Confucius said nothing

I opened a fortune cookie today and found nothing inside it. No slip of paper, no confusing words of wisdom. Nothing.

For many it would be an ominous sign. But I, on the other hand, smiled. After all, it is something that Jack Reacher would approve of.

Just like that only

Words of wisdom from Jaunty Quicksand's infertile mind:

There are many ways to skin a pig but only one way to eat it. Unless it is in a cake, in which case you can't eat it if you've made it. (Who'd want to eat a cake made of pork anyway?!)

If at first you fail, don't give up. Your second failure may be more spectacular...and teach you something new. (See: India's 2010 T20 World Cup campaign)

Merely standing under a coconut tree will not get you coconuts. You have got to shake the tree or be prepared to climb it. Or you could just walk down the beach and buy one from the vendor.

Swimming against the current is not a lot of fun. Especially if you have a finger in an electrical socket. And you just stepped out of the shower.

Plant a tree. Don't forget to water it, too. In a few months you will realize that the tree can survive without you but you cannot survive without trees.

Never trust a man who does not look you in the eye when he shakes your hand. Or spits in it before he fields the ball, in which case you can be excused for looking him in the eye but refusing to shake his hand. (See: Ricky Ponting).

If someone tells you they've got your back, turn around and face them. If they really supported you, they'd be standing next to you not behind you. (Julius Caesar learned this the hard way).

Smile as often as you can. You never know when it might make someone else's day.

Coupe du Monde

While the rest of the world is preparing furiously for the football (soccer) World Cup, I am curiously detached about it. I do not even know when it is starting, who are in the main draw, what the names of the players are and, here's the big deal - I don't care to know either. (Sorry, Tifosi Guy!)

But I do know this, if you are even remotely interested in the event, this super-cool ad by Nike should get the juices flowing. Heck, even I was curious enough to see who the "Roo" was referring to!

Maggi Noodle Review: Rajneeti

I wrote a fairly detailed review of the movie but did not post it. Today, I am glad I did not. Trolling the web for other reviews, I found that ALL of them had picked up the Mahabharat and Godfather connections that Rajneeti is heavily inspired by. (One of the more entertaining reviews is by Greatbong.)

Instead, I shall jot down random thoughts that flit through my mind when I think of the movie:

An evening to remember

On the same day that Roger Federer lost before the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in 6 years, I took a 3 hour road trip to Sioux Falls, SD. The object of the visit was to meet Lee Child, the writer of the Jack Reacher series. (Previous posts on Reacher and Child are here).

(C.S. Manish 2010)

There were about 80 people who showed up at a Barnes and Noble bookstore. Child was scheduled to read a chapter of his book and then sign autographs. We were given strict instructions that he would sign only one book and no videotaping was allowed. We were allowed to take photos.

At about 6pm, Child made his way through the crowd. A tall man, Child is slimmer in person than his photos suggest. I was expecting a fellow more on the lines of Reacher (who is listed at 6'5" and 250 pounds) but the voice was the same that I had imagined Reacher would have.

(C.S. Manish 2010)

Child's play

Here's a sneak preview of my next post. Details coming very shortly!

Heading home

Music teaser for Raavan:



More anyone else, I am eager to watch the movie for Vikram, who is not shown in the music preview but can be seen in other previews for the movie.

Maggie Noodle Review - Kites

Ten years ago Rakesh Roshan launched his son Hrithik in a movie that was tailormade to showcase all the actor's assets. Kaho Naa...Pyar Hai successfully launched a phenomenon. Unlike most other star-sons, Hrithik did have the talent to justify the launch. A few days ago, Hrithik's career was relaunched, this time aimed across the Atlantic with Hollywood firmly in its sights.

Kites is a Hindi movie that tries very hard to be something different, all the while placing Hrithik front and center. The only time the camera even seems to go away from him is to showcase Bárbara Mori, a Mexican actress, in agonizingly long and drawn out slow motion scenes. Hrithik exudes a lot of energy but tries too hard. Odd as this may sound, Hrithik needs to watch a few Sharat Saxena movies before facing the camera again.

Hrithik has worked hard on building a muscular body and spends most of the movie displaying that. The director, Anurag Bose, probably believes in equal opportunity so the heroine is not left behind either. Along the way, however, all of them forgot that eye candy can only take you so far. The storyline is actually a pretty interesting one (not original but interesting) that could have been exploited a lot better. Instead, after a fairly decent first half hour, it degenerates into a loooooooooooong commercial for Hrithik, full of suspense-killing slow motion that telegraphs the plot twists minutes before they should.

It may have helped if the supporting cast featured better actors. I am told that Kangana Ranaut is a good actress but I will have to wait for a different movie to evaluate her. Kabir Bedi is wasted in a small role while the guy that plays his son (I am not interested in trying to find out what his name is) is atrocious. On top of his awful acting, the fellow is saddled with a whole slew of terrible scenes that would make a seasoned actor cringe.

Pardon the pun, but this Kite should have been reeled in a long time ago.

(Memo to Indian movie-makers: If you are going to film scenes in an American setting it would be a good idea to read up on some of the laws and rules of the country before portraying the cops in the movies as being no different than in Hindi movies. This is especially true if your ultimate intended audience is an American one.

Hrithik: Muscular, good-looking guys who are also good dancers are dime a dozen in Hollywood. I would not make that my MO if I were you. You have considerable acting chops. Focus on showcasing that before you lose your shirt. (Forget my note on Sharat Saxena...take a look at Chiranjeevi's first Hindi movie - Pratibandh. For a fellow whose calling card in Telugu movies was his dancing ability, he very smartly chose a strong story to showcase his acting talents and did not have a single dance number in the movie. After Pratibandh became a big hit, he showed his other skills in Aaj Ka Goonda Raj. Now, that was a smarter way of trying to make a first impression).