He came at me with his knee! His sociopathic knee!

Adam's Apples (2005)

Rating 4.5/5.0
Where 5.0 is where it all started

This film makes me want to go back to the days when I would sit on my bed with a remote in hand, in front of a TV I had bought on 12 EMIs, watching 5 films a day on weekends, 2 films a day on weekdays -- the time when I gaped endlessly at films made by Bresson, Tarantino, Fellini, Almodavar, Seijun Suzuki and many others of their ilk; and every film they made stunned me, made me stop, made me think, made me wonder -- how could they create something so flawless, so timeless. Those were the days man. And these are the days too. Those days I was receiving the best...now I'm creating something as best as I can. And receiving right is like the foundation of building something good. What else is there to life: either you receive what others have made or you create something -- and if you need to do these then why not do your best -- why not watch, read, listen to and meet whatever you think is the best and try to create whatever you can, as best as you can. Life is too short for the mediocre, the ordinary.

Wonderful film this. I think very soon I need to go back to a cycle of receiving in order to create something new, maybe even something flawless.

IMDB link here

Trinidad is my favorite country...

Hari Om Sharan - Premanjali Pushpanjali (a collection of Bhajans)

Rating 5.0/5.0

I used to listen to Michael Jackson wonsaonatime -- Thriller used to be my favorite album, then my tastes underwent a cataclysmic change and I was cleansed of Michael Ji and all forms of dance music forever. I thought the same would happen to all the music I heard as a child growing up in Nana's house -- I was wrong. 


I remember waking up at 6 AM when Nana would put on Vividh Bharati -- and they always played Hari Om Sharan's bhajans. His voice -- steeped in love, devotion and simplicity; and the lyrics -- with deep compassion for the paradoxes that we mortals struggle with and the gentle nudge towards living a better life and having faith in God. Is there any other musician who has made life beautiful for so many Indians across the world?


And I didn't see any felicitations, any recognition from his country on the Wiki page. The Trinidad Government felicitated him in 2005. Now, that's a crying shame.


No point, he wouldn't have cared two hoots I guess....but one thing I'm sure of...my kid will listen to Hari Uncle till he/she can understand what a 'pause' button is -- and I hope even then he/she doesn't press it. I hope his/her kid too listens to him. Hope is a wonderful thing.


Here's hoping his voice never dies. 


His Wikipedia page 

Trees and people used to be good friends

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Rating 4.75/5.0

where 5.0 is another animation film that hits all the right spots


This film is a poem.

It's the definition of psychedelic without being psychedelic. It's the definition of a kiddie film without being just a film for kids. This is what kids and adults should be watching together -- to grow; to learn; and to unlearn. Going by how I have changed since I was a kid -- I need to grow all over again; and I need to learn and unlearn a lot before I can become the happy child that I once knew. My Neighbor Totoro is like a magic potion that aids your return to innocence.

Watch it even if you don't want to grow or learn. Watch it for the animation -- it takes you to the world where you would rather be -- a world which you don't know why you abandoned for the insane mass of concrete you now call home.

IMDB link here

Have YOU actually ever met anyone named McLovin?

Superbad (2007)
Rating 5.0/5.0
Where 5 is another beautiful ode to friendship

I thought this would be a good way to kill time...it turned out to be a much more. I like films like these -- you expect an inane American comedy like American Pie and you end up watching something which is actually....who cares what it is actually...what it is actually is actually %$$#$##$%...Why am I trying to form a coherent sentence when I already know what I need to write???? Here it is -

This is Deep Shit man! Yeah!

Superbad is an ode to friendship. It's subtle -- it sort of creeps up on you while you're laughing and before you know it, you're eyes are wet and you're back in high school. Brilliant!

Imdb link here

20 seconds of courage

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

Rating 3.75/5.0

"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it."


That's what Matt Damon's character in the movie says to his son. Does something great come of 20 seconds of insane courage? Watch the film to know -- it's based on a true story.

A note to myself: Tripathi, for God's sake stop it! Stop it man! Stop it! Three exclamation marks in a line, stop it maaaan!!!! Now they are 7, SEVEN! Oh shit, one more, this is getting out of control, they are eight now, they're sneering at me, they are talking to each other -- i can see them, yes i can...shites! Now my i is not capitalized!  FUCK! Ten !s Eleven !s Twelve ......

Now I know what writers do once they're done with writing the first draft of their debut book.

They edit and they seek opinion -- and both of these are painful, very, very painful.

IMDB Link here

The joke is on us

Tom Waits - Bad As Me (2011)
Rating 4.0/5.0
Where 5.0 is the album that screens you for your intelligence before giving in and to top it all, its not even an album!

Tom Waits tells you not to blend in. But then,he also wants you to buy his record.

Everyone is trying so hard to blend in...its as if mediocrity finds something even more ordinary than itself and blends in with it and the cycle continues unabated till everything seems like a giant ball of turd. In a parallel world, a set of very smart individuals who are definitely not on Facebook are on a permanent, beautiful vacation -- its an all inclusive trip paid by the rest of the world i.e., idiots like us. These are the people who do what they are terribly good at, who do what they want to do, who live life on their own terms -- really on their own terms not 'on their own terms' the way the idiot box would like us to believe. These people - they build, destroy, reveal, hide, control, let go, manipulate, detail, unveil, discover, find and laugh as they give it all away -- they do something new each day, they don't wonder what they'll do to make the evening exciting.

Tom Waits wants us to buy his record so that he can continue doing what he's terribly good at while we screw ourselves. Don't listen to it -- its way too smart -- its a subtle joke hidden behind a beautiful rock record.

The actual review 

Paradise? Paradise can go %#$$% itself.

The Descendants (2011)
Rating 3.5/5.0
where 5 is another Alexander Payne film

I'm a nitpicker. I am. I am. And I'm going to poke holes into this one. Maybe because this has sort of become the Holy Grail of the year -- everyone says this film is great. Its not but it could have been. So here we go -

1. The script needed more moments like the last scene when Clooney and his two daughters share a blanket and ice-cream while watching TV -- nothing is said and with that the credits roll -- just stunning - that's what a great scene is and Alexander Payne is a genius at stuff like this
2. They should have taken Paul Giammati to play Clooney's role. Clooney is wasted in films like these. He is a good actor but the Descendants needs someone close to God to carry it off . Why? Because when there is not much happening as far as the script is concerned then what do you do? Simple, you act like Rhys Ifans did i Once upon a time in the Midlands
3. At 115 minutes, it is a bit too long for the script and I do understand that there are lingering moments and Clooney driving with a hawaiian song playing and the audience is supposed to understand the subtlety of the emotion being conveyed but 115 minutes!!!!

I'm done. Thank you.

Imdb link here