The Good Dinosaur - Pixar Keeps up their GOOD work....again!

The Rain Gods had stopped their downpour for the city to recuperate and stand on their feet after they had vented out and unleashed all their strength over Chennai in the past one week. So, its Business As Usual for everyone apart from the Army & the myriad volunteers who are ferociously helping the city to gain back her usual strength again. So, I would like to give a heartfelt salute to those selfless individuals before jumping into the review of The Good Dinosaur.

Pixar has always had an element of magic in them especially coming from the highly innovative stables of Steve Jobs. They have weaved in their meticulous enchantments through stellar films like Toy Story, Incredibles, Wall-E, Brave, Monster's Inc & Monster's University, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Up, Inside Out to the latest The Good Dinosaur. This year is even more very significant as it marked the only year since 1995 where two Pixar movies have been released to thoroughly entertain the audience - Inside Out & The Good Dinosaur. So, everyone knew that at least one movie would win the coveted Oscar for this year as no Pixar movies got released in 2014.

Intense. Deep. Emotional. A full family adventure with lots of laughs that is sure to keep the children and the adults completely engaged in this wonderful prehistoric ride. As far as the story is concerned, kindly rush to the nearest theatre to watch this visual spectacle of landscapes which seemed more real than a CGI. The rivers, mountains, forests, trees - they were literally as identical and indistinguishable from the actual forests, trees etc. which makes us to be simply amazed and dazed at the level of effort that has gone through to make the environment to be natural as possible. However, a small backdrop to the story - it's not new or ground-breaking as Wall-E or Ratatouille. Yet the director has managed to rope in enough resources to generate a screenplay that is sure to keep you away from your yawns and be happy when you walk from the theatres. Certain scenes in the movie were truly memorable and remarkable - for instance, the scene where Arlo explains what a family is & what became of his dad using sticks and the way Spot said his sad story in the same manner with the addition of throwing sand over the sticks was evocative and poignant moving me to tears. Similarly, the climax also evoked a strong emotional connect with the film and had my tear gland to swell open again. This is something which Pixar has been able to do something on a regular and consistent basis - Toy Story or Wall-E or Brave or Up. The only drawback was that the story could have been a bit strong and the VFX for the predecessors of T-Rex could have better. They looked much like the plastic models on the platforms! Apart from that, The Good Dinosaur is a story telling a strong friendship between a scared dinosaur and a critter and how the dinosaur eventually goes through his fears to come out of his fearful nature. Ultimately, it is Spot who had the Spotlight throughout the movie with his over cuteness and protective instinct for Arlo.

The Pixar mojo delivers again. It is no relevation!

TESTing Times!

Focus. Concentration. Patience. Perseverance. Dogged Resolution. Strong Will Power. Never-say-die Attitude. Adaptability. Great Spunk and Stamina - Physical & Mental. Consistency. Endurance. The admirable qualities that define the hallmark of a true test player who battles and grinds themselves against average and tough oppositions in tricky, unplayable and alien conditions. The sheer pleasure of watching a team fighting tooth and nail for their survival either on seaming & swinging conditions of Day 1 or the unpredictable turn & variable bounce on Day 4/5 is what makes Test Cricket to stand heads above than the other forms of cricket. Though Test Cricket has undergone extensive changes till date since its inception in 1887, the bedrock of the longer format remains the same - the one who adapts exceptionally well to the surroundings and has the necessary skills & techniques to execute their range of defence and shots can not only survive but also flourish even on demonic tracks. The beauty of the game is such that the highly agile & dynamic AB De Villiers, who holds the fastest record for scoring 50, 100 and 150 runs in ODIs, was happy defending against the Aussies in their own hunting ground by scoring a mere 33 runs from 220 deliveries without a boundary! You need to be flexible enough to constantly adapt as the situation demands to fit into the conditions of the game for longer periods in the longer format of the sport.

For purists and sticklers to conventions, Test Cricket still remains and would remain to be the crowning glory for eternity. However, the spectators do not seem to match their interests actively. The waning popularity of test matches was evident from the vacant stadiums in West Indies & other parts of the world and the meteoric rise of T20s. Also, it can be attributed to other factors like lack of sponsorships citing the evaporating interest of test cricket with the current generation & IPL and other T20 formats which occupies a significant chunk of the cricket calendar. Test Cricket desperately needed a new fresh of air to match the pulse of the current generation who are always in a hurried need of instant gratification. The change was contemplated and deliberated for a while and then it happened. The neighbours, Australia and New Zealand, were to lock horns with each other in what is to be the world's first day/night test cricket!

Adelaide was the venue to host this new innovation to revamp and cast test cricket in a bright light under floodlights! Though the match was won by Australia and securely wrapped up the series, it was the match which ultimately caught the attention and hearts of not only the spectators but also broadcasters and administrators. The game brought in a whopping 120000 people in the 3 days that the match had lasted. Not to mention the equal balance between the ball and bat for both the teams. Although the contest got completed in 3 days time, both the teams struggled against the seaming pink Kookaburra cherry in the lights. The world also witnessed the world's first dinner break in the entire 138 year Test Cricket History. It is sure to go into the annals of chapters as a truly memorable and cherishable event. Likewise, the captains of Australia and New Zealand, Smith and Baz, have already acknowledged and accepted the resounding triumph of the game's newfangled concept. Though certain modifications needed to be done as far as the ball is concerned as the batsmen found it difficult to read the seam of the pink cherry, changes will be surely be made for the better to improve the overall quality of the game. For ardent cricket lovers who are really passionate and care about the 5 day competition,  the Day/Night test has indeed resuscitated test cricket from the dead giving the much needed spark and impetus for this gentleman's game to prosper for perpetuity.

Nagpur Test – A Substandard pitch or a Sporting turf?

The second test was completely washed out in Bangalore. All eyes turned now to the venue of the third test where test history beckoned India to be the first team in a decade to beat the Africans in a series away from their home grounds.  Trailing one-nil in the series, the South Africans had a massive task cut out ahead of them. Like a first rank student coming out of the examination hall beaming after answering all the questions right, the Indians strolled into Nagpur with all smiles knowing very well that they had something in their weaponry which the Proteas did not possess – Quality spinners. Unfortunately, the Indians also succumbed to the mediocre Proteas spinners and the Africans were destructively demolished by the better Indian spinners. Though the match was done and dusted in a matter of 3 days and Indians won the game hands down, the manner in which the pitch was prepared raised a lot of eyebrows and drew in a lot of flaks from the cricketing world for such a rank turner. The Indians winning against the Africans in Nagpur was more like a hefty, muscly and powerful school bully mercilessly beating to pulp a meek, timid and helpless kid!

The Indians were all out for 215 in their first innings on day 2 thanks to 2 gritty and very helpful 30s knock from Saha and Jadeja. What followed was a disaster of epic proportions much like how the Aussies folded up very cheaply for 47 against South Africa in South Africa, at least that was on day 2! On that fateful day, 23 wickets had fallen like nine pins and our Nagpur wicket gave stiff competition to Cape Town pitch by capping in 20 wickets on day 2 again! The 47 was scored in the Oz second innings unlike the 79 in the African's first innings. In fact, Michael Clarke had scored 150 odd runs in their first innings of that test match. The comparison was brought in as every home team prepares and lays a pitch that suits their needs to gain an additional upper hand yet without compromising on the element of sportivity. Everyone knows that South Africa plays spin badly just like how Indians are uncomfortable on seamy & bouncy conditions. 

Like how Pakistan starts shooting on kids when they innocently cross the LoC, all hell would break only when people cross the border! Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened in Nagpur. It is perfectly agreeable when a pitch helps the home team. But, to see that our very own team succumbing to the gentle spin of Harmer and Tahir which escalated the pitch wars to be a World War 3! The entire cricketing fraternity took up to the Twitter Universe to rant and vent off their feelings on the diabolical nature of the turf which included the likes of Micheal Vaughan, Michael Clarke, Mathew Hayden, Glen Maxwell to name a few. However, Gibbs made a profound point when he pointed out that it's not wrong for a pitch that starts to turn right away from Day 1. A very good view which opposes the traditional way that a test match has been played till date: Day 1 - 1st session - swing, seam and fast bowlers. Day 1 - 2nd session to Day 3 - last session - batsmen. And Day 4 & Day 5 belonging to the wily spinners and skilled batsmen. However, Gibbs point of reference is very valid and pertinent for a pitch that is naturally allowed to turn from Day 1 and not doctored to behave in an artificial way. Much of the anger was directed at the fact that Nagpur's wicket was engineered beyond the permissible limits of play. No one refutes that being the Number one team in the world, the Proteas should have been equipped to play spin better mainly if they were playing in the sub-continent especially India . With tonnes of runs behind his back and bat, even Hashim Amla acknowledged that this was the toughest turf he had ever played in his life and it would have been even more miserable had they faced Kumble and Harbhajan on these tracks! Nagpur wicket was more a RETURNING pitch than a TURNING turf! Batsmen walked in and walked off the field in the blink of an eye.

As ever as the eternal saying goes "There are 2 sides to a coin"!! It is high time that every country produces a wicket that is even footed covering all aspects of the game - bowling as well as scoring runs instead of heavily tilting in the favor either for the bowlers or the batsmen. The beautiful nature of Test Cricket is already on the verge of  becoming extinct with the advent of T20s where the spectators are loving more of the fast paced and adrenaline packed action than the slow and patient version of the game that actually tests the skills and ability of a player. When people constructs such pitches in future too, the audience will surely lose their interest in the game thus sounding the death bell to strike for Test Cricket and then everyone can lament how the graceful gentleman's game had fallen from such great heights into a deeply dug grave for the sake of being result-oriented instead of  a sporting and hard-fought draw. Time is running out lest the score card should read all out for test Cricket!

A Tale of 2 Continents!

History was made last week in 2 different geographies duly separated by the vast Indian Ocean. Usually, when a significant event occurs in any part of the world, the only common denominator would be the people excluding the circumstances that may have been prevalent and contributed to the historic event in that place and at that point of time.  However, there is a perceptible link that connects the 2 regions which were mentioned earlier - Cricket. As George Bernard Shaw had once famously said”Cricket is a game played by 11 fools and watched by 11,000 fools". There were millions of fools, cheering in the stadium, watching it on TV and checking out the scores on Mobile apps, who were waiting with bated breath for the epoch-marking and headline grabbing games to quickly begin in Nagpur and Adelaide respectively. Cricket matches, be it ODI, T20 or the test version, happen throughout the entire 365 days in some country or the other. So, what was special with these 2 venues?

In the land of the cricket-driven and cricket revered India, the Proteas were on the verge of losing their highly consistent overseas track record where they had not been beaten in a series by any country to close to a decade. Having won the ODI series and T20 comfortably, they marched on a high and brimming with confidence into the test series until they ran into the wily Ashwin who simply terrorized the South African batsmen with his wide array of tricks that were hidden secretly under his sleeve.  Even the likes of the ever dependable Amla, the dashing De Villiers and the dedicated Du Plessis had no answer to the web spun around them by the Indian trio - Ashwin, Jaddu and Mishra. The South Africans were like a cat on a hot tin roof on seeing the prodigious spin and turn that the pitch was massively offering and assisting the spinners. Though the Indians were supposed to be good at playing spin, even they were tremendously troubled by the gentle likes of Harmer and Tahir. In the end, the Indians won the first match. The second was washed out due to heavy rains and the third was the final nail in the coffin for South Africa's away wins. There was no denying that the pitch was not conducive to the batsmen to play their shots but they made the pitch to look even worse and unplayable. This would be covered in another blog but for now, the match as a whole is covered. This was Virat Kohli's second series win in a row and is sure to silence those who had questioned his captaining abilities when Dhoni retired rather abruptly during the Australian series and was asked to fill up the big shoes of MSD. The South Africans would have learnt a very good lesson that despite an excellent line-up, they still have gigantic mountains to climb when it comes to playing spin to be truly dominating the cricketing arena like the West Indies of the 70s or Aussies of the late 90s. On the other hand, the Indians should not have any sense of complacency for beating the Number 1 team in the world as the pitch played its part as much as their spinners.  Lessons should have been learnt but the application of those lessons should be seen only in the upcoming tests.

When India was hurtling spin missiles at the Africans and decimating them, the competitive & combative Oz and the warm & friendly Kiwis were at loggerheads with each other in Australia. The first match was won comprehensively by the mighty Aussies. The second test ended in a draw. But, the historic moment was captured in the third test @ Adelaide where the world’s first official Day/Night test was to be held and the red cherry was to be replaced by the pink Kookaburra. It was also the first time when the world witnessed the first dinner break in the entire 138 year Cricket history! Under lights, it was surreal to see the two neighbouring countries battling against the seaming conditions on a pitch that has always favoured the batsmen. The pitch was left so green that no hundreds were scored by either team during the 3 days of play. The audience were left enthralled to the extent that it broke the house record for the attendance @ Adelaide. The funny part is that it did not involve England! At the fag end of the third day’s play, Aussies became the first team in the world to win the first ever Day/Night test match amidst the heatedly disputed and controversy surrounding over Lyon’s decision in the first innings.

Ultimately, it boils to the incontrovertible fact that the chapters of Test Cricket were rewritten in the swift span of only 7 days. The South Africans have a daunting task ahead in front of them. The Indians, despite wrapping up the series, need to show to the world that they can beat a challenging opponent on a sporting wicket. Last but not the least, whether purists and traditionalists of the longer version of the game accept it and like it or not, Day/Night test matches are here to stay.

The Hunger Games - Part 2 - A Hobbling final act!

LOTR. Harry Potter. The Bourne Series. Twilight and now The Hunger Games. One more book series is successfully laid to rest after raking in millions from the revolutionary franchise!

"Welcome to the 76th Hunger Games" whispered Gale into Katniss's ears and the entire theatre erupted into volcanic chants and rooted for Katniss to win for one last time against a very redoubtable and commanding opponent in this concluding quartet - President Snow himself. However, there was a twist. Though the twist was as predictable as a hero emerging triumphant over the villain in the climax of every wood industry, the way in which the narration had slowly meandered its way to the final scene was nothing short of the usual formulaic film. As was the problem with Harry Potter and Twilight series when the producers and directors decided to rip apart the concluding part into two just for the sake of milking in the extra cash, The Mockingjay Part 2 too suffered a very similar fate. The movie was at times being dragged to the extent that even a snapping rubber band would stretch itself beyond its limited breaking point! The movie had a solid run time of close to 150 minutes including the intermission. With a crisper editing and a racier screenplay, The Mockingjay would have ensured that it satiated the hunger of the audience who have been assiduously following the series since 2012. Th film heavily relies on the quiver-carrying J-Lo who failed to impress in the most vital scene - her pep talk to invigorate the people to launch an all out attack on Snow was more demotivating than otherwise. 

Undoubtedly the movie had it own good moments like the Underground chase where the Mutts attack the squad.  Although a deep sense of foreboding engulfed the tensed pods sequences, the escape could have been orchestrated into an exciting edge of the seat thriller rather than as the tepid lull as showcased in the movie. The final confrontation between Snow and Katniss was indeed a revelation for not only to Katniss but also to the devious Snow himself to know the actual mastermind behind his splendid downfall. Eventually, Snow was buried in the snow by the angry mob who had thronged to the Capitol in multitudes to witness his execution. What should have been a glorious firework of a finish got ended rather as a shall-I-burst-thinking kind of cracker. 

Epilogue:

Those who are tear-eyed after the movie's end that they cannot see J-Lo as Katniss again on the big screen, fret not. There is a rumor that Lionsgate has planned to release prequels and sequels to this money generating akshayapatra!

Epilogue 1:
The review on Mockingjay Part 2 will seem very tangential and not have touched the depth of the bottom. Unfortunately, the review can be only as good as the movie is!  

Spectre - A soulless spirit!

Imagine a slimmer and fitter Ajith sporting silky suits who has a troubled past which comes to haunt him in the form of his devious and devilish brother. You pepper in two ravishing looking girls with deleted kiss scenes and action sequences in swashbuckling locales. And oh yes! No songs in the movie - intro, romance or sad. Voila! What we have is a typical Kollywood movie with a stylish touch to it. Does it ring a bell somewhere? Yes. Ajith had almost reprised James Bondesque role even in Billa 1. Spectre, if it had been directed by an Indian Director, would have been the perfect platform to announce officially that he is the most apt person to play as James Bond at least in India! 

I am not going to let the cat out of the bag by revealing Spectre's story. Kindly watch the movie and find it out for yourself. If your decision is to watch it in IMAX, then it is well and good as the IMAX actually spared the Bond franchise's blushes. Yes. The IMAX format got finally screened in Chennai. The experience was worth the surprising and out-of-the ordinary cost but not for the latest Bond movie! The review is as follows minus the story!

When you have a list of options to be checked against the imperatives for an 007 picture, almost all the boxes get ticked. A Suave and Sophisticated Hero. Bad Villain. Sexy Girls. The Theme song. The all-famous punch dialogue. Speedy cars. Pounding action sequences. Wry One-liners. So, why did I say the film lacked life and boring? Simple. One of the most important check boxes remained unchecked till the very end. STORY. To put it in a nutshell, Spectre is more Kollywood-esque than Hollywood as far as the story is concerned excepting the indisputable fact that Spectre's budget would be many many manifold times than an average Tamil film.

Even the full potential of actors like Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott, and Monica Bellucci weren't completely utilized especially the services of Christoph Waltz who has so gracefully, menacingly and delightfully had given stellar performances in The Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. The moment it was known that C.Waltz was playing Number 1, anticipations were sky high and only to become downfall by the end. It was not that he had performed badly. He had done enough justice to the role in the limited screen frame and time frame he had been allotted in the movie. His screen presence could have been more in the film to showcase the entire range of arsenal which C. Waltz possesses. Unfortunately, that was not the case with the weak story.  

In the end, when Bond says "Time flies" and the watch-bomb bursts, I realized that the time was actually going very slow in reality. Now, it's up to the new and unknown Bond to deliver an exceptional performance in the next Bond outing to make it a truly memorable and unforgettable one with his signature "Bond...James Bond" dialogue!

Chennai's Water Woes - Part 2

So, the million dollar question. Does the Chennai citizens feel even a modicum of safety in this harsh and bitter weather ? The answer is a simple , straightforward  thundering and lightning no. This is extremely evident from the fact that 2 people were electrocuted in KK Nagar when the electric line snapped out and touched the waters when the unfortunate incident occurred. Though the city faced severe power outages when heavy winds and rains lashed and torn into the very heart of the city , it is still basic common sense that the power supply should have been discontinued until the weather was at least all fine and dandy. Even on Sunday, a husband and wife were electrocuted on the spot in Velachery when the electric cable fractured and fell on them causing the government to suspend 4 people.

This is just the beginning. Stagnant water is the ideal place for mosquitoes to increase their population and spread deadly diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya. As the sewers have beautifully mixed in enormous proportions with the rain water, it would be only uncommon if the hospitals aren't frequented by people suffering from cholera, diarrhoea and food poisoning. This situation would be highly relevant to those who reside alongside the Adyar river when the hydrogen oxide from Chembarabakkam lake was released thus causing the polluted and stinking Adyar river overflow to venture boldly and freely into the neighbouring vicinity. The government is stepping up on the gas by having free medicines distributed to all the people through their emergency health camps set up in the hospitals. But, this is like licking the wounds and making it better when the wound could have been avoided in the first place. The rainy weather showed not just the gross mismanagement of the government to handle a severe crisis but also their colossal inability to make the best use of the technologies available to have mitigated the extent of the damages caused by the floods. In short, the government missed out on their management!

Every cloud has a silver lining. The 4 major reservoirs in Chennai - Chembarabakkam, Poondi, Red Hills and Cholavaram - are almost filled up to their brims. This ensures that Chennai, where a bucket of water can cost Rs10 due to the acute water shortages experienced in the scorching Summer months, can heave a sigh of big relief and be all smiles as even today, our esteemed Chief Minister Jayalalitha has said that 850 million liters of water can be given to the city from its previous 537 million liters per day. 

However, the big 72 font size question remains - Does the battle wounded city is prepared to combat another low pressure when it strikes her again? As far as the Met Department news is concerned , there is one more low pressure that has been formed and may bring heavy rainfall to the city. Chennai has already submerged like the Titanic and is very slowly swimming back to the surface to be alive. Considering and seeing fully the lack of proactive preparedness and effective planning by the Government,  Chennai would be another Atlantis when the next massive cloudburst happens unless expedient steps are taken urgently to address the city's drainage issues thus guarding this favorite and fabulous city from the savage weather thus sustaining her till eternity

                                                                  X----concluded----X