostentatious and gaudy visual effects in the second half or the Enchantress's cacophonic plan to rule the world or the botched up screenplay, Suicide Squad was a disaster in making when it was being made. You really don't get to relate or feel for any of the characters - take for instance - El Diablo - His backdrop as to why he doesn't want to take part in the fight because of his past should have created a stirring effect in the audience but it simply fell flat. It was like a seeing a documentary where you are bombarded with facts and not emotions. In fact, the entire character introductions were simply "Here..I present to you.." kind of setting including how the Joker and Quinn became the Kind and the Queen of Gotham. It was rushed and hurried rather than the moment to set and settle for the scenes and characters to have a profound impact in the minds of the audience. It's not just that. The movie deals with a bunch of highly dangerous criminals who are forced to come together in case of any emergencies and all of a sudden, they are shown as Captain America! As good people. The transition is too fast to even think that they could be good people when it was briefly shown what they are actually capable of doing to the public prior to their arrests.  Also. not to mention were the deliberately placed hip songs which was constantly played in the background. For the first few minutes, it was perfectly jelling with the 'Karaziee' theme of the movie but later it became an ear sore and added to the already existing eye exasperation! 

Suicide Squad was extremely good in patches like the scene where Will Smith stood on a car and took upon the bad guys, pun intended again, single-handedly or the scene where he shoots on the dummy targets with precision that left the soldiers dumb founded. Maybe if they story had an solid foundation and not a run-of-the-mill treatment, Suicide Squad could have worked magic. Maybe, if the Joker had been given a substantial role to play after all the rave comments that were given of his performance prior to the film's release, Suicide Squad could have clicked well. It's all Maybes now.

PS:
I am not a Marvel advocate. You can check out my X-Men Apocalypse for further reference. I am a big time super hero movie fan who just wants good stories to be told by the timeless and exciting creations by the their creators.  

Foodie's World Tour Combo - A Visitor's Paradise!

Just when I thought of treating myself to a yet another luxuriant 'Delhi Highway' lunch @ a dirt cheap price of Rs. 199 , a bright green sign board caught my bespectacled eyes. New Yorker was offering their own lunch buffet. As I had already tried the delicious DH meal once, my tired legs automatically walked towards the entrance of New Yorker.

Since I have already been there at the New Yorker, I am taking the luxury to skip the lecture on their decor or the ambience or the service. My full focus is going to be only on the food and nothing but the food.

As I sat down in one of their twin-chaired table, the order taker promptly gave me the a la carte to cherry pick my dishes. I had already made up my mind that I was to shelve the menu card to the side on that particular day and taste their buffet menu for a change. In a matter of seconds, literally and figuratively, the waitperson brought me another menu card displaying the buffet options - Indian and World. It was a sit down buffet and there was a subset within them - Regular and Jain. 

Opting for a World Regular, I had the liberty to choose my dishes from the options available infront of me. Before placing the final order, I had requested the waiter to bring me the Mango Chilli Margarita.  

The soup variety had two choices and the server brought me Mexican Tomato Soup. Tortilla Chips were floating on the fairly good stimulant soup. In the mean time, my tangerine Mango Chilli Margarita also made a colourful entrance to the table. One sip was all it took to go bonkers over the drink. It was wickedly wonderful. The salt sprinkled at the brim of the cup and the lemon together with the chilli coupled with the mango taste was nothing short of heaven and left me craving for more of this nectar.

After thoroughly enjoying the drink, the 2 slices of Bruschetta along with Taco (it was a fight between Taco and Falafel and the former won the bout) were kept on the table. The Bruschetta was simply outstanding with its soft, cheesy base. The Taco was satisfactory. 

Once again, it was a battle of difficult choices as I had to choose between the 2 varieties of Pasta offered. I went in for The Pasta Supremo. Though the pasta did not quite live up to its name, the 2 mini slices of cute Pizza compensated for the Supremo's exquisiteness.  

My stomach was already delightfully swimming with the plethora of international cuisines when the waiter brought me a cup with a scoop of Vanilla icecream topped with rainbow sprinkles.

After a dizzy lunch @ a very reasonable and competent price, it was time for me to say "Hasta la Vista, Baby".