7 Arivu 2011

Where do I begin?
7 am arivu, roughly translates as 7'th sense. It should have been named the 7 nonsenses. I feel for Murugadoss, he had a fantastic plot. A great idea inspired from a may or may not be south Indian called Bodhidharma ( not proven yet, check wikipedia) and a great connection to modern day India and it's red neighbour. But he decides that since he is the director he has to do everything (direct, dialogue, story and screenplay and even appear onscreen) with devastating results.

The first portion starts of with great promise. Surya in the Pallava era is yum yum yummy. The only distraction is that Muragadoss takes a leaf out of Goutham Menon's book and goes for the easiest route - Narration. Ok, we suspend disbelief and bask in Surya's expressive eyes and six pack, or was it eight? and beautiful locales. Then we return to modern India and here the 7 nonsenses start one after the other.
Spoilers Galore!

Nonsense 1:

We are the sineese. We speak like the Bangalis and look like the Assamese.
All the chinese officials speak English at their official meetings.
We hab to keeeel her.
Then there is the state sponsored Bio war on India. Wow, Mr. Murugs do we really need to escalate hatred, when everyone else is trying just the opposite? And who do the Chinese hire - Shaolin Mind bending monks who are actually Thai ofcourse!


Nonsense 2:

Girl, you have a beautiful voice when you sing. Stick to it. Acting - well Kamal Haasan's acting genes and your mummy's grace genes have yet to be activated, try lying in a water tank for a few days. Cos that's the brilliant thing you do to activate Bodhidharma's dna as a final year Bio Engineering student.
Yes, heights of educational nonsense. A final year project that is the envy of the world, never done before yet can be done with a tank of water, ECG machine and an injection on the spine sourced from Apollo pharmacies while eating food from Nilgiris and speaking on Aircel cellphones. If only our educational system was this good!


PS: The item girl /backup dancer should not wear the same dress you wear in a song before you. And I have the same Biba salwar you wore, same pinch, for once I'm the fasion trendy! and change your stylist.



Nonsense 3:

Dont language lickass, that regime is long gone, even if they produced your movie.Especially if you give one of the most englipeess peterrr accented heroines, a sutha thamizh support speech after some unnecessary monkey/donkey insult is hurled at it. Then you make it a bharani paatu (for the uninitiated - a litany of cuss words)




Nonsense 4:

Yes we have to bring in the directors politics in a sci fi / fantasy /romance movie and make some long winded, confusing statement without naming the country or the guerilla organisation and then give a meaningful pause at the end while the audience scrambles their mind to find out what was just said.

Then the putting the females down. For  moment I thought I was in an Illai Thalapathi movie. The girl rejects boy and suddenly the entire female species is a fooking biyyatch!



Nonsense 5:

24 is long gone, we dont need those backward countdown on black background to distract from already maddeningly distracting movie.


Nonsense 6:

6 a)The mindfucking with a glance was taking to lengths until it became the sole plot forwarder. The only reason I didn't walk out of the theater after the 28'th time it was used, was because of the guy doing it. He was as hot as Thai curry and as cool as ice kachang and tragically yummier than redhead Surya.

b) And a whole police station is massacred, a whole junction full of cars demolished and nobody investigates!

c) Final fight scene among maple leaves!!





Nonsense 7:

The biggest nonsense in the movie, the one that takes it to another level of nonsense. The nonscience!
Director of the hits, please. You were making a movie with a plot that totally hinges on the science, in a state known for its engineers and scientists (who are all settled abroad of course) then please hire a science consultant, or even a first year BSc science student, they will tell you, you were so wide off the mark that even the Hindu Makkal Katchi will scoff at your theories. Dude, you shot in IIT, you should have just asked a passing nerd to fill in the gaps. All he would have needed in exchange was a look at shruti haasan's discarded underwear, bra strap or something.


PPS: Now there were bits of sense, like the time the villiciousness kills the fast track guy. The ordinary gutter cleaner and college girl doing what passes for Shaolin king fu - great and ofcourse, poor Surya who tried so so hard, but his hair colour will be remembered more than his role in this movie. Again - Brilliant choice of villain hotness.

3/10 mainly due to the nonscience.

Johnny English Reborn 2011

Rowan Atkinson, please stick to Mr. Bean.  The movies drags on without a clue whether it wants to be a bond movie or the spoof of one. Rowan Atkinson meanders through the movie wondering whether he is on a Bond movie set or a Mr. Bean one. There is a token black guy, Gillian Anderson looks over botoxed and Rosamund Pike (doesn't she look like Audrey Tautou?)looks pretty dumb. Sorry, pretty and dumb.
Miss it unless you are a hardcore Mr. Bean fan.
2/10

Drive 2011

This homage to 70's or 80's style movie making with the neon pink opening credits and Ryan Gosling as the hero left me disoriented for a moment, trying to adjust to a whole new aesthetic where Ryan Gosling was a action hero, pink neon was acceptable for a macho movie and the dark ,slow pace was in store, rather than the quick, in your face, move or die movies that we have today.

Ryan Gosling is a getaway driver, stunt driver, mechanic and loner. Shown beautifully in that order without three complete sentences being spoken. Carey Mulligan is Irene, his neighbour, mother of Benecio and wife of Standard, currently in jail. Again shown in that order with minimum fuss and maximum effect. They start spending some time together and soon the driver is part of the little family. Shannon (Bryan Cranston) is the father figure mechanic/manager who has big plans for the driver. Borrowing money from Bernie (Albert Brooks) and partner Nino (Ron Perlman) to fund a car to race with the driver. The bluish days and almost sepia nights pass and the characters build up slowly. Then a small conflict appears, the husband returns from prison. Loving and repentant. We wonder where these beautifully, slowly carved characters are sliding down to. Sliding down they are, the mood of premonition is strong. Each shot is like a story in itself. If I have used the word beautiful too much, it's too less. The husband is beaten up by some goons to whom he owns money and now think they own him. They want him to rob a pawn shop or else...Driver helps because he knows the violence is going to spill to the mother and child. Whatever build up the characters had, shatters, yet we want more. The film progresses in an unpredictable orchestra of silence and violence.  Foreplay, but with S & M overtones, the masochistic audience opens up with the smooth caresses, the silences and the thrill of repressed aggression then BAM! Blood and brains splatter around to animal screams, it slaps us in the face, we turn out of breathe, yet we want more. And each time we think the climax is approaching, the veil of aggressive silence falls back again. Albert Brooks is brilliant, Christina Hendricks in a small yet memorable role (I'm partial to her curves, mostly hidden here) Carey Mulligan does a competent job, the kid is cute and not irritatingly so, the only down side being Ryan Gosling who looks slightly uncomfortable, but we know is at his very best.

9/10

Plugged - Eoin Colfer

The writer of Artemis Fowl and the gutsy sequeler of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, you know you will have a good time reading Mr. Colfer. So did not hesitate paying the 10% money and lending the book. It was funny and hard to believe and the romance was more in lines of 10 year olds who pull the pigtails of the girls they have crushes on, but all in all fun.

Dan is an Irish, ex peacekeeper who works as a bouncer at a bar/casino/prostitution hellhole. There is a lot of guns and fighting involved and a fair bit of irish mockery. But somewhere along the line you feel the writers voice, a very low esteemed writers voice wondering if all this working. People are shot, the hero saves the day, then he does it again and then again. And it all ends happily. Somewhat.

Mankatha 2011

Anticipation is a bitch. More so when you finally get to see the movie all that energy is wasted. Mankatha was like a slap on the face. It was like Venkat Prabhu played a game - on us. The opening credits are wonderful, walk out after it if you value three hours of your time.

This piece of *&$^%* movie starts with an an action sequence that is average and then leads to a song that has Laxmi Rai gyrating in one of the ugliest dresses I have seen. Ajith dances around her like he is ashamed of being there, which he should be. We are then introduced to "action king" Arjun (we are reminded he is an "action king" throughout the movie) who is part of some special force to tackle betting. The usual Venkat Prabhu characters appear, who are all part of the betting evil in some way or the other. This also includes Trisha and her betting boss father. They all plan to steal the betting money that will come in during the IPL finals and they do and then everybody double crosses and triple crosses each other.

Ajith's salt and pepper hair and a wonderful drunk dialogue in a car are the only high points. "Action King Arjun" looks so haggard that at a point where a green plate is smashed against his face, the plate and face look the same colour. Premji does the same old thing and this time the 'trying so hard to be funny' background music and 'one liners out of some parallel dimension that has no connection to what is happening in the scene' make you feel like puking. The horrible songs land out of nowhere. This has tempted me to write a letter to Venkat Prabhu and Ajith.

Dear Mr. Venkat Prabhu and Ajith,

I will keep this letter as short simple bullet points since I know you suffer from some sort of attention deficit disorder. How else can your movie jump from one point to another with rhyme or reason.

1. The public is not composed of people with the IQ level of George Bush.

2. You want to copy a Hollywood/Bollywood movie. Copy it well.

3. Cool dialogue writing does not mean sprinkling words like "Money Money Money" and "Silly Girl" and ofcourse the going to be cult classic "Cheap Phone" 

4. Even drunken, drug fueled, schizophrenic writing can be better. Try it. 

5.  Shame on you for spending crores on this movie without even having a basic plot or idea about how movies are made. Watch people abroad do a million times better work than you - on TV - week after week. eg Hustle, Leverage, Numbers and so much more. Even the most stupid of VIP episodes is better than your movie.

6. IF I SEE YOU, RUN COS I WANT MY MONEY AND THREE HOURS BACK!!

Captain America 2011

Captain America released on the Indian Independence Day weekend was irony enough. The story of digitally shrunk Steve Rogers turning into the six packed Captain America should have been a fun watch, instead, after the first half of building up, it turns into a campy, corny almost Captain Vijaykanth type of B movie.

Steve Rogers is the impossibly tiny. asthmatic guy with the proverbial heart of gold, never give up attitude and can take punches all day long. Please remember because they keep irritatingly recurring throughout the movie. He is spotted giving an impassioned speech about joining the army after 4 failed tries by Stanley Tucci's character and immediately drafted into a special programme that ultimately hopes to create super soldiers. Perfect backstory for a villian nowadays, but this is Captain America. He is first used as a PR tool to sell war bonds. Then the heroine tells him he is meant for bigger things so he goes to rescue a group of captive soldiers. Meanwhile Mr. Smith/ V / Elrond /Megatron who is also the Red Skull finds some blue coloured cube that we the audience has no idea about. Then he keeps running from Captain America although he is strong enough to kick  his ass. In between he also tears away his skin and bleeds through his ear.  Then the futuristic weapons and multitude of super soldiers have one glaring weakness. They can never shoot straight. Even Captain Vijaykanth puts in some bullets scraping him. The blah blah and he crashes in the arctic to save the world and wakes up in Voila! 2011.
There is some peggy female with impeccable lipstick too. She is the only woman around and some feminist lines are spewed, but everybody is too busy staring at her curves and siren pout.

I have no clue how it got so many good reviews. At its best, its a backstory for the Avengers movie.

4/10

The Last Airbender - 2010

One hit wonder Manoj N Shyamalan tries and fails so miserably that you are left looking at a movie that reminds you of some expensive, exotic animal that has turned into roadkill. The acting so wooden, the lines so cliched, you can almost say them along with the characters even if you have never seen the movie before. It's an insult to the viewer. The storyline has so much promise  - The fire nation (run by Indians) has taken over the water. earth and air bending nations. Bending involves manipulating the elements and an avatar can manipulate all the elements. All the benders have been massacred by the fire nation when an avatar who was stuck in ice for a 100 years appears. Then the stupidity begins. I sincerely hope that more money is not wasted on sequels. That money would find better use even if it was sunk to the bottom of the ocean where M N Shyamalan cannot ever reach it or even try to make another movie.

2/10

A loyal Character Dancer - Qiu Xiaolong

If you love reading about exotic geographies, lives of people living in different cultures and political scenarios, then you will kind of enjoy the book. If you are looking for a good murder, mystery, plot then don't bother. A lot of the story seems contrived. Inspector Chen - Policeman, Poet, Translator and English speaker; is told by his mentor Party Secretary Li to accompany and host a US Marshall Catherin Rohn, who is obviously pretty and available. She is here to accompany the pregnant wife of Feng who is in the witness protection program, waiting to to testify against the head of a triad. Then there is also a dead body in the Bund which at the end of the book conveniently ties up to the missing woman case. The cultural revolution, the re education of the youth by Mao, all these are beautifully weaved into the plot. But the plot in itself is threadbare, filled with twists that seem too contrived.

4/10

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2011

I didn't want to watch this movie. Hrithik Roshan makes me slightly nauseous. But since Zoya Akhtar had given a decent Luck By chance, I decided to take a chance on this one. It was a fun movie. The usual three protagonists and Ray Ban, Mountain Dew, Canon and of course Spain Tourism. The product placements were obvious, so was the plot and so were the characters. It was like skimming across the lives of three good looking men two of whom had problems that stemmed with having too much money [give me those problems anyday] and the other one had daddy issues. Spain is gorgeous, so is Hrithik and Katrina. Farhan Akhtar is talented and for some weird reason Abhay Deol looks gay. Though he does have guts dancing with the stupendous Hrithik and the above average Farhan. Kalki Koechlin is believable as a rich spoilt girl. The only time the film rises above its good looks is when Farhan Akhtar recites those beautiful lines written by his father. If only he could deliver them without that cutesy lisp and gravelly voice.

5/10

Delhi Belly 2011

Wriiten by Akshat Verma and directed by Abhinay Deo, Delhi Belly is an irreverent look at life. Done and finessed by a number of Hollywood and European films, but new to India. Three protagonists, two women, lots of toilet scenes, one bag of diamonds and ofcourse the sadistic yet funny villain. A few scenes are original, the women are not brainless imps, except the one who is supposed to be a brainless imp and the pace is fun and fast. All in all, a great effort!

7/10

The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill

I had read one book that was touted as having the charm of an Alexander Mcall book and had burnt my fingers, or rather my brain. [Inspector Ghote Series - I advice a distance of 10 miles from them if possible] So this time I was a little vary.

Colin Cotterill's coroner Dr. Siri was based out of Laos. That sounded promising. Then there was the achingly honest yet funny descriptions of the protagonist's life and the communist state of Lao. No judgements are made. Like MCall Smith, the really bad parts are glossed over, but they are there. The plot is riveting and soon you come to like and even love the reluctant coroner and his staff. It's a whodunit that winds and wheezes with a hint of fantasy and a whiff of otherworldliness while rooted in the very practical and human Dr. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

7/10

I shall wear midnight - Terry Pratchett

I love the discworld series although most of the major plot points are immensely forgettable - though it does not matter in the least. The joy of reading the discworld series is that you read it, you feel good, you chuckle, you grin and sometimes you laugh outright loud and scare whoever is sitting next to you. Terry Pratchett is a treasure and has helped me through many a bad client, grumpy husband, end of mad chaotic day and PMS's. The Unseen University, the witches, trolls, Ankh Morpork, Captain Carrot, the mud river, the magic, the food, the entire world inside his head is so relatable yet so fantastic. I shall wear midnight is my current favourite. It has Tiffany the witch, who is one of my favourite characters. It has the feegles and it has a wedding and funeral together. It doesn't have DEATH, who is another one of my favourites and if you are thoroughly confused by now, read the book, I strongly advice you, and you will be pleasantly confused.

Rendevous with Rama - Arthur C Clarke

Its a classic. What more can I say. Even in the 2011, it takes your breath away. A cylindrical object is seen in the sky and investigations proves its an ET object. The landing on the object and the investigations are detailed so beautifully and the object described with so much imagination and innovation. It's a must read for any sci fi fan. Actually its a must read for anybody with a science background.

9/10

Faces in the water - Ranjit Lal

It has such a promising plot. A family where girls are never born and a well that keeps them healthy. You can spot the connection. Anyways our protagonist Gurmi is sent to the ancestral house where the well is because his house is undergoing renovation. We are introduced to his immensely unlikable family and then later to his immensely likeable ghost/ parallel universe / spirit sisters who live down in the well. It goes reasonably well for a few chapters and then things turn simperingly holier than thou. The murderers are not taught their lesson, but helped by the eldest in the kitchen (this really rankled me) and the youngest with a series of ghostly hugs and kisses. I could readily believe girls living at the bottom of the well, but I couldn't believe that people who murder young babies by throwing them in a well would change in a few weeks. Plus the girls at the bottom of the well would be all light, love and kitchen help. It all ends well with enough sweetness to cause diabetes.
I know children have to be taught to be patient and good and not retaliate, but this book takes it to extremes.
4/10

Hangover 2 -2011

What the F*&%*!! in a bad way.

Bangkok is known for knock offs, as many a stingy Chennai fashionista knows. The perfect copy of that horrendously expensive Vuitton bag at a tenth of the price. The writers of Hangover (1 or 2 doesn't make a difference) have captured that quality perfectly. It's an exact duplicate of the first part, except for the fact that it is made in Bangkok. The same jokes, the same one liners, the same situations. Instead of pulling out a tooth, an extremely irritating Stu gets a tattoo (ha ha) and gets laid by a hooker (with a small expected twist) They loose Teddy( not a bear but a cute 16 yr old brother of the bride) and they find a monkey instead of a tiger and we get to see a lot of penises, including Chows shitake mushroom tasting one. (don't even ask) There were absolutely no laugh out loud moments, no surprises and no 'Alan' moments too. Even the cast didn't look like they were having any fun. Even you wouldn't find it too nice if you were shown only a shitty hotel, the roof of a building and a single beach in the whole of lovely Thailand.Oh - there is a cute monk too who is funny only at the expected final photo montage. Shame on you Hangover writers.

0/10

A discovery of witches - Deborah Harkness

The blurb was promising but as I went further and further into the book the promise went further away.

One of the most genetically endowed witches in the world (her parents were powerful witches) chooses to live like normal humans after her parents tragic death and is a history professor. A chance encounter with a mysterious spell bound book attracts every creature in the vicinity towards her and her 'normal' life. Creatures  - Witches, Vampires and Daemons ofcourse hate each other and as the story unfolds are forced to co operate. The 'hero' is a vampire genius who has a very low opinion about women. And as the pages unfold, the romance is driven froward and the plot goes downhill. So many possibilities could have been explored but although the writing is above par, the plot provokes curiosity and the romance is carefully portrayed, I came away with a sour feeling. The main cause  - the portrayal of women. The heroine witch soon turns into a 'Twilight' vampire pheromone afflicted character. The point of her being the strongest witch around gets lost with the plot soon surrounding the men when it comes to any form of action. I agree women like to be taken care of sometimes but after the word 'wife' is introduced, all our powerful witch does is worry and swoon while the men plan a war.

The book ends in a cliffhanger, which again puts me in a foul mood. So all in all, great plot, great characters doing 'twilghty' things and making you feel like throwing the book away.


4/10

Arrack in the Afternoon - Mathew Vincent Menacherry

The title hooked me. For a debut novel, it's really good, compared to the trash that 'young Indian novelist' seem to be putting out nowadays.

It starts with the Mallu mumbaikar Varghese. Jobless, handsome and about to commit suicide. The story takes off on two tangents, one that traces Varghese's father Kochapu's life and landing in Mumbai and the other follows Varghese and the fantastical journey that follows his attempted suicide. The characters are so well fleshed out, it's like you have met them somewhere. A few tend to become caricatures, but for a first time novelist, I am willing to forgive. The 'manager' Karan, the Irish Indian Patricia, Kochapu, Maria and above all Varghese are characters you will remember long after putting the book down.

It's black mallu humour at its best. Politics, Godmen, Chamchas, filmwallas and anglo indian lovers weave in and out while we read on smirking, sometimes smiling until the end, where like any true blooded malayali artiste, the worst outcome has to happen. (think any movie worth mentioning from kerala, or any major work of literature - Tragic outcomes are a must!)

7/10

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

One of those books that are as good as the hype. Kathryn Stockett takes us through America's south - particularly Mississippi during the 60's. In a no holds barred plot that is divided into chapters from the point of view of each of the main characters, the story unfolds. Of the black household help and their white mistresses.
Skeeter, a tall, socially awkward white college graduate fumbles through her painful life while documenting the good and the bad points of a black helps life. She recruits secretly and painfully many of the towns domestic help who tell her stories, most of which involve the closest of her friends. It is so real and sometimes so painful, you have to put the book down for a few moments. Telling it as it is, the story of women divided by racism. I could see traces of similarity between the story and our very own caste divisions. A must read.

PS: Another book I picked up because it was being made into a movie.

8/10

The Blue Girl -Charles de Lint

Fantasy is one of my guilty pleasures, especially children/teenage fantasy. This book covered those criteria and I wasn't too disappointed. A girl brought up by hippies but now living with a single mother and brother in a new town and has enrolled in a new school. She finds a close friend in Maxine and disturbingly in an imaginary childhood friend Pelly. Then there is a ghost adrian, naughty house spirits, eveil fairys etc etc. All the parents are cool and nobody bats an eyelid when confronted by these supernatural creatures and occurrences. All in all, not the best of the genre, but a good read.

6/10

The Titian Committee -Iain Pears

No gore, no unnecessary action, just real people solving a crime in Italy. The heroine Flavia is extremely relatable, no dark, mysterious pasts or anything. She is part of the struggling Art Theft squad in Rome, headed by a wily Bottando. A member of the prestigious Titian committee that documents the artists work has been killed in Venice. She is sent to assist the crime squad on any art related details. Labelled a mugging gone bad, the case is quickly covered but Flavia has her doubts. Assisted by Argyll, an English art buyer, she sets out (not so determinedly) to find the killer while never giving up on sleep or culinary pleasures. A character after my own heart. Soon the plots twists around Argyll's latest client, the members of the committee and ancient artist lives.

Venice as the setting works very well and even though I have no clue about Italian paintings or painters, I followed the story eagerly.

6/10

Susanna's seven husbands -Ruskin Bond

I love Ruskin Bond and the original Susanna's seven husbands is a good read with potential for a film. His novella of the same name is a little forced, after all he wrote it after Vishal Bharadwaj decided to make a movie out of it. Exciting and filled with so many possibilities, but I heard the movie is horrible. I haven't seen it yet because I like the snob appeal of reading a book before watching the movie. I think it was bad because he took the easy way out. Just ran with it superficially. Great for a Ruskin Bond read but not great for a movie.

4/10

Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie

Whatever the world says, Salman Rushdie is a great storyteller. I remember the excitement and awe when I first read Midnights Children. He has not lost his touch for magical nonsensical yet greatly readable stories. Haroun begins with a journey where Haroun and his mega storyteller father are taken to a meeting where his father's stories stop all of a sudden. Traveling to the land of stories to find out why, Haroun discovers an evil villain is polluting the sea of stories. Princess's, talking fish, a flying bus and a mad gardener all make this adventure worth a read.If you do not like kooky flights of fancy, give it a miss.

7/10

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People - Farahad Zama

As the name says, the novel is about an old couple retired and bored Mr Ali and his wife who begin a marriage bureau for upper middle class clients out of their front porch. A poor girl Aruna is hired to help him out. The plot proceeds languidly like the lives of the old couple with interesting clients that have even more interesting demands. Mr. Ali and Aruna's lives also take a slow turn. For Mr. Ali's its due to his son, the rebel and for Aruna when a new yet frightening opportunity opens up. Set in Hyderabad, it captures that quaint and timeless quality of great unhurried storytelling that depends on the characters.

Mr. Ali's essay extracts at the end and a great recipe to finish off are great touches.

6.5/10

Serious Men - Manu Joseph.

Bought this book after The Hindu Literary Prize was announced. (So awards do have an impact on book sales.) Was a little apprehensive, since Hindu is not exactly a masthead for cutting edge style or big on experimentation etc. I was pleasantly surprised. The book is bitter, but funny bitter. The characters, you have met. The story plausible but imaginative and with backgrounds that you can almost taste and smell. Nothing is left out, science, relationships, poverty,class, ambitions and love is split open, turned inside out for inspection with a jaded, pessimistic attitude. But somehow it works.

Ayyan Mani works for Arvind Acharya an eminent scientist. He is married and has a kid Adi for whom he has astronomical ambitions. In the backdrop of Ayyan's bleak, barely held together apartment complex and the hypocritical lives of squabbling, scheming scientists, he comes up with an ingenious plan to ensure his rather average son has a bright future. Is it class revenge or a father ambition, we oscillate through the plot that reveals itself in careful layers.

7/10

Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton

The story of a boy who discovers an ancient book that supposedly has the answer to everything . He has a know it all sister called duck and a researcher mother separated from their father back in America. Oxford is the setting and the story moves between now and the times of Gutenberg and Faust. Two boys seprated by centuries find a secret book that only they can read (with a little blood involved). Both have to ward off evil adults who want the books power for - what else - evil.

Its an ambitious novel, with children as prtagonists but somewhere along the line the author got too adult on them. (The too smart, too complicated situation syndrome) The authors love of fonts, books and libraries is more than apparent. Its a good read although a bit tedious at times.

 4/10

The Longshot - Katie Kitamura

If you love boxing, you will love this book. Full of descriptive bouts, each sentence shows how much the author is in love with the sport. I have absolutely no clue about boxing and can't stand to watch and felt the same way about some of the descriptions. I couldn't bear to read them. Yet I was strangely pulled into this violent world and as the author may have meant to convey, found some redemptive and courageous qualities to the sport.

With my little knowledge of boxing gained mostly from this book, the entire story that weaves around the two protagonists - Cal the boxer who almost got it all and his trainer Riley seems to be almost like a boxing match. Wearing the reader down to the last gut wrenching yet strangely satisfying moments. You could almost taste the air of Tijuana - where the action happens and smell the sweat and blood. It is a slow book. But as I said earlier - strangely satisfying.

6/10

Drink Play Fuck- Andrew Gottleib

A lot of women like Eat, Pray Love (for reasons I don't exactly understand) and I have a strange feeling a lot of men will love this book. Its plot less, moral less and just a string of "good times" interspersed with some funny stories. Nobody discovers anything except that there are Indian women who fuck for the sake of it and then move on, hidden undiscovered, unbookable paradise resorts in Thailand, a workable strategy for winning in Vegas and above all your gym trainer may be the next best thing to god! It's a fun timepass read and maybe the only good thing to come out of the Eat, Pray. Love phenomena.

6/10

Frida's Bed - Slavenka Drakulic

I came to know about Frida Kahlo and her extraordinary life though the Salma Hayek movie. It led me to an approximately two week run of obsession with Frida. I couldn't decide which was more colourful, morbid and captivating - her life or her work. The same conundrum occurs when you read this book. A first person fictional account, Slavenka tries to get into the pain riddles artistic mind of the artist. No new facets of Frida's life is revealed. The pain, the surgeries, the loves and the emotions and experiences leading to most of her famous paintings is meticulously covered. Sometimes a little too meticulously.
Its a life and a book filled with pain, sometimes getting too caught up in its own little whirlpool of describing the agonies.
All in all a good read for Frida fans.

5/10

Quarantine - Rahul Mehta.

Touted as a book written by and about 'gay' relationships, I was a little vary about reading it. Hype about anything other than the writing itself, almost always means bad writing. But I was pleasantly surprised. The tales explore relationships, displacement and move at a dark lazy pace that draws the reader in. There are some patches that are plain boring, but never does the author try the 'gay shock and awe' tactics that most gay writers seem to do nowadays to draw attention. There is a bit of sex but always where necessary. What he excels at, is describing the Indian diaspora, the slow crumbling or building of relationships. In one story, an achingly lonely young man pretends to be interning at Vogue while staying in a family friends house and connecting with the lady of the house even through language barriers. In another a grandmother is gently forced to apply for citizenship, so she is not 'thrown out' of the US. Every character is gently sketched and closely observed.


Now all the author has to do is move out of this close sphere he has constructed for his writing and experiment. Waiting for his next work, hopefully one that goes beyond the sexual orientation of the characters or the author.

7/10.

Red Riding Hood 2011

If you have read/studied the basic of psychology, this movie is no surprise. If you haven't, then too its no big surprise. The moment I heard Twilight director, should have stayed away. But I ended up dragging myself and 7 other poor members of the public to the theatre. Amanda Seyfried is red riding hood that sleepwalks and uses to blue blue eyes every five minutes to glower, glamour and glance seductively at everyone around. Everyone else seems incidental including the two leading men who do anything but lead.They seemed to have endlessly watched Rob Pattison and then reproduced his single expression all through the movie.What Gary Oldman is doing in the movie is a mystery, even to Gary Oldman himself. The only cool thing in the entire movie - that beautiful scarlet cloak and Gary Oldman's silver nails.
All in all - Avoid at all costs!
3/10

Known Turf - Annie Zaidi

I first came to hear the name when she won a poetry competition, later at the local library, the name again caught my eye and since there was nothing else interesting I could pick, I picked up Known Turf.

Thank god for that. I am not a big fan of non fiction and prefer flights of fantasy that good fiction offers, but this book kept me spell bound. I even read the statistics avidly. It brought the news you hear everyday onto a more personal level. The authors dilemma's and soul searching included along with the stories flow without the usual rankle of preachiness and morality that looks down on the reader.

Empathy, frustration and sometimes a small smile for those tiny happy pauses.From Dacoits to Bonded labour and malnutrition. From eve teasing to women panchayats, each page rang true and you could almost smell the blood, sweat, tears and even the fear that went into the words. No highbrow language. Just personal tales framed by the bigger picture.Though most of these have been beaten to death, it did not sound  too stale. It felt more like a dialogue between two people, the author and the reader. (I have no other way of describing it) I closed the book with a strange feeling that I was listening to a close friend for a few hours.
Albeit one who waxes on a little too much about tea.

Joan Rivers - A piece of work

I knew little about Joan Rivers until she started appearing on bad plastic surgery lists. And even then I thought little of her until snaps of her acid comments started appearing.
Then this documentary came along and I was curious.
She was with Johnny Carson for 20 years as a co host! Black and white clips show a daring, caustic tongued, witty woman. With jokes that would have been shocking in those times. And the fun part is, she shocks you today too! From Vagina farts to Michelle Obama termed as Blackie O for her style. (From the previous stylish first lady Jackie O) everything is fodder for her jokes. But apart from the comic timing its the enthusiasm at 74 (when the doc was filmed) and her untiring scramble to the top even after getting knocked down more than a few times. Itsy bitsy spider, in human terms.

7/10