REVIEW OF "THE CONJURING"

Horror is a genre that has a way of affecting us, long after we leave for home. Unlike other genres the effect isn't positive and yet we are interested in the next horror movie knowing well what’s in store. Though horror is a widely reiterated genre, very few movies stand the test of time.

Expectations starts to rise from the trailer on wards  especially if the director of SAW and INSIDIOUS is returning for his next venture. And the director has hit it right in the bull’s eye.

The Warrens are called in for help after the Perrons find an unsettling presence in their new home. Add to this, the dog that senses ghosts, a cellar which should not have been opened, the  children becoming the target, you will this movie to be fairly predictable. And that’s where you go wrong.

The screenplay is so tightly knit along with some strong performances from the entire cast. The Warrens themselves have a past with demons, and as they are ready to confront their worst fears, problems rise and ultimately all hell break loose.

The tiniest objects hold the utmost importance in a horror movie. This one is no exception either. From the musical mirror thing to the chain of the Warrens to Mr. Warren’s personal museum of cursed items, everything looks creepy and haunted (I bet, the Annabelle Doll will look right through your soul.)

All this leads to ultimate climax where everything that can go wrong in an exorcism goes wrong. Adding to this macabre is the fact that the exorcism is not performed by the pastor but by Mr.Warren himself.

Having said that, THE CONJURING is definitely worth the price of admission and a must watch for all horror fans.

PS: Don’t buy a Coke for this movie because you will spill more than you drink.

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS STORY

Living in parts of United States is a group of people called “The Amish”. With a German-English tongue there are mainly populated in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. These people live a secluded life till date.

There is no electricity in their village and as a result Television, Fridge, Air Conditioner or even a mobile phone is alien to them. Their marriage is strictly within their society and anyone who breaks this rule is shunned (sent away from their society).

There is a school but education is only till Eighth grade after which the students find domestic jobs or engage in Agriculture which is the main occupation of their society. The quilts made by the women are in great demand in and around the locality. Since they except privacy from the outside world, tourism is not encouraged in their locality.  Crime rate was  Zero until…

A criminal broke into the school and caught seven children as hostage. When the police tried to negotiate, he lost his mind and killed the seven children and took his own life.

But the people did not go red on the killer, instead they responded in a way that served a slap on the rest of the world. The village elders attended the funeral ceremony of the killer and offered to help his family by all means possible.

Since the old school brought in unnecessary pain and media coverage, they razed the building over night and built a new school elsewhere.

In an atomic age where a country’s strength is measured by its nuclear arsenal, we are in desperate need of the maturity shown by these Amish people, if the word “peaceful co-existence” is to have any meaning at all.

HEIGHT OF CONFIDENCE : THE OBAMA STORY

Few years back, Barack Obama (POTUS) & Michelle Obama (First Lady) went to a restaurant for dinner. During the dinner, a man was trying to meet the couple but the Secret service refused permission.  In a moment, the secret service personnel came to Michelle Obama and whispered something in her ear. She stood up in the middle of the dinner and went outside.

When she returned, Obama enquired about the issue. Michelle replied that the person arguing with the secret service was the owner of the restaurant; he was also a friend at college and he had a crush on her. Obama smiled, if you had married him, you would have been the owner of this beautiful restaurant.

Without any hesitation the reply came back, “Had I married him, he would have been the President of the United States”.

Confidence is not about lying to yourself while trying to scare your opponent. It is about the will to make thoughts to reality. If you really mean what you say, then confidence becomes your natural virtue.

Enough bleeding for the day, come back tomorrow, I will lecture you to death in some other topic.

GI TAGS USED IN INDIA

No, this article is definitely not about GI Joe-3. In this case GI stands for Geographical Indication. The term might not ring a bell but its results are commonly in usage among us. Continue the article if the last sentence seems to puzzle.

GI is similar to trademark except that it is issued to products which associate themselves to a particular region. For e.g. Consider TEA, the formula to make a tea can be patented but the tea itself can’t be patented, but tea brewed in a particular region in an unique fashion can be given the GI tag, in this case the infamous “Darjeeling TEA”.

The main reason for issuing GI tag is to preserve the ethnic culture followed in certain rural areas and to give it global recognition.

Many such articles know to us have been issued the GI tag but we were never aware of this so called tag. Even I would not have known about it, if it wasn't for the recent article wherein the Nagpur Orange and Dharmavaram (Andhra) sarees were issued the GI tags.

Interestingly “Hyderabad Briyani” is still awaiting its GI tag due to the delays in presenting the requisite historical documents.

Few years ago a lawsuit was won by Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD) for the “Tirupathi Laddu” using the GI tag.

Some of the well known GI tags:

·        Darjeeling Tea

·        Mysore silk

·        Mysore Agarbathi

·        Kancheepuram Silk

·        Coimbatore Wet Grinder ( Yes Even I was surprised to hear it at first)

·        Mysore Sandal Soap

·        Thanjavur Paintings

·        Arani Silk

·        Konark Stone carving

·        Thanjavur Doll

·        Pattamadai pai

For more GI tags used in India:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Geographical_Indications_in_India

TELANGANA- THE REAL STORY

Telangana, the 29^th baby of Mother India has received the due date from our doctors (UPA-II). For the past decade, protests and violent movements were all that came to our mind when we say Telangana. But the history runs deep to almost 57 years, back to 1956 when the state of Andhra Pradesh was created.

Post independence, the Nizam of Hyderabad was unwilling to join the Indian union and wanted to remain as an independent nation. Hence the Indian government annexed the state of Hyderabad through Operation POLO. Lots of drama took place in the following decade as the people of Telangana refused to become part of Andhra Pradesh (yes back then itself).

But the Union Government (Congress, then too) went on as planned and created Andhra Pradesh including the states of Telengana. Several movements arose between 1956 & 2009 but none turned fruitful until this time.

I don’t want to go Vijaykanth on you by giving the Statistic details of Telangana but to be brief; it occupies 42% of the landmass, holds the majority of Rivers Krishna & Godavari and is mineral rich. Above all it has Hyderabad (along with its briyani).

People of Telengana were always locking horns with Seema- Andhra (Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema) over their treatment in terms of employment opportunity, lack of spending which was supposedly theirs. Ever since Independence, Chief Ministers from Telengana have ruled the state for only 10 years. Also the employment in Government Jobs is also proportionately low.

Now that bifurcation is complete, the new government in Telengana should ensure that justice is delivered for which the state was divided in the first place. It will be a hard time for the people of Andhra Pradesh to come in terms to what had happened to their state.

The biggest problem is that other states will start claiming new states too ( Vidharba in Maharashtra, Bodoland, Gorkhaland, four new states from UP & MP). Most activists see this as a political move by the UPA-II keeping in view the general elections next year. It will take us a year to see whether or not this gamble has paid off.

Though I felt bad about the bifurcation, the happy faces in Telangana clearly indicate that justice is finally in their reach. Let the odds be in their favor.

Review of "MADHA YANAI"

Though Vishal has been in the industry for close to a decade now, this is the first time I went to the screens to watch his movie. I know that Vishal isn’t a great actor but he has quite some potential (Avan Ivan). This movie didn’t bring it out, rather it stuck with the oldest storyline known to Tamil Cinema.

Hero comes to a new city; falls in love in heroine at first sight; fate makes them get along; villain vows to marry her; hero protects her and during a action sequence he comes up with a flashback and u can easily fill in the rest.

While the movie defies logic the action sequences defy gravity. Looks like Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) has some serious competition. If the Indian directors could add some logical sense into the action movies, then we can beat Hollywood in no time. But that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Santhanam was the only major relief to an otherwise somber movie. This wasn’t his best performance, but he comes up with very few double meaning one liners, making it enjoyable by all classes. In certain cases he demands more sympathy than humor.

The debutante (Aishwarya Arjun) has very limited scope for acting which wasn’t surprising. The songs were not only speed breakers but also irritants as none of them pleased my ear drums. Even Gana Bala’s number could not do the trick.

If you go in expecting anything other than Santhanam’s humor, then you are bound to hate this movie.

My rating: 5/10 

Review of OBLIVION

The Tom Cruise that we know chases Russians, performs some aerobic insanity out of the tallest building on earth and saves the globe in the last seconds. Well, he doesn't have to worry about saving the earth in this movie because it is already dealt with.

The movie starts with a brief story of our moon’s end, resulting catastrophe, shifting the entire planet to Titan (Saturn’s largest moon) and the ongoing fight with the so-called Scavengers, all narrated by Cruise himself.

Clearly Cruise himself agrees that his memory has been wiped after the war to protect the classified information from falling into the wrong hands. Everything goes like clockwork until a shuttle crashes with human survivors and what happens next makes Cruise doubt everything.

If a add word more than that, you will curse me for this review. So I will keep the surprises unspoiled. This movie is a unique blend of various emotional coefficients like Love, Self realization, Sacrifice & Poetry.

The visual effects have been the heart and soul of this movie. You will find the ruins of Empire State, Golden Gate Bridge and if you have your eyes peeled, you may even notice the torch of the Statue of Liberty. Since this is a post apocalyptic movie, grey dominates more than any other color, but you won’t get the irritation out of it because it is well balanced by the High Tech gadgets, drones and a house which everyone wants to put their name on.

The cast have done a pretty decent job and as a result the movie looks even more presentable. With some neat twists at the end, this flick is definitely worth the price of admission.

I would say  7.5/10