The new year began with a bang. In terms of stats.
Bang!
See that? I was so surprised during the middle of the month, that I even wrote a post expressing my disbelief and joy. So here are the posts that made Shadow Line so popular. And oh. It has even appeared on some popular quiz blogs, for which the credit goes to Shikhar Gautam and Shreyans Jain.
Posts That Made It Big
Not bad, eh? Notice how the home-page got so many hits? I did. Astonishing.
Thanks guys, for making my humble blog so popular. I mean, look at the stats two years ago. Near zero. And look now. Great stuff.
And you! You feed subscriber! Yes, you there. A special thank you to yoo too. Woo hoo!
There’s this kid in my neighbouring class (C section) known as Vinamra Shende. He’s an Assassin’s Creed fan, and a pretty good artist. Apparently, he was either getting bored to death while giving his science examination, or the pressure of tenth grade had driven him bonkers.
Bonkers in an… imaginative way.
Presenting the biggest WIN of the decade – endocrine glands!
Endocrine Glands
I hope you guys like it. I was tagged with this on Facebook.
O hai Indian readers. Happy sixty-first republic day to y’ all. My television picture tube has died, thus rendering me unable to watch any of that parade. Which was pretty boring last year anyway. Don’t get me wrong. I love my country. I simply hate BPL and Doordarshan. Things might change if Doordarshan will broadcast the Commonwealth Games in high-definition in 1080p. That is, if the Games ever happen. And even if they do, we’ll probably see poor organization in HD. I’d rather be watching Manchester United pwning Hull City in HD (which Europe watches in Sky Sports anyway).
But the main reason for this post was Twitter. You know, Twitter, that microblogging site that has taken over the world ever since Shashi Tharoor, Crater SRK and Bill Gates joined it. Today is Republic Day, and Google has a spectacular doodle. Way better than new year. Understandably, Happy Republic Day is trending on Twitter. But the reasons for apocalypse are clearer. It is not Mayans, but this.
Twitter Trends
So why Twitter? Why associate Valentines Day with India’s Republic Day, both of which have no connection whatsoever, apart from the fact that the former is fervently discouraged? Are you hinting at a Nehru-Lady Mountbatten relationship? I don’t think so. Valentine’s Day is more than a fortnight away, and even if people are talking about it, it should have a different trend.
In other, completely unrelated news, Shadow Line reached a whopping three-thousand views mark yesterday. Thank you, readers! And especially to those who have subscribed to the RSS feed. I’ve already reached thirty-thousand views this month.
Reverting back to the primary topic, I’d like to welcome you, sir, to our great country.
Don’t ask me who he is. Figure out.
The Hangover
Director: Todd Philips
Producer: Todd Philips
Daniel Goldberg
Cast: Bradley Cooper (Phil)
Ed Helms (Stu)
Zach Galifianakis (Alan)
Justin Bartha (Doug Engelbart)
When you first see the trailer for The Hangover, the first thought which will occur to your current will be “Damn. When will Hollywood learn to make original concepts? This is just another bachelor party gone bad.” And the average Douglas Adams fan will say “Poetry! They deserve poetry!“
But The Hangover stands out as a movie completely different from what you’ve expected. Directed by director Todd Phillips, The Hangover is the story of Doug’s bachelor party in Las Vegas with his friends Stuart, Phil and brother-in-law Alan. Stu had a bossy girlfriend and for her, he’s going to Wine County in Nevada, not to Vegas. Phil is a school teacher.
So off they go to Vegas in Doug’s father-in-law’s Mercedes. They rent a villa in Caesar’s Palace (which, for the record, is $4200 for the night). The script mysteriously cuts to the morning, where the four three wake up – without Doug – only to find the villa in complete mess. Not to mention a baby in the closet, a tiger in the bathroom and a chicken in the house. Stu’s missing a tooth, has a receipt of $800 from the Bellagio, and Phil has evidence that he’s been to a hospital. And they cannot remember the single thing. Now this is a premise many movies have used in the past as well, but what makes The Hangover different is that the trio tries to piece together the events in the reverse order, thus guaranteeing the screenplay writers a definite Oscar nomination.
Without revealing too much, I can safely say that the plot is unpredictable and never bores you for a single minute. There’s spice in every single scene and superb performances by all three leads make it even better. You can imagine the shock on their faces when they receive a police car instead of their Mercedes for the hotel’s car parking. Or Stu’s feelings when he realises that he’s given his to-be-engagement-ring post marriage to a stripper. In the end, they manage to find Doug in the wackiest of twist plots.
More than the plot, it is the movie-going experience you’re going to enjoy so much. The director focuses on the troubles of the actors, and not tryin to capture the tempting night-life which many other directors tend to do more often than not. The trio battle the Chinese mafia, a couple of police officers and have a trip down to a casino. The scene in the casino where Alan plays Blackjack is probably the most hilarious scene in the entire movie. There’s a cameo by boxing champion Mike Tyson as well, who does what he does best – punch out!
Bradley Cooper as the playboy Phil is excellent and so is Ed Helms, who plays a disgruntled Stuart Price. But the real star of the show is Zach Galifianakis who plays immature Alan Garner. His stupid one-liners and crazy acts (including one where he slices off his palm) are hilarious and done with effortless sincerity. The constant bickering and hilarious insults thrown at each other will leave you in splits, and there’s no surprise you’ll end up on the floor, rather than on the chair you’re sitting while watching The Hangover.
To sum it up, I can say that The Hangover is the best comedy film this year, and deserves all the awards it is getting. Sharply written, surprising, exhilarating, unpredictable, hilarious and mind-blowing to leave you flabbergasting (and rolling on the floor), The Hangover is an amazing film. A few explicit scenes puts me off though, but overall, I recommend The Hangover for every (teenage) person . It’ll help forget all your worries and will go down in your memory as the best comedy film. Ever.
Plot: ∞
Acting: ∞
Screenplay: ∞
Direction: ∞
Feel: ∞
Oh, and don’t give me that nonsense about not being able to multiply with infinity and all that. Chuck Norris can do it, Jack Bauer can do it, and so can Todd Philips. Once you’ll The Hangover, you’ll agree with me.
3 Idiots
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Cast: Aamir Khan (Ranchoddas Shyamaldas Chanchad)
Madhavan (Farhan Qureshi)
Sharman Joshi (Raju Rastogi)
Boman Irani (Viru Sahastrabuddhe)
Kareena Kapoor (Pia Sahastrabuddhe)
Omi Vaidya (Chatur Ramalingam)
3 Idiots was definitely the most anticipated film of the year. As usual, Aamir Khan went forward with his plans for world domination by publicizing the movie at a huge level, thus raising the expectations of the masses. But most importantly, the Aamir Khan-Raju Hirani partnership was seen as the harbinger of the revival of the Bollywood economy, which had taken a plunge in 2009.
3 Idiots has an ingenious plot which does seem weird at sometimes, but is acceptable, nevertheless. Aamir Khan plays Ranchoddas “Rancho” Shyamaldas Chanchad, who becomes an idol for his friends and roommates Raju (played by S-her-man Joshi) and, especially, Farhan (played by Mad-havan), in the Imperial College of Engineering (based loosely on the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi). All three friends are from different backgrounds and are in the college (which has Boman Irani playing Viru, the dean) for their own reasons – both Raju and Farhan “first aana chahte hain“, and Rancho comes for the sole purpose of becoming a good engineer. Towards the middle of the film, Rancho mysteriously disappears, and is hunted down by Raju and Farhan.
As you can see, I didn’t mention Kareena Kapoor anywhere in the plot. Why? Because it’s not important. That’s why. If her character had been ripped apart from the film completely, 3 Idiots would have been considerably shorter by at least twenty minutes, and thus, more enjoyable. In fact, Kareena Kapoor exists because there’s an unwritten rule in Bollywood.
A Bollywood film cannot be a commercial success unless it stars a female lead who plays the male lead’s love interest.
Rajkumar Hirani uses that trademark feel-good-film style direction which we were acquainted with in his successful Munnabhai series. The plot swiftly alternates between light and heavy moments, without boring you one bit. Most of the jokes are clichéd, but the sheer performance given by the film’s cast pulls off even cheap and amateurish jokes superbly, leaving you in splits. Boman Irani is in fine form as the typical college dean, complete with a lifp and high-waist trousers. The fine actor he is, Aamir Khan pulls off the easy-going, happy-go-lucky Rancho’s character effortlessly, without letting you have the impression that he is forty, and is playing a character of nearly half his age. Madhavan and and Sharman Joshi deliver good performances too, as does Kareena Kapoor, although she has a small role to play).
He's so obsessed with Math, that he's mastered a parabolic smile
But 3 Idiots suffers from some weird WTF (pardon my French) moments. Rancho’s “All Iz Well” [sic] mantra appears to be a nice little way to calm your heart and deal with situations, but it is taken a tad
Very Inconspicuous
too far, where the mere utterance of the word causes a baby to kick in its mother’s tummy. There’s a scene involving a paralyzed man being driven on a scooter to hospital without considering the fact that some infection will lead to certain death. Not only that, but the scooter rams straight into Fortis Hospital, into the patients’ ward, brushing security as if it were trivial to concentrate on such matters. As even the Father of the Internet pointed out, it showcases how “important” security is for Fortis. There are shots where the camera deliberately hangs over a Fortis sign, or an AirTel USB Internet modem (twice). But the most unbelievable bit of all was the delivery of a table using a vacuum cleaner running on car batteries on a ping-pong table. Yes. You heard it. A ping-pong table, which, incidentally, also fell apart during one of the scenes in the film. Rancho’s character is far too perfect for the real world. He goes on to become the most successful of them all, despite his happy-go-lucky attitude. He tops the class, wins everybody’s hearts, makes parents happy, forces Farhan to change his entire career, becomes a super-successful scientist and still gets the girl? I don’t think so.
Most of the story is told in a flashback form, with Farhan reciting the story and skipping over to reality at regular intervals. The suspense of what happens next keeps you hooked on.
But you know what really saves 3 Idiots? You know what? Not only the light-hearted moments, but the real star and revelation Omi Vaidya, who plays Chatur Ramalingam, and is the butt of most jokes. An NRI whose knowledge of Hindi language is negligible, Chatur is the serious guy in the class, always studying and aiming to become the champion. In addition to his arresting performance, 3 Idiots works because it makes an emotional connection with the audience, and wittily stressing at pointed jabs towards our grading system. The message it ultimately delivers is true, and something that we need to think about. Which is why, friends, 3 Idiots is a movie you simply have to watch for the sheer entertainment it offers. Rajkumar Hirani has made better films, and I have seen better films.
Watch the 3 Idiots Theatrical Trailer
Plot: 7
Acting: 10
Screenplay: 8
Direction: 8
Feel: 9
And, by the way, 3 Idiots has become so famous, BoingBoing has a post about it, urging readers to go and see it, even if they don’t speak English.
International Movie Database : 8.1/10
Times of India (Nikhat Kazmi) : 5/5
Hindustan Times (Mayank Shekhar) : 3.5/5
BollywoodHungama (Taran Adarsh) : 4.5/5
CNN-IBN (Rajeev Masand) : 3/5
Originally posted on Linux4Indians.
I finished my Social Science pre-board yesterday, came home, and fired open Firefox. Facebook, Echofon, and Mail. Then I visited WordPress, and checked the Shadow Line stats. I hadn’t written anything new of substance (last post was on new year’s day), and didn’t expect anything magical. Just the regular, measly 300-odd page-views for the day.
HOLY SAUCY PASTAS!
Page Views For Thursday
Well thank FSM mom wasn’t home, or she’d think Social Science had finally taken its toll over my brain. Of course, this was a one-day occurrence. The Avatar Movie Review post. Probably some people had gone bonkers over the fantastic movie, and wanted to read about it. Of course, it didn’t stop me from tweeting about it.
But it happened again. Yesterday.
Blog Views For Friday
And is already happening again today.
Blog Views For Saturday
This can mean only two things:
1) The world is ending because the Mayans are enraged with me writing giving a bad review about their movie.
2) I’m making it big in the blogging world! Yeah, baby!
I have officially moved Shadow Line to another place. Shubham was kind enough to offer me this space, and all the posts and comments have been moved to it. The URL is
http://linux4indians.com/aditya
Of course, this does not mean that I will stop writing here. I will post at both places, but I suggest to have a look at the new blog. I’ve put up an amazing theme and am experimenting with plugins as well. Toodles!
Since its a blog hosted on another domain, I can embed all the Flashy stuff with no problems. You can even sign up at the Linux4Indians forum, which is a great place for all tech enthusiasts.
Here’s wishing all my blog readers a very happy new year! You’ve been a great support, and the response to this blog has been nothing short of overwhelming. Wish you a happy 2010! And congratulations to the Congress government in keeping 2009 a terror-free year. Keep it up, guys, instead of running behind Cattle classes and visas.
And oh, lets hope Tweet is not so lonely anymore.
But since this is a technology blog, I’d like to post something tech here. See what happens when Google’s I’m Feeling Lucky button is clicked.
And there’s some animated firecrackers now. Looks really substandard stuff. Nothing really nice. Honestly, its quite embarassing. Quite below Google’s standards.
So long, folks! This blog will not be really frequent in updates, as I have my pre-boards, and then boards coming up. But I will try posting.
In other news, I’ve been reading Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl. Interesting read. Don’t expect reviews.
Avatar Release Poster
Director: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron
Jon Landau
Writer: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
Zoe Saldana as Neytri
Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
Review
When was the last time you saw a film which had you awed, and you thought about it even days later? When was the last time you saw something so divine, and saw flawless, that you felt like applauding? Probably, the last time that happened for me was when I saw Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Never. Ever. Before. Has a movie been made like Avatar, which combines an extremely high budget ($230 million plus $150 million for promotion), great acting and a fairly good plot along with a message to make a thundering impact on the souls of all viewers? I doubt it.
Avatar has taken India by storm. Tickets had been booked a day in advance, and watching the current show in 3D is out of question, unless you plan it a day in advance. I saw Avatar at PVR Plaza in Rajiv Chowk, and the cinema hall was jam-packed.
The main character, Jake Sully, is a crippled US Marine who signs up for an Avatar programme which involves mining this mineral called Unobtanium, so that an energy crisis gripping the earth can be solved. (For those who don’t know, Unobtanium is a name given to any material which is “un-obtainable” to run anything. For example, an unobtanium-made-pulley may be frictionless, which is pretty impossible). This wicked stuff is available on a moon (Pandora) which orbits a planet which further orbits Alpha Centauri. This stone can be obtained only with the cooperation of the Na ‘vi, tall, blue-skinned inhabitants of Pandora. They’re primitive as compared to the humans, but more physically capable. They also have these USB ports in their hair, which they can plug into trees and horses. Badass, this.
Basically, the main character, Jake Sully, is on Pandora to control an “avatar” of himself, and become a Na ‘vi mentally, when physically wired up in a bunker. He’s got to convince the Na ‘vi to give him the Unobtanium, but finally realises that the humans are wrong. And he fights (in the end; this was inevitable) for the Na ‘vi against the humans.
You’ll notice that the plot is simple, and even predictable in some parts. But it’s not the plot you’re basically concentrating on here. It’s the visual effects. Of course, there are movies in the past which have made exactly the same blunder, thus compromising on other aspects and some who focus more on the plot, and not just visual effects. But Cameron does both, and makes a surprisingly good balance between both. The fact that Avatar is so visually pleasing, makes you forget the plot and think more about how Cameron made the environment? Remember: it’s a whole new world, and all new creatures, so it has to be made from scratch. Hundreds of people cannot by physically dyed blue, so that had to be CGI as well. What James Cameron has created and visualised is not mere scenery – it’s an entire universe, like the Middle Earth in LOTR, and unlike it as well, as Avatar cannot simply be shot in New Zealand. Cameron attached probes to all of his actors and used revolutionary new motion capture technology.
Everything you see here, is computer generated.
The acting is also great, although there is not much scope of acting. The emotions do come out well, especially in those scenes when the Na ‘vi’s homes are felled cruelly by the army. Their cries will echo even after a long, long time. Its that brief period of emotional connections that probably sets the pace for the next hour of the movie.
Something else is the totally believable universe Avatar is set in. I mean, the technology is not something which can make you go “Come on!”. Its something humans are close to achieving. In the end, it also gives an important message about saving the environment, and not getting into energy crises (which is not very far). But all this is unimportant; where Avatar really trumps is the overall experience of it. Of how everything seems to be there in the movie. Love, action, drama, emotion, jealousy, power, and so on. It may not be the best film ever, but it’s certainly one of the most complete and entertaining film. Do watch it, and do so in 3D, as that is how Cameron would like you to experience it. Looks like the huge $230 million dollar gamble, like Titanic, paid off.
Here’s the theatrical trailer for Avatar. Do watch it in full screen HD.
Plot: 8
Acting: 9
Visual+Sound Effects: 10
Direction: 10
Feel: 10
The King
Fifteen years ago, a company named Sony released a gaming console named PlayStation. They actually felt that a newcomer could take on Sega (which was the world leader in gaming consoles at that time) and Nintendo (which was riding high on the waves of success with the Nintendo Entertainment System).
They were right. Despite being the underdog, PlayStation went on to become the best gaming console of all time, and also an example for all those hard-work-can-help-you-succeed reality shows on TV.
But why do I call the PlayStation the best console ever? No. Not because of the looks or hardware, but because of the legacy it went on to inspire. It was almost single-handedly responsible for boosting the gaming market, even though Nintendo had successfully revived it after the Video Game Crash of 1983.
It paved the foundation for so many consoles such as the trendy PlayStation Portable, the best-selling and most successful console of all time – the PlayStation 2, and the mini-supercomputer, the PlayStation 3. The controls of the original PlayStation were so popular, that the entire layout has been copied onto Sony’s other consoles. With negligible modifications.
The Original PlayStation controller. Analog sticks were included later
See that? NO modification.
A slight change here, to minimise space But the overall layout remains the same. Start and Select are still there.
No change. Again. Except for the PlayStation button.
Not only controller design, but, most importantly, the games released first for the PlayStation are now major money-spinners in the gaming market.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk is better known through the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, than by his own, marvelous achievements. Activision brought us this superb skating simulation game which had everyone hooked on. Activision didn’t stop here. They released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 which also became critically and commercially acclaimed hits on its successor console, the PS2.
Metal Gear Solid
This time, Konami decided to teach a thing or two about stealth to PlayStation users. Metal Gear Solid came, and introduced us to Snake. A suberp story, well-built characters and breathtaking graphics combined with an excellent sense of stealth, made it a major success with the masses and critics as well. Konami was not new to the gaming scene – it had captured hearts with Contra – but this was something even better. The legendary Hideo Kojima showed that gaming is not only for kids. It has advanced to higher ages as well, as the plot for Metal Gear Solid could rival any Hollywood blockbusters’. Further, Konami released Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PS2 Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops for PSP and finally, the best of them all – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PS3. All were instant hits, and continued Snake’s story which began at the PlayStation.
Final Fantasy VII
When you think about Final Fantasy VII, all you can say is… wow. Square brought us the best RPG game of all time, and Final Fantasy VII is regarded as the most influential games ever made. Rightly so. It used spectacular 3D Graphics, and brilliant character models. It also came with a gripping plot, even successfully incorporating drama into it, by showcasing the characters’ internal struggles as well as their road to defeat evil. Final Fantasy has run into as many as twelve titles, each being immensely successful.
Gran Turismo
No game has ever, or will, transcend the boundaries between professional racing and gaming like Gran Turismo did. Forza can try, so can Need For Speed. But Gran Turismo always gets it right. Even for the PlayStation, it had superb physics and marvelous simulation. The game also had many other games in the series, all of them being immensely successful. In fact, Gran Turismo was the most selling game for the PlayStation, emptying 10.95 million pockets all over the world.
Resident Evil
Yikes. Resident Evil. Was. At its time. The most. Scariest game. It inspired other Resident Evil games as well, but none was so successful as the original, which first released on the PlayStation. It scared the living daylights off the most of us. But people still enjoyed it, and it became a best seller in the United States.
So that is all for now folks! If you like this article, please comment and/or rate it as well!
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