Friday, July 22, 2011

The movie that you wouldn't wanna miss!

Some movies are a good timepass; some are just not worth watching; some movies are so thrilling that they make you forget where you are but only a few movies keep you grounded in reality while stealing your heart away.  Bala is particularly good at creating such movies but his movies are always tainted with sadness.  I remember reading in my school text book that songs that express sadness will always be the most melodious ones.  That's the rule that Bala follows..

Deiva Thirumagal doesn't really follow Bala's footsteps.  Yet, it somehow captures the magic that only Bala and a few other directors have brought on screen.  It even goes one step further by not framing anyone as good or bad.  The old days of Ajith, Vijay & Rajini where the do-gooder fights against the main crime boss are over.  The tamil industry is moving towards a more sophisticated approach to film making.  Movies like Naadodigal, Aaranya Kaandam are taking us into a new era where the script is the hero and the screenplay is the star.  And Deiva Thirumagal is the best example thus far.

We are well aware of Vikram's acting skills.  But acting can only take a movie a short distance without the proper script.  A movie like Anniyan (though I enjoyed it), doesn't really utilize the actor's ability.  Deiva Thirumagal pays homage to the actor's skills by fully utilizing it to immerse us into the story.  Vikram deserves a movie like this and the movie deserves an actor like Vikram.  There were a few scenes where the story was weak but as Bala said, its not the story, its the character that's more important.  This isn't really a perfect movie but art doesn't need to be perfect.  It just needs to capture your imagination and this movie captures more than that.

The movie doesn't answer any questions; it doesn't say whoz right and whos wrong.  But it makes you feel human and that.... is the most important character a movie should have.  Hats off to the crew behind Deiva Thirumagal!  Anyone and everyone should watch this movie.  Vijay is a director that I'm gonna keep my eyes on.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Ever heard of the term, anti-intro?

Last weekend's tournament was a disaster for me in my ways.  Its ok to lose but to not fight at all is something I find hard to accept.  Usually when things go wrong, I try to bundle up all that anger and use it to propel me in something else.  So, I decided to go AWOL for the next tournament and set my sight on the racing game Trackmania Nations Forever.  I've for long been a fan of racing and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see whether I've still got it in me to compete.

I went berserk; bought myself a new Xbox controller and started practicing like crazy.  I kept playing till my fingers hurt.  It has been just three days though but I've already seen around 20 videos of the game, the last year's finals and the various tactics in the listed maps.  The city level qualifier is on 23rd & 24th July and so, I laid out a plan to practice in an organized fashion, with one map on each day.

I even set myself a target which I hoped to achieve considering all went well.  My target was a podium finish at the national level.  That maybe a hard target but what's there in competing if you don't aim high!  I got all geared up, even started listening to some uplifting music.  And suddenly, like all things in life, it came crashing down! (as usual)..

You see, the national finals is on the weekend in August.  I had agreed a month back to go on a trip with my family on this particular weekend, which I obviously forgot.  Damn!  I've heard of anti-climax, but this is anti-intro..  Do I feel dumb right now!!  :|

Oh well!  I fell in love with the game in these past three days and so, gonna continue the practice and at least compete at the City Level..  I do hope I get some opponents to make this worth my time..