Competition Success Review #2: TCS IT Wiz 2009

At long last, TCS IT Wiz finally arrived at Delhi. It felt like the most awaited event of the century. Everyone was waiting for it. And it brought back horrific memories of previous year. I really didn’t want this to happen again. But fate had other ideas.

With the noticeable absence of Mridul, our quizzing team had become relatively weaker. Saumey (my current quizzing partner) is only in ninth-class (which was the same class I was in last year), and he is still raw. But he does have a remarkably wide knowledge field.

Gyaan.in had threads on TCS IT Wiz, and questions on how to prepare about it even before you could say “Giri”. I felt really amused at all this. Because you really cannot “prepare” for this competition. Its that knowledge of all previous years and current affairs snowballed into a large one.

Just the day before TCS (30th October) was Dad’s birthday, so I was up quite late. Next morning, I reached school all excited and jumpy. Meena Ma’am informed me that TCS guys had requested us to send thirty teams. That is not a typo. Thirty teams! Too much. We were sending six. Under no circumstances am I going to list them here. Before leaving, I took Sir Alex Ferguson’s aashirwad. It really helped, though the potency was a little low (he has other important matters at hand as well).

Shikhar and his brother turned up late. He claims he was late and his driver did Burnout-style driving to get him there.

Puts Paul Walker to shame

School arranged only a Qualis for us. They obviously thought twelve people would sit comfortably in a eight-seater. With a driver.

Pictured: Comfort

This was the second-last image. I promise. Second-last.

So we stole Jaikishan’s Civic and Vedant’s Verna, and accommodated people into the Verna (the Civic was for return). It took a lotta time, and we finally reached the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

There was hardly any crowd. My guess was only four-hundred teams. After registration (and a quick chat with New Era guys), we made it to Dogra Hall, and grabbed seats. There was that usual survey and stuff, which could be exchanged for refreshments.

I looked around, and saw that the hall was full. But no people sitting on the floor like last time. Less people, better chances.

Giri made his trademark entry, and announced:

Due to overwhelming response, for the first time in the history of TCS IT Wiz, we are holding two prelims.

My heart sank. So there were a large number of people outside as well! Phew. My estimate was so wrong…

The prelims began, and it was easier than last time. We screwed up on that “decision engine” question, and wrote WolframAlpha, which was a common mistake many made. It was Bing. Saumey was excellent – contributing more than expected. He gave four out of twenty, which is quite good for a ninth class guy. He answered crucial questions like MNP and LinkedIn, which few knew. Kudos, kid.

Then we left for refreshments, and recession was visible. Pathetic food. Miserable sandwich, passable pattice, and, most importantly, Oyes wafers. Yes. OYES! The USP of Oyes was free points on cards, and ten would fetch us another Oyes! We immediately began collecting them, and accumulated eleven! Woot!

The second prelims were underway, and we waited forever. We were looking at the institute (where practically all of us wanted to be). Some kids had reached to the top of a building.

After a really, really long time, it was time to enter Dogra Hall once again. There was lot of pushing, and the entire stairway was jam-packed. TCS volunteers failed to control the crowd, which soon turned into a mob. Now, according to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, a crowd becomes a mob if it breaks something. Naturally, the crowd broke a glass pane, much to the anger of TCS guys.

Meanwhile, Shubham and Arvind did something great. They entered through another gate (which was closed for us, dunno why), pretending to have lost a water bottle.

When we finally reached Dogra Hall, they had reserved an entire row for us. Giri returned, and announced the results.

For the first time,  we have had nine-hundred-and-nine papers to check! I don’t think any quizmaster has had so many papers to check before. First, the answers.

Saumey and I had pretended to have got only eight or nine correct. At the end of the answers, we had got fourteen. Not enough, I thought. Fifteen weren’t enough last time.

Before I announce the qualifiers, I would like to recognize the top ten teams. The team which finished tenth is…

The entire hall is quiet. Nobody even breathes.

… Aditya and Saumey Jain of Montfort School.

NO!

We went on to the stage to collect a t-shirt, a book and a Rubik’s cube.

Which class are you in?

I’m in tenth and he’s in ninth.

To the audience : I just found out that the level of quizzing improves so rapidly in Delhi. These quizzers are from ninth and tenth. Give them a round of applause!

I don’t remember the other teams, but Sopandev from DPS Dwarka finished seventh. What was really agonizing was that he had exactly the same marks as that of the sixth qualifier, but lost out on starred questions.

New Era qualified, but not Prateek’s team! Young Arnav and Apratim had. DPS Noida, who finished second last year, were also on stage. DPS R K Puram qualified yet again, with quizzers from ninth and eighth. That was something. Even Vivek Nair and Karthik qualified; they finished eighth last year.

The finals were really easy. We got seventy percent of the questions right. Especially in the connect round.

DPS Noida won the finals. It was a great experience for all of us.

On the return journey, Shubham disfigured my Rubik’s cube.

Review: 2012

2012 Release Poster

Director:  Roland Emmerich

Producers:  Roland Emmerich
Mark Gordon
Harald Kloser
Larry J. Franco
Ute Emmerich

Cast:

CGI as Awesomeness (in the lead role)

Supporting Cast

John Cusack as Jackson Curtis

Amanda Peet as Kate Curtis

Thandie Newton as Laura Wilson

Zlatko Buric as Yuri Karpov

Oliver Platt as Carl Anheuser

Jimi Mistry as Dr. Satnam Tsurutani

My past reviews have been pretty long and boring, so I’ll cut this one short.

Review: Is there anyone in this world, who has not escaped the clutches of Roland Emmerich? Ever heard of Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow and 10,000 BC? Definitely. So here comes another one, 2012, which is also based on Roland’s favourite theme: destruction. Now there are several apocalypse theories ranging from a huge asteroid hitting the ocean to Jeremy laughing on Candace, but Roland chooses the Mayan prophecy of solar fires which happens once every 600,000 years.  Incidentally, that is also the time Kolkata Night Riders will take to win the Indian Premier League. Once.

John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, who is a failed novel writer and a divorcee as well. He now works as a limo driver to earn money, and that must be the reason Kate Curtis left him in the first place. Now Jackson meets a maniac in Yellowstone, who tells him why the world is ending, and also that the US Government has arranged ships (or arks) for their survival in the ocean, via a splendid amateur Flash animation. But what is not clear is, that why the government is keeping all this secret.

And Indian (Jimi Hendrix) informs a White House executive about the end of the world, by calling him to boiling Calcutta. It is also that same Indian who saves the world in the end, telling the same White House executive that a huge tsunami was coming over.

Towards the end you’ll realise that the Earth’s geography has changed dramatically. The African continent is now extremely fertile, and the south pole is stuck in the middle of the United States.

Like all of his previous movies (such as Independence Day, which is widely regarded as the worst movies ever to become a hit),  2012 is a big pile of noise and action, with absolutely no proper story or screenplay. It’s a ridiculous film. A pathetic one. A failure. And nothing extraordinary at all. The acting is poor, which is probably because there is no scope of acting here. The dialogue is ridiculous, and so are the facts. Dr. Satnam speaks in the way Americans would speak Hindi, not the way a native Calcutta guy would. In fact, he should not even speak Hindi, but Bengali, as he’s living in Calcutta! Another one: In a particular scene, Jackson’s plane takes off with family and Russian boss Yuri with a huge ash cloud behind them. So much ash in the air would definitely cause an airplane’s engines to go kaput. However, special effects are flawless, nothing like you’ve ever seen before. But Roland, you must realise (along with Michael Bay), that gone are the days when the audience could be won only on special effects! We need a solid plot, screenplay and acting to go with it, something which District 9 achieved successfully.

You must have realised by now, that 2012 is a bad film. It has been panned by critics all over the globe. But you know what? Once you finish watching the movie you actually feel its good, completely knowing the fact that you really shouldn’t have liked it. Is the dialogue silly? Yes. But does it make you laugh? Oh yes. Is it stupid? Of course. But do you really care? NO!

There are memorable moments in the movie, especially the one in which Jackson is driving the limo with his family at a high-speed, when the road is cracking beneath the car. Buildings are falling down, and the limo jumps right through them. Oh, how can you forget the scene were Gordon takes off in a plane, when the runway is crumbling behind? And that scene, where Yuri and the others are sitting in a sports car (was it a Porsche?), and after Jackson’s failed efforts to start it, he says

Eeengine. Staaart.

at which it promptly revs up.

When it ends (rather too stereotypically, with the hero getting lost and resurfacing when presumed dead), you feel happy. It’s global cooperation that saved the day. Which will save the day any day, even today.

2012 is a flawed, worthless and too long at two hours and forty minutes, it is an becomes edge-of-the-seat thriller with some brilliant moments, which makes it one of the must-see movies of the year.

Detailed Ratings (out of 10)

Plot: 7

Acting: 5

Visual+Sound Effects: 10

Direction: 4

Screenplay: 4

Rating: 6/10 (Good)

Download The TCS IT Wiz 2009 Quiz Finals

I’ve given you the prelims, Now eat the finals. The prelims were compiled by Shikhar, and hosted by me. The finals are compiled and written by Shreyans, and hosted by me. You can now see how I love to take credit for others’ work and boost my blog views.

Download The TCS IT Wiz 2009 Quiz Finals

A small note here. This quiz archive is EPIC. It’s simply awesome! Download it for sure. At. Any. Cost. Shreyans has compiled a truly magnificent archive. Never before have a seen something like this. If possible, print it on photo paper and frame it.

Download The TCS IT Wiz 2009 Quiz Prelims

TCS IT Wiz 2009 was held on 31st October 2009, and 909 teams turned up. I managed to finish tenth out of them (along with Saumey). DPS Noida won this year’s edition of TCS IT Wiz. You can download the quiz prelims here. Quiz finals are being prepared. More later.

Please give Shikhar complete credit for this work. It may have been hosted at my blog and typed by me, he made it a point to write them all down during the quiz (you can improve your handwriting, Shikhar).

Download the TCS IT Wiz 2009 Prelims

Competition Failure Review #1: Dynamix 2009

Thank you for the title, Shikhar.

After what seemed like eternity, Dynamix 2009 came at Ramjas, RK Puram. It was my first quiz of the year, let alone tech symposium, as H1N1 messed up my plans for others. Naturally, I was really excited.

We started out quite late. I had brought my entire collection of Digit magazines with me to pass the time.

Saumey-”Bhaiya, aapne Alienware laptop ka review padha?”

Me-”Nahi. Which month?”

Saumey-”October”

I opened it up to see a shiney ahuja Best Performer award. Because of a 320GB HDD, 4GB RAM, and two GeForce 285 GTX cards running in SLI with a gig of RAM each. Blew my head off!

Reached at about 9.20. Registered and ran for the quiz. Stopped in mid-way. Told to go to Audi. Stopped in midway. Told to go for quiz. Stopped in midway. Finally went to Audi.

As noticeable, Ramjas always has organisation problems. They’re well known for organising the most disorganised fest in the entire universe. They’re known for that in the Andromeda Galaxy as well. (Okay, that went too far). So when we (Saumey and me) eventually reached the quiz destination, it was already on. Problem was, Crossword and Quiz were on the same time. And I was taking part in both. Ashmeet, my Crossword partner, was already in the library. I had to hurry.

Unfortunately, the organisers weren’t too happy with all this.

Houston, we have a problem.

I begged and convinced them to let me participate in both.

“But you have to submit your quiz paper. Only then can you leave.”
But can’t my partner sit here and do the paper?”

“No”

“Why?”

“No”

(audible sigh)”Alright”

“But if you qualify in both, what will you go for?”

“Fat chance”

“But still…”

“I’ll choose at that time”

And so, the quiz began. The written prelim was tough. Not so tough, but tough. Negative marking wasn’t helping. First question was about some NewHoo. Dunno what it was. Lots of MCQs were also there.  Some were copied questions, like the MIME acronym. Remember seeing that in some quiz… There were two questions on MAC addresses.

And there were these to logos to conclude the prelims.

In addition to these being super easy (you’re FAIL if you don’t know these. What are you doing on a tech blog anyway?), we discussed the former one on our way to Ramjas! Nice, eh?

Having no time for pleasant surprises, I left for the Library, when Saumey went to swat flies in the Audi.

The Library is awesome. There are six (no less) split air conditioners there (though none were switched on). Way better than the Montfort library. Ashmeet was coolly doing the paper. He had managed two on twenty. When I was through, I had about eighteen on twenty.

Crossword Prelims was a joke. Just too easy. Repeat questions as well. Remember the clue “Michael went to see ET” at Exun? This one had “Michael, ET, Dell”. So simple. So stupid, being unable to think of another question, as it was there in the quiz prelims.

There was a question about the son of Zeus (four-letter). I’ve never played God of War, so I had absolutely no idea. Wrote “aero” (it fits). Turns out, it was “ares” (thank you, Wikipedia). This question is of little significance here, but look out for quiz finals.

There was another crossword clue which said something like Heroes of the movie 300 and enemies in Halo. Now, I’ve never seen 300. But I’ve played Halo. So I thought it must be the Covenant. They are the enemies in Halo. But didn’t fit. A spoof movie on 300 was Meet The Spartans, so the answer must be Spartans! Good clue, but wait. Spartans may be the heroes of 300, but they were NOT enemies in  Halo! This is a serious error! In fact, they helped defeat the enemies, the Covenant, in Halo Wars. Shikhar confirmed. He’s a big fan of Halo.

Easy prelims felt great, and it put me in another crazy situation. Damn. I’m qualifying for both. Now what?

And the inevitable happened. When Shikhar, Vinamra, Saumey, Ashmeet and me were discussing about an exoskeleton while munching on the world’s most deserving candidate for Shitty Patty of the World, it was announced that we had, indeed, qualified. For both. And both were to start at 11.30.

I requested the authorities with a similar conversation, that I can give the crossword in seven minutes flat, and then go for the quiz. They accepted, on the condition that no one would wait for me at the quiz, and I had to hand over the crossword paper.

Crossword finals were damn tough. Seemed tougher when we did it in seven minutes. Easiest question was “Main Protagonist of GTA4″. Didn’t get simple ones like “First commercial OS”. Also had good clues like “Wolverine was a hacker in this movie” (which was Swordfish were Hugh “Sexy” Jackman was a hacker; courtesy New Era, where Prateek the Great has infused his Wikipedia-sized knowledge).

Anyway, I rushed to quiz, where Saumey was sitting. I made a dramatic entry, skidded to a halt near my table, and sat down. The projection-on-wall displayed “Where are the NVIDIA headquarters situated?”

“Who’s direct?”

“Ours”

“Oh shit…”

“Answer, please?”

“California”

“That’s right. Its Santa Clara, California”

As usual, DPS RK Puram fought.

“Dude, California is like, a state. A huge state”

“But he gave  the answer”

“Dude! Everything is in California!”

“Fine. No points”

Which left me disappointed and breathless (as I had just run a floor downstairs).

The quiz continued, and it made me realise the WTFness of it. None of the questions were transferrable. And, in my breathlessness and disorientation, I forgot what Ray Tomlinson invented. D@mn it.

At the end of the first dry round, RKP was first, we were second, MSM was third, and the other school was fourth.

Next round, connect round. The craziest round of all. There are four images in each question, and answering one gives twenty points EACH. And getting all gives an additional ten points. That’s like ninety for each question, and only ten for first dry round ones. We and RKP were stunned. But it started anyway.

Both RKP and we didn’t get ours. I don’t remember their questions, but I certainly do ours. There was this sun sign, galaxy, and a picture of computers connected across the world. Answer was Ares. Couldn’t think of anything else, Dynafix? As Ares was already there in the crossword?

Next school had some easy question. Seventy points. MSM had the easiest of all. Chrome, Firefox and Tux, and this.

Okay, that was easy. This picture is Freedom Toaster. It’s essentialy for those who a) don’t have unlimited downloads b)who’re too lazy to download and c)both. I’m speaking about Linux distros of course! You take your own blank CD, and Freedom Toaster writes any distro for you. It’s a Mark Shuttleworth initiative, who, for the record, is the guy behind Ubuntu, and has also been to space for a vacation. Gives you the idea he that kind of guy who can afford stuff like this.

Now I knew this one, and offered to answer for no points. There was this guy sitting behind me with a heavily tattooed Dell laptop, and looked like he had made the quiz (not sure).

“That’s Freedom Toaster. You can get distros at that.”

“Correct. But no points”

“I’m not complaining. There’s only one in India. Trivandrum”

At which, that Dell guy shouts

“No. Bangalore”

“Trivandrum”

“Bangalore”

“Trivandrum”

“Bangalore”

“Really? Maybe”

Apart from noticing that both of us used the wrong names for Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram, I had my strong doubts. When I came home, I checked up Freedom Toaster’s site and opted to find a toaster. It produced unsurprising results.

What did I say?

So, kids, listen to the unicorn.

This round changed stuff. Now, MSM was first, the other school was second, RKP was third and we were fourth. Naturally, RKP couldn’t stand themselves losing, so they fought. I support them completely. This was ridiculous. With their pestering (and ours), Ramjas relented. The next round, the audio-visual round, which was to be a hundred points each, would now be only fifty. But no change in previous round. Unfair, I thought, but kept quiet.

In the final round, there was a video with another audio combined together. I really liked this round. The idea was really nice. I don’t care if this was ripped off from somewhere.

RKP got the first chance, and they had that Intel ad music (the USB one) and this awesome speech (in video. The text in the video, not the original video itself)

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them. Disagree with them. Glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world
Are the ones who do

It was a really easy one, and they garnered fifty points. It was Apples Think Different campaign. Of course, I’m not whining that they always get easy ones (it wasn’t really easy. I just chanced to know about this).

Next was our turn. We had some heavy metal soundtrack playing and a war game in the video.

“Wait. I’ve heard this! Yes! It was in the G@teway intro video. Er, no. It wasn’t. Ah! Now I know! Its the soundtrack for Need For Speed Most Wanted“

“Correct. Name the song”

“Er, I’m sorry?”

“Name the song”

“Are you kidding me? There must be fifteen songs in that game, and you exepct me to memorise all the names?

“Alright, I’ll give it to you. And the video”

“Er, I dunno. Call of Duty?”

“No. Army of Two“

So we got fifty points.

I can’t remember what the next school got, but I do remember what MSM got. I think they got The Matrix soundtrack, and a game trailer which said From the 2007 Game of the Year.

“Er, Crysis“

“Alright”

DPS-”Wrong! They said Crysis. Its Crysis Warhead“

“Yes it is. No points”

At which RKP was jubliant. They had won, and that is why they wanted MSM to get it wrong. MSM were second, and we were fourth. We fought against that stupid points system, and signed our own death warrant. Sob.

Shikhar, Vinamra and Karan couldn’t get anything at S.Y.N.C.E.D, although they did have a cheesy concept. They ran out of time. Also, I was told, Ramjas had a trial version of Fruity Loops. How diabetic.

According to unofficial results, we came third in the crossword. New Era was second, and RKP was first. There were other events the next day, including the answer to this PJ.

Q: Woh kya hai jo Ravan akele kar sakta hai, par Ram nahi?

A: Group discussion.

Didn’t get anything in that as well. And others. In the end, Montfort returned empty handed from Ramjas, as they did not have a third prize, which is bad. I always get third in every Ramjas event.

Now I found out why I go to Dynamix. Apart from criticizing poor management, they do have a great quiz and crossword. Trust me. Quiz was actually very good and so was crossword, apart from the obession with certain stuff like gaming. But poor management let such a great event down. I just hope it gets better next year. Congrats to DPS RK Puram, though. Although they did fight at the quiz, they answered superbly. They deserved to win it, and the overall trophy as well.

Dynamix guys promised they’d upload answers on their website. I don’t think they’ve kept their promise.

If you’re still reading this uber-long post, thank you for having the patience. Happy belated Diwali, guys.

Review: The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol

Author: Dan Brown

Price: $30 (Rs 700)

Publisher: Doubleday (US)

Transworld (UK)

Bantam Press (India)

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Boredom

Dan Brown has penned down an international bestseller

Bestsellers are not always good.

Dan Brown is back. And so is Robert Langdon. In another “fast-paced” thriller. The Lost Symbol. Dan Brown is known to almost the entire world. He happens to be the best-selling author of the very famous The Da Vinci Code, though I thought his finest work was Deception Point. The Lost Symbol is based in Washington D.C this time, in contrast to his other novels which are based in Spain, Vatican City, The Arctic and Europe. Langdon is summoned to DC by a mysterious caller, who seems to impersonate his friend Peter Solomon’s secretary. Langdon has to decipher a large number of clues (including a lone hand) and unveil the Ancient Truth of Freemasonry, the society around which this book is based upon. Sadly, although the plot seems promising, the book is too long in various parts and is such a big bore, that you’d be surprised that you’re not reading from an encyclopedia.

The plot is ingenious and also quite gripping. But the problem is stuff like this is very, very old now. It’s that typical Langdon+Scientist-cum-chick-cum-love-interest+Assassin+Ancient-Brotherhood formula, which Dan Brown has tried and tested for two books. It may successful once, like in The Da Vinci Code, but not always.

Also, half the stuff is almost entirely unnecessary. Instead of simply stating “Langdon suffered from claustrophobia”, Brown goes on to give a full and long, detailed explanation of how he got it. Even though he already has mentioned it in his previous books. And even more stuff on him doing fifty laps in the Harvard pool, and him wearing a Tweed coat. Its boring now. Really. I know it may be for the first-timers but come on now. It’s too much. Have a look at the Harry Potter trilogy. Rowling just gives a sweeping mention of Harry’s past and gets down to real business. Now Brown. He wants to write a big novel. He knows that he can keep you gripped to it. This is exactly the place where the book succeeds. It is addictive. Excessively. In fact, my curiosity had arisen to such a great extent, that I sat up at even one-thirty in the night to read it.

But it really is those cliched verses which frustrate you till eternity. Picture this conversation between X and Y

X- Have you heard about Z?

Y- Of course. <five-line long history on Z follows> …and its known as <this> by the Mayans, <that> by the Hindus, <whatever> by the Greeks and — <stops short>

X- What happened?

Suddenly is was crystal clear. Everything was falling into place. It was in front of us all the time, and yet we didn’t catch it X thought. How ingenious.

<end of chapter>

That happens almost every two chapters. Plus, the book is full of descriptions of rituals and acts of crime, which are really not relevant to the plot at all. They’re just… there. There are too many words such as “odd”, “bizarre” and, especially “double take” that are used too often.

In the end, The Lost Symbol turns out to be a good experience, but it is also a really, really boring book. Read it only if you’re love the Dan Brown style, although it is quite old now. It is nowhere near as good as Deception Point, which, I feel, is Dan Brown’s greatest book yet.

Rating: 5.8/10 (So-so)

Review: District 9

District 9 Poster

Director: Neill Bolmkamp

Producer: Peter Jackson

Writers: Neill Bolmkamp

Terri Tatchell

Cast: Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley)

The rest are unimportant

First of all, you must know that District 9 was made on a measly budget of $50 million (thats about Rs. 144 Crores) only, which is about 4 times lesser than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s budget of $200 million (Rs 962 Crores. Yikes). And, District 9 is approximately four times better than the latter. It puts big-budget films like Transformers to shame, with a cast and director not widely known at all.

District 9 is a movie based around an alien invasion. It’s not at all like your stereotypical alien-invasion film. In fact, it stands out distinctly. District 9 is does not focus on the alien invasion itself, but on the way it affects the entire society. But first, I must tell you about the simple, yet gripping plot.

An alien ship arrives in the 1980s, hovering over Johannesburg (South Africa), but instead of launching a hostile attack, it simply stays there.

The "prawn" spaceship hovering in Johannesburg

Further observation within the ship reveals that it consists only of a number of malnourished aliens (nicknamed “prawns”), who are too weak to attack. The SA government decides to throw them in some camp in Jo’burg, which eventually turns into a slum, courtesy MNU

Fast-forward to present day South Africa. People accept them as a part of their lives and (dis)integrate them into their society, and you often catch glimpses of hilarious signs, which is an obvious indication of the mindset of the people – Chuck. Prawns. Out.

Signs of Their Times

Multinational United (MNU) has been put in-charge of the aliens, although the name sounds more like a soccer club. MNU is responsible  for turning District 9 into a slum. And now, things get sinister when Head of Operations Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) gets infected, and begin transforming into a prawn. Superbly directed by Neill, District 9 always keeps you on the edge of your seats, even when the entire cinema hall is empty and the popcorn tastes revolting (I was a victim). It is clear that all humans want from the aliens is their sophisticated weapons, which work only with their DNA, where renders any human incapable of operating it. MNU uses employee Wikus to their own advantage – to operate weapons, and rip apart his heart and bone marrow to transfer the DNA to other individuals.

I don’t want to reveal any more of this plot, but I can safely say that basing this film in South Africa was very ingenious indeed, as it reminds you of the apartheid system. Aliens bound in chains by the MNU and the government, who rip apart their houses at will. Of course, there is a message from the movie, but unlike others, you grasp it without it being dinned into your head.

Also, the way the characters are written also makes the movie an engaging watch. Look out for Copley, who acts superbly as Wikus. The pain he has to go through is so severe and so well depicted, that you feel it too. Watch out for the alien scientist Christopher as well, and the odd bond which develops between Wikus and Christopher. Director Neill Bolmkamp has also paid great attention to detail, showing how the crime never stays clear of slums, and how locals take advantage of the aliens, by enticing them with their favourite cat food.

However, you will never miss the action and violence. There is plenty. A lot of heads are severed from the bodies and crushed upon my walking people. Aliens and humans are electrocuted alike, with blood and flesh falling on camera.

Of course, District 9 does have its fair share of worries. But the best part is, they may never seem to intrigue you. The film starts off more like a documentary, which may lead to slight boredom. Also, the ending of the film may not please you, as Wikus is stuck as a prawn forever. (Did I mention a spoiler warning?)

In the end, District 9 turns out to be an excellent film. See it for sure, as it is a mixture of a superb plot and stunning visual effects as well as sincere acting. Most of which other big budget films lack.

Plot: 9

Acting: 10

Visual+Sound Effects: 9

Direction: 9

Screenplay: 8

Rating: 9/10 (Brilliant!)

Tweetable Shadow Line Bottom Line: District 9 outclasses big-budgeters with excellent acting, superb special effects and a great plot.

PlayStation 2 versus PlayStation Portable

Note: The PS2 and the PSP are two entirely different sets of consoles, rendering them incomparable. However, I was compelled to write this post owing to popular demand and rapidly dwindling blog traffic.

(Another) Note: I am NOT considering the PSP Go here. Doing that would force me to compare the PS3 with the PSP Go.

My previous gaming-console-comparison post had gone down well with the public. It’s time to write another post now!

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is the most selling gaming consoles in the world. It was probably one of the first consoles that actually attracted the masses towards the field of gaming, and also helped boost economy, by getting games created for it. Currently, the number of games to be manufactured for the PS2 is negligible, and so the number of games already present amounts up to, approximately, one thousand and nine hundred.

PlayStation Portable

The PlayStation Portable has no record to boast about. It is not the best selling console, nor is it the best selling portable gaming console (GameBoy is). Further, it does not beat its primary rival, the Nintendo DS, in sales. But what actually save the PSP are the games created for it. It has captured the minds of the audience like never before. It was launched after the PS2, so naturally, the number of games made for it are lesser than the PS2 games.

Let the comparison begin, now!

Hardware: Both, the PSP and the PS2 have really nice accessories for them. The PS2 definitely scores over the PSP in this. While the PSP has an external camera, an external microphone, some others, the PS2 has hardware the PSP cannot dream to match – Guitars for Guitar Hero, EyeToy cameras for a motion sensing experience, SingStar external huge microphones for karaoke on SingStar games, and so much more. Plus, the PS2 also has USB ports for your USB sticks. The PS2 goes one up

Score: PS2: 1|PSP: 0

Graphics: The PSP may appear to have superior graphics, but the PS2 speaks for itself. Connecting a PS2 to a large TV will give you a fantastic experience. Many games (such as Transformers) support full HD graphics, running at a 1920×1080 resolution. The PSP is vibrant, but the detailing in graphics goes with the PS2. The PS2 goes one up again. Way to go, fatso!

Score: PS2: 2|PSP: 0

Games: Again, the PS2 scores. With over 1900 games, there are classics the PSP just cannot have. Ever. Though the PSP has Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and God of War: Chains of Olympus, the PS2 has so many excellent games: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Substance, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, God of War, God of War 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Burnout Dominator, Burnout Revenge!, Guitar Hero, etc. So the PS2 has some great games. But. The PSP is catching up. There is more scope of games coming up for the PSP than the PS2 now, and in the future. Resistance: Retribution, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, Killzone Liberation, Need For Speed Shift, Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines and so many more. The PS2 gets a one up here, for already existing good old games. The PSP gets a one up for great coming-up games.

Score: PS2: 3|PSP: 1

Portability: Although you can pack off your PS2 and take it anywhere, you’d always need a TV to play. The PSP definitely scores in this field. After all, “Portable” is the name!

Score: PS2: 3|PSP: 2

Looks: The latest PS2 looks slim and light, like a small novel. But, of course, the PSP is way better. It is light years ahead of the PS2. This is the reason for buying a PSP. You may say that “The PS2 isn’t built for all this blah blah”. Still. The majority of the public don’t care. Neither do I. The PSP gets a one up, to impress the chicks.

Score: PS2: 3|PSP: 3

Operating Systems: The PS2 has a Linux known as Linux for PlayStation 2 developed by Sony itself. It’s a great kit complete with keyboard, and runs an entire operating system with a hard drive and your 8MB memory card. It runs OpenOffice.org and Firefox as well. People saying Vista runs on their PSPs are effin’ crackpots. Those are animated themes, guys, not operating systems. It is not possible for obvious reasons. Although the PSP has Linux OSes ported to it, the PS2 has an official, stable Linux. The PS2 goes one up.

Score: PS2: 4|PSP: 3

Homebrew Applications: Involves mainly exploits and “hacks”. The PS2 does have exploits, but these are extremely complicated to use. The PSP, on the other hand, can run exploits easily, the most famous being firmware changes and ISO loaders, which is often considered as the main reason for PSP sale boosts. One up, PSP!

Score: PS2: 4|PSP: 4

Entertainment: The PSP has a built-in audio and video player, supporting many formats which can be converted from the original and loaded on to a PSP. The PS2, on the other hand, can run full length DVDs, even dual-layer ones. So one up for both.

Score: PS2: 5|PSP: 5

Connectivity: The PS2 has an Ethernet cable slot, so you can use your LAN cable to connect anytime for online play, irrespective of whether you have a Wi-Fi connection or not. The PSP has no Ethernet slot, but Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to access internet directly on the PSP via a Wi-Fi hotspot, which are increasing in number by the day. Even your home can be equipped with a Wi-Fi router. One up for both.

Score: PS2: 6|PSP: 6

Controls: The PSP has only one analog stick and one L and R button, whereas the PS2 controller has two analog sticks, and two L and R buttons each (L1, L2, R1, R2). This offers way better controls in games. Let us take an example of EA Big’s Fifa Street 2 and NBA Street V3. You use a combination of the L and R buttons to do tricks. In the PSP only three types of tricks will be possible (L, R, L+R) but in the PS2, many more are possible (L1, R1, L2, R2, L1+R1, L2+R2, L1+R2, L2+R1…). PS2, one up!

Score: PS2: 7|PSP: 6

Game Detailing: The PS2 has better graphics, better physics, and better rendering and detailing for games for the PS2. Games are generally sold in single- and dual-layer UMDs (0.9 and 1.8 GB) for the PSP and DVD5s and DVD9s (4.7 and 8.5 GB) for the PS2. The sheer capacity of the PS2 DVDs is enough to tell you how much detail can be packed into PS2 games. You may say that the resolution of PSP games is designed to fit a much smaller screen, but a 3.8 GB difference is a bit too much. Take an example of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The PSP version is sucky and buggy. The PS2 version is just so breathtaking and captivating, you can easily see the difference. One up for the PS2

Score: PS2: 8|PSP: 6

Piracy: Pirated games are bad, people. But we don’t care, do we? The main reason the PSP sells is the easily done piracy. The PS2 can be modded to play games for any DVD region as well, by fixing a mod chip. No need to do all that hardware mumbo-jumbo with the PSP. Just put in a cracked firmware and done. The size thingy mentioned above actually becomes a disadvantage for the PS2 when it comes to piracy. Who has the patience to download a 4.7 GB DVD ISO and then burn it on to a DVD, with no guarantee that it will ever work? I’m currently download God of War for my PS2, and is has taken me 1 day 14 hours continuous, to finish 64% of download. PSP games will finish downloads overnight. And there is a near 100% guarantee that it will work as well. One up, PSP.

Score: PS2: 8|PSP: 7

Future Scope: This is where the PSP can kick the PS2’s big fat ass right out of the window. Portable gaming market is growing. Fast. The PS2 already has a successor – the PS3, and games for the PS2 are being made only for the sake of reaching more customers, since the PS2 has been the most selling console of all time. However, PSP games are made more enthusiastically these days. Reviewers no longer bother to review PS2 games, but do so for PSP ones. Although the PSP has a successor now (the PSP Go), Sony has made it clear that it will not discontinue support for the PSP-3000. Plus, remote play via the PSP with the PS3 is an added advantage. One up for the PSP.

Score: PS2: 8|PSP: 8

That brings us to the end of all sections! As you can see, the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable are tied at 8 each. But that does not mean, that we don’t have a winner or a loser.

Who wins: Sony does. Irrespective of what you buy, Sony will emerge as the winner, getting revenue from both console sales and game sales as well.

Who loses: Your parents, whom you will nag till eternity to buy a console.

Buying guide

I am a hardcore gamer with limited budget. I want to play games which are flawless with no technical glitches whatsoever.
Buy a PS2. Games for the PSP generally have coding errors, and have certain technical glitches

I don’t really game much, but I do play occasionally. I mostly listen to music and watch movies on-the-go. I don’t want to have an iPod and a gaming device always – just one.
Buy a PSP. It has a great interface for seeking videos, and a really good audio player.

I’m into the ninth/tenth grade, but still love gaming. I cannot afford a high-end PC.
Buy a PS2. Games for the PS2 are numerous, and more games won’t release anyway, so there’s no question about getting addicted to the new games. A PSP will cause a major distraction now, when you should spend all your time studying.

I game, and want to impress the chicks!
Buy a PSP. Girls fall for it. They’ll love it and, in turn, love you as well. This is, I feel, is the main reason why gamers buy PSPs.

I want to play good, old classics.
Buy a PS2. It has great games, with fantastic trilogies and series, such as Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Grand Theft Auto, Shin Megami Tensei, Final Fantasy, etc. The PSP has great games as well, but not such series to die for. Also, you can play memorable classics such as the PS One game Chrono Cross on your PS2 as well.

I want to play the latest games. Get the latest game reviews as well.
Buy a PSP. All major games releasing for seventh-generation non-portable consoles will release for the PSP as well (with the exception of a few). Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Need For Speed Shift, Resistance Retribution, etc will never, ever release for the PS2. Ever.

I am a hardcore gamer with unlimited budget. I can buy all original stuff and keep the cash flowing like water.
Then buy a PS3. Or an Xbox 360. And a PC. You may buy a PSP for remote play with the PSP. Read this for more.

lolcatz

Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Poster

Director: Michael Bay
Producer: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf)
Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox)
ExPlOsIoNs!!!!!!11111111111!!!1!1

Review:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was probably the most awaited movie of this year. Probably even more than Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It is a sequel to Michael Bay’s super duper hit Transformers, as you may already know. However, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fails to capitalize on the superb head start it knows it gets from its prequel.

The movie starts off with Optimus Prime (leader of the Autobots) telling a story in that monotonous robotic-cum-human voice of his. You come to know that the Autobots have formed an alliance with the Americans to destroy Decepticons hidden in parts of the world to help prevent resurrection of Megatron, whom Optimus destroyed and threw into the ocean. Funnily enough, the Decepticons are simply lying there and doing nothing, not even hurting a fly, when the Autobots show up and tear them to shreds. Poor guys. Er… robots.

And the best part is that all this Autobot-American-friendship thingy is supposed to be a secret. They’re actually doing a very, very good job actually. I mean, come on. Who’s going to notice ten-odd twenty-foot robots ripping apart Shanghai to search for another twenty-foot dormant robot, and destroy him in a major explosion? No one, of course.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky is going to an expensive collage, and still loves Megan Fox, who still works as a mechanic in her dad’s garage. Now as usual, Megan Fox is hot and sexy, but still has no trace of emotion on her face. She is as expressive as a very beautiful block of wood. Shia, meanwhile, is 0.1% better than her (I measured), but still doesn’t manage to impress you a lot. Its only his cuteness which will make a couple of you go “Aww… He’s cho cute!”, but that’s it.

Coming back to the ridiculous plot now. There are only two parts of the All Spark cube left, as it was destroyed while destroying Megatron. The Decepticons use one of them to resurrect Megatron. When Optimus Prime dies, and Sam still has access to the All Spark shard, it doesn’t even strike that kid to use it to resurrect Optimus. No! Let us do it the hard way. That’s the only way we can make a movie out of this crazy plot. Our friend Sam, while mourning Prime’s death, attends collage, and starts drawing all sorts of strange symbols. A Decepticon-seductress tries to kill him there for no apparent reason. His eccentric room mate takes him to that Sector Seven guy Agent Simmons, who now owns some kind of bakery/cookie shop, who takes them to some museum, where they find Jetfire so that he could read the symbols, who teleports them to Egypt, where they learn about the legend of the Fallen and some Matrix key. Only Jetfire the Old could read the symbols. Not even Bumblebee could, so should be more educated.

Lets keep the plot at that. You would have realised the flaws in it. There are more, but then that’s another post novel altogether. The last half-hour of the movie are merely explosions. Boom ka-boom is all you hear.

The screenplay is a bit wacky as well. You may often tend to get confused between scenes, and will ask the guy beside you about what just happened and why it is happening. But its not that bad. Not as bad as the plot, at least.

But what actually saves the film, is an excellent soundtrack, featuring those great songs – New Divide by Linkin Park and 21 Guns by Green Day. The filmmakers had to turn to someone other than themselves to rely on making a movie a success. It does work. You’ll hum those tunes for a long time.

But the main forte of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the visual effects. Spectacular stuff. Amazingly created robots and explosion, with an accurate reproduction of reflections, scratches and dirt on their metal bodies. Especially those few slow-motion action sequence will make you go “Whoaaaaaa”. This saves the film from becoming a complete fiasco. The visual effects are just so bloody awesome, that they are beyond description.

In the end, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is just an average film. But the amazing visual effects make it a must watch. This is just an entertainer to make your mind stress free.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Trailer. Do watch it in Full Screen HD.

Detailed Raitings (Out of 10)

Plot: 5

Acting: 4

Visual+Sound Effects: 10

Direction: 8

Screenplay: 7

Rating: 6.8/10 (Fair)

Tweetable Shadow Line Bottom Line: Transformers 2 has a fair plot and bad acting, but superb visual effects make it a must watch.

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Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Director: David Yates
Cast:
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe)
Ronald Weasley (Rupert Grint)
Hermione Granger (Emma Watson)
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)
Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent)
Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)
Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton)
Heavy British Accent (Everybody)

Review:
Exams finished on the 21st of July, and I rushed (yes, literally. I ran from school) to Fun Cinemas, Pitampura to catch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The movie starts off with the Dementors/Death Eaters wrecking havoc around the streets of England. That perfectly rendered scene, especially the one in which that bridge collapses, is superb to watch. Inevitably, it sets the tone for the entire movie. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince doesn’t deviate much from the book, but it does a little, which may disappoint you to an extent.

The film actually starts off when Dumbledore takes Harry away to persuade former Potions professor Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts. Then follows the scene in which Snape makes the unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy, to take care of her son, and assist him the job the Dark Lord has asked him to perform.

Now this is the film in which Harry and his friends actually grow up. They start noticing girls/guys, and begin to kiss them in public in broad daylight as well. Even in corridors. I really wouldn’t like to use the cliched “raging hormones” which you’ve probably heard of in every movie review.

Harry begins to develop an affection for Ginny, and Ron for Lavender, of which Hermione is particularly jealous of. Now the film has been directed in an excellent manner by David Yates, using all the characters to throw in just the right amount of comedy and sincerity in the characters they play in the same time. All actors perform their roles fabulously, especially Rupert Grint as Ron, who is exceptional. He really steals the show more than Daniel or Emma does, although they do seem to share the limelight for most of the time. Watch that scene in which Ron accidentally consumes Love Potion, and that one too, when he goes out for Beater tryouts. Daniel isn’t bad either. I particularly liked that scene in which Hermione accuses him of mixing a potion in Ron’s juice, so that he feels more confident, and Harry admits he didn’t. Alan Rickman and Jim Broadbent  as Snape and Slughorn are nice as well. Michael Gambon does perfect justice to Dumbledore’s character, which is, in my opinion, one of the most important one in the film.

All the special effects are done pretty well. Especially the Apparation scenes, the Inferi, the Dark Mark and the scene in which Harry travels with Dumbledore to the dark cave. These are the main forte of the film, and make up for some of the bad parts, which I will discuss later.

Draco Malfoy is involved with a Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, which he eventually uses to get all the Death Eaters to Hogwarts, and eventually kill Dumbledore. Now, the ever-inquisitive Harry must find out what his enemy is up to, and this often leads to eye-to-eye face-offs with each other. The enemity is a treat to watch, and their acting is so convincing, that you can actually sense the loathing they have for each other. Watch that spectacular scene in which Harry and Draco are involved in a raging conflict in the bathroom.

Now to the plot. David Yates’s direction is pretty convincing, but you simply cannot ignore the film’s plot problems. There are many things not mentioned from the book, the most important ones being Marvolo Gaunt’s memory and the entire Quidditch Cup season, which all the movies just seem to ignore almost completely. Also, some scenes, such as the awesome Bellatrix-Harry chase scene in a wheat field is completely pointless, as both Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback (the werewolf) do not succeed in killing Harry, and do not achieve much in burning down Ron’s house, which struck me as pointless. Also, the entire Dumbledore burial scene is skipped! That was the most emotional part of the book, and brought me to tears, which very few books do.

The film has an extremely long running time of two-and-a-half-hours, and becomes really, really boring in a few handpicked scenes. The first half is fantastic, and you will never know when the time flies (unless you have an empty stomach). But even when you’re munching on butter popcorn and sipping Coke, the second half seems to drag on. Yates tries to finish of the film in a hurry, when the detials are actually required.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Theatrical Trailer. Do watch it in full screen HD.

Detailed Raitings (Out of 10)

Plot: 7

Acting: 10

Visual+Sound Effects: 5+4=9

Direction: 10

Screenplay: 10

Rating: 9.2/10 (Brilliant!)

Tweetable Shadow Line Bottom Line: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is easily the best film in the entire series. It is a must watch.

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