Kamal does it yet again - just when you think he has a gem of an idea and and the implementation is also going brilliantly - something happens which makes everything a bit disappointing.
I felt a sense of Deja Vu after finishing watching Dasavatharam (same feeling after Aalavandhan) - at intermission time, I was thinking this is absolutely awesome, what a screenplay, what acting, what dialogues... but everything had unraveled by the time the movie was done!!
The movie starts off quite promisingly showing a caste conflict in the 12th century and then quickly switching to a chase in 2004.. A cold hearted killer is chasing a scientist (both played by Kamal) - the reward being a bio-weapon... The chase moves to India where we encounter a lot of other characters played by Kamal - I wont put any spoilers here and say who the characters are and what happens with each.. but it is an interesting mix.. Kamal also shines in the extra "11/12th" roles of story/script in the first half with lot of heavy and interesting dialogues..
But post the interval, in a over-zealous attempt to define 10 full characters (which is one of my big grouses - this movie would have been great with maybe 6-7 of the characters alone, why add unnecessary flab?) the story goes haywire with no logical or coincidental (the movie relies a lot on this) links between scenes, just one special effects scene after another till a big finish with quite a few things left unexplained... not the kind of expectation the movie set up at the beginning..
Kamal is of course brilliant in all the roles, even in a couple where the make-up doesn't fit him properly at all.. As Fletcher, he is absolutely lip-smacking-enjoying-himself-brilliant-bad; as Balaram Naidu, he provides a number of laughs; as the script writer, some very sharp lines on the presence of God are delivered; and as Bush... does he have some fun there!! Asin is competent (though to call hers a double roles is stretching it).. Mallika Sherawat has a short eye-candy presence.. everybody else is basically a special appearance which they manage well enough..
Direction, Camera, Background score are all top-notch. Graphics are very good at most places (considering almost every scene needed graphics, only the really big effects look a bit tacky), songs are very average (only a couple stay hummable)... I just wonder how great this movie would have been if 3-4 avatars were cut and the running time added just a bit more for story development.. All said and done this is actually a pretty good movie but it should have been a bit better for the kind of expectations it set up!!
Score : 64 (Worth a watch, but oh it should have been special)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Games people play!!
...errr... in this case, the "people" refers to only me :)
In any case, I am putting up this huge blog after months of non-updates on the gaming side - the excuse of course being - "its easy to play, but not to write about a great game"!! So, here goes, all the games I played after the laaast update, which was "F.E.A.R." way back in Jan 07..
Just a early heads-up, some of the games I mention in this list might be difficult to find on a store shelf near you. If you are really interested, check the net or ask me for more detailed reviews, and then you can place a special order for that game!!
Syberia and Syberia 2 : 84 - this one came out of nowhere, an adventure, puzzle-solving type game which just blew me away. We follow a New York attorney Kate Walker as she follows the childhood dream of a eccentric inventor as seeing live mammoths!! Long live automatons!!
Far Cry : 82 - a very famous FPS, it does live up to its reputation. It has everything we can ask for from a game of this genre and then some more. Guns, vehicles, AI, blasts and stunning graphics - dont miss!
Prey : 74 - Prey has a lot of potential - trying to mix some ancient cherokee "magic" skills with some interesting gameplay. The concept of using portals for getting between areas is also really good. But, this game gets a few basic concepts and repeats them over and over. Worth playing, but after seeing this - I cant wait to find what Valve can do with "Portal"..
NOLF and NOLF 2 : 86 - No One Lives Forever is one of the few games whose main protagonist is a female - and she grows to become a very good super spy ala Bond, James Bond - yes, I am referring to Cate Archer. This is one well rounded game - good action, good graphics, great locales all over the world, challenging puzzles to crack and one really mean sense of humour - dont miss the dialouges - they are worth stopping the action for!
Call Of Duty : 81 - The original Call of Duty - places us with various teams (American, British, Russian) in the push to capture Berlin during World War II. And it is one "realistic experience". Fans of "world war" themes will absolutely love this..
Psychonauts : 84 - Another game I hadn't heard much of - but was an absolute delight to play. A stunning 3D - platformer, we follow the adventures of Raz - training to become a psychonaut - people who save the world by fighting demons in peoples minds!! Yeah - really!! This gives rise to some really quirky and fun concepts and great dialouge too makes this a must-play. It looks like a kiddies-game, but believe me - everyone will enjoy it.
Condemned - Criminal Origins : 81 - whew!! A creepy horror game, where we battle for survival against some unknown but powerful entity.. There is pretty gruesome first-person fighting and an unrolling mystery.. a dark game which harcore gamers will love - but keep away from the very young..
GTA - San Andreas : 92 - I really dont have to say much about San Andreas - you are not even a bit into gaming if you haven't heard of it. This is a great game well worth the money you pay for it - there are some minor irritants, like forcing us to eat and exercise, but there is just so much interesting stuff to do here that we dont mind at all.
Prince Of Persia - the Trilogy : 91 - Really awesome, Sands Of Time, Warrior Within and Two Thrones combine some stunning gameplay with good dialouges, great graphics and a classic prince storyline. As I mentioned before, I loved the "time sands" concept - and thats jsut one of the great things in the game. A very minor irritant is the fact that sometimes we get the feel that this was meant for teh console - given the key combinations and camera angles we get to use and see.
Hitman - Blood Money : 82 - Another classic Hitman - where you can choose to be a "all guns blazer" or a true "silent assasin" on a number of interesting locales and missions - the ending is also good - with the seeming Hitman "death". Fans - dont miss!
Indigo Prophecy : 81 - Not sure if I have written on this before - but it follows a "movie" like look and we play along as detectives trying to solve a case. Lots of new concepts implemented here and there is a great "impending crisis" atmosphere.
Painkiller & BooH expansion : 79 - A straight FPS - has all the usual frills and all done very well - a new addition is the capture of "souls". Good one for FPS folks..
King Kong : 76 - A short but excellent game following the same track as the movie - and it allows us to play as King Kong too!!
NFS Carbon : 75 - Yet another in the NFS stable - I wouldnt say this is as good as the earlier "Most Wanted", but its worth the ride. All the usual NFS stuff with the new canyon fights - but it is a bit irritating to restart the canyons from start if we fail even at the very end.
Liquidator : 50 - err - why was the game released when all that was meant to be in it was not put in? Only the "options" screens are impressive looking..
Ok folks, thats all the games I remember playing over the last few months - hope you enjoyed reading about it (and wished you could play them too!!). I will update again sooner (or later) on new games I play and anything else I might have missed here.
Till then, have fun - and KEEP GAMING!! (The Orange Box is here - YIPEEEEEEEE)
In any case, I am putting up this huge blog after months of non-updates on the gaming side - the excuse of course being - "its easy to play, but not to write about a great game"!! So, here goes, all the games I played after the laaast update, which was "F.E.A.R." way back in Jan 07..
Just a early heads-up, some of the games I mention in this list might be difficult to find on a store shelf near you. If you are really interested, check the net or ask me for more detailed reviews, and then you can place a special order for that game!!
Syberia and Syberia 2 : 84 - this one came out of nowhere, an adventure, puzzle-solving type game which just blew me away. We follow a New York attorney Kate Walker as she follows the childhood dream of a eccentric inventor as seeing live mammoths!! Long live automatons!!
Far Cry : 82 - a very famous FPS, it does live up to its reputation. It has everything we can ask for from a game of this genre and then some more. Guns, vehicles, AI, blasts and stunning graphics - dont miss!
Prey : 74 - Prey has a lot of potential - trying to mix some ancient cherokee "magic" skills with some interesting gameplay. The concept of using portals for getting between areas is also really good. But, this game gets a few basic concepts and repeats them over and over. Worth playing, but after seeing this - I cant wait to find what Valve can do with "Portal"..
NOLF and NOLF 2 : 86 - No One Lives Forever is one of the few games whose main protagonist is a female - and she grows to become a very good super spy ala Bond, James Bond - yes, I am referring to Cate Archer. This is one well rounded game - good action, good graphics, great locales all over the world, challenging puzzles to crack and one really mean sense of humour - dont miss the dialouges - they are worth stopping the action for!
Call Of Duty : 81 - The original Call of Duty - places us with various teams (American, British, Russian) in the push to capture Berlin during World War II. And it is one "realistic experience". Fans of "world war" themes will absolutely love this..
Psychonauts : 84 - Another game I hadn't heard much of - but was an absolute delight to play. A stunning 3D - platformer, we follow the adventures of Raz - training to become a psychonaut - people who save the world by fighting demons in peoples minds!! Yeah - really!! This gives rise to some really quirky and fun concepts and great dialouge too makes this a must-play. It looks like a kiddies-game, but believe me - everyone will enjoy it.
Condemned - Criminal Origins : 81 - whew!! A creepy horror game, where we battle for survival against some unknown but powerful entity.. There is pretty gruesome first-person fighting and an unrolling mystery.. a dark game which harcore gamers will love - but keep away from the very young..
GTA - San Andreas : 92 - I really dont have to say much about San Andreas - you are not even a bit into gaming if you haven't heard of it. This is a great game well worth the money you pay for it - there are some minor irritants, like forcing us to eat and exercise, but there is just so much interesting stuff to do here that we dont mind at all.
Prince Of Persia - the Trilogy : 91 - Really awesome, Sands Of Time, Warrior Within and Two Thrones combine some stunning gameplay with good dialouges, great graphics and a classic prince storyline. As I mentioned before, I loved the "time sands" concept - and thats jsut one of the great things in the game. A very minor irritant is the fact that sometimes we get the feel that this was meant for teh console - given the key combinations and camera angles we get to use and see.
Hitman - Blood Money : 82 - Another classic Hitman - where you can choose to be a "all guns blazer" or a true "silent assasin" on a number of interesting locales and missions - the ending is also good - with the seeming Hitman "death". Fans - dont miss!
Indigo Prophecy : 81 - Not sure if I have written on this before - but it follows a "movie" like look and we play along as detectives trying to solve a case. Lots of new concepts implemented here and there is a great "impending crisis" atmosphere.
Painkiller & BooH expansion : 79 - A straight FPS - has all the usual frills and all done very well - a new addition is the capture of "souls". Good one for FPS folks..
King Kong : 76 - A short but excellent game following the same track as the movie - and it allows us to play as King Kong too!!
NFS Carbon : 75 - Yet another in the NFS stable - I wouldnt say this is as good as the earlier "Most Wanted", but its worth the ride. All the usual NFS stuff with the new canyon fights - but it is a bit irritating to restart the canyons from start if we fail even at the very end.
Liquidator : 50 - err - why was the game released when all that was meant to be in it was not put in? Only the "options" screens are impressive looking..
Ok folks, thats all the games I remember playing over the last few months - hope you enjoyed reading about it (and wished you could play them too!!). I will update again sooner (or later) on new games I play and anything else I might have missed here.
Till then, have fun - and KEEP GAMING!! (The Orange Box is here - YIPEEEEEEEE)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Transformers
Well, well, well - talk about a rollicking fun ride on a blockbuster Hollywood summer movie!!
This one is a straight "formula" movie, uses all the usual "big" movie tricks but still impresses thanks to a great and "simple-at-heart" screenplay and some wickedly stunning visual effects!!
Adapted from the age old (for me atleast) comic and TV series, the movie features a group of "alien-advanced technology" machines/robots which are looking for something called the "cube" and can transform themselves into the shape of any machine which they observe. There are some good robots (Autobots) here and many are bad (Deceptions) and one teenager called Sam holds the key to finding the cube.
From here on its the standard story - if the bad bots win, the human race will be destroyed, Sam joins up with the good bots and starts the chase for finding the cube - interspaced with efforts to impress the girl of his dreams (from his childhood) who doesnt even know he exists..
But what makes the movie work is the warm, human touch to the screenplay - the robots used the "world wide web" to learn about humans and speak with human voices!! There are many simple and funny moments - a great example being the scene where the robots try to hide from the sight of Sam's parents lest he be grounded!!
The graphics/visual effects are of course ASTOUNDING! Right from the beginning when an army helicopter turns into an attacking machine, there is no letup to the amazing sights we see on screen!!
The acting is par for this sort of movie, but it must be said that Shia Labeouf (Sam) fits his role to a "T".
Overall, my only grouse with this movie is in the climax which is not really as entertaining as the rest of the movie and doesnt seem too inventive but well the graphics more than make up for it.. and of course, the logic leaves a lot to be desired, but hey this is a "comic-book" movie!!
Score : 73 (Dont MISS this on the big screen - its a lot of bang for the buck)
This one is a straight "formula" movie, uses all the usual "big" movie tricks but still impresses thanks to a great and "simple-at-heart" screenplay and some wickedly stunning visual effects!!
Adapted from the age old (for me atleast) comic and TV series, the movie features a group of "alien-advanced technology" machines/robots which are looking for something called the "cube" and can transform themselves into the shape of any machine which they observe. There are some good robots (Autobots) here and many are bad (Deceptions) and one teenager called Sam holds the key to finding the cube.
From here on its the standard story - if the bad bots win, the human race will be destroyed, Sam joins up with the good bots and starts the chase for finding the cube - interspaced with efforts to impress the girl of his dreams (from his childhood) who doesnt even know he exists..
But what makes the movie work is the warm, human touch to the screenplay - the robots used the "world wide web" to learn about humans and speak with human voices!! There are many simple and funny moments - a great example being the scene where the robots try to hide from the sight of Sam's parents lest he be grounded!!
The graphics/visual effects are of course ASTOUNDING! Right from the beginning when an army helicopter turns into an attacking machine, there is no letup to the amazing sights we see on screen!!
The acting is par for this sort of movie, but it must be said that Shia Labeouf (Sam) fits his role to a "T".
Overall, my only grouse with this movie is in the climax which is not really as entertaining as the rest of the movie and doesnt seem too inventive but well the graphics more than make up for it.. and of course, the logic leaves a lot to be desired, but hey this is a "comic-book" movie!!
Score : 73 (Dont MISS this on the big screen - its a lot of bang for the buck)
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Tagged by Naren - 3 themes/ideas for Tamil cinema
Ok here goes - fulfilling a tag by Naren quite some time back. BTW, all tag trail followers - unfortunately "the buck stops here" for this one!!
Idea 1 : The "book adaptation" - I mean the "real" one - not the kind where songs and fights are inserted into a perfectly good book to make it seem perfectly bad!! I think we did have few, very few of these in the early part of last century - but I cant recall anything which was more recent.
Idea 2 : The "courtroom drama" - again this has been "mildly" (to put it mildly) tried out before - "Naan Avanillai" being a recent example - but a classic courtroom movie could work wonders for the intellectual viewer..
Idea 3 : Hey, you guys took all the "good and easy" ideas and left me to wonder here :) - in any case, here goes my final idea - the "mental movie" - yeah - you read right
"mental" - a classic example would be "A Clockwork Orange" - where we really plough into the "psyche" of a protaganist..
Well - thats it from me and remember this tag trail stops right here!!
meme:tamil.cinema.themes.ideas
Idea 1 : The "book adaptation" - I mean the "real" one - not the kind where songs and fights are inserted into a perfectly good book to make it seem perfectly bad!! I think we did have few, very few of these in the early part of last century - but I cant recall anything which was more recent.
Idea 2 : The "courtroom drama" - again this has been "mildly" (to put it mildly) tried out before - "Naan Avanillai" being a recent example - but a classic courtroom movie could work wonders for the intellectual viewer..
Idea 3 : Hey, you guys took all the "good and easy" ideas and left me to wonder here :) - in any case, here goes my final idea - the "mental movie" - yeah - you read right
"mental" - a classic example would be "A Clockwork Orange" - where we really plough into the "psyche" of a protaganist..
Well - thats it from me and remember this tag trail stops right here!!
meme:tamil.cinema.themes.ideas
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I just completed the long and eagerly awaited book 7 - and it was one racy read... Gone are the intorduction of "new & fun" magical things that makes these books all that interesting to read - but then this is war and the tone has been set in book 6 - there are short spans of humour, fun and even romance but its about the final war between good and evil. Yes - there are casualities ; yes - some unexpected heroes arise and no - nobody could have guessed EVERYTHING this book throws up and so yes - JKR does deliver a "unguessable and well-above par" (not like Matrix 3) final book. You are going to read this book only if you have been following the story so far and in that case you are going to read it anyways!! :)
Have fun - its a must read.
Have fun - its a must read.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Oceans 13, Die Hard 4.0, Harry Potter - the "multi"quels
Quite a pleasant change - I liked all 3 of these "biggies" - compared to the disappointment of the previous releases!!
Oceans 13 - not many would consider this one too good - but the flow and the dialouges and the "ideas" are just too good - its obvious the cast is njoying itself - as I did - and Oprah - oh Oprah - was absolutely awesome - esp at the climax!! If u liked Oceans 11 - dont miss it!!
Score : 71 (must watch if u liked the first movie)
Die Hard 4.0 - to say the truth, I didnt expect much out of this one - but boy this is another super-fun ride. We have a series of outrageous stunts and actions sequences intersperced with wacky one-liners from the "one-and-only-McClane-Willis". Add to this a "futuristic" storyline, a nerd as a sidekick and a spunky daughter who gets kidnapped - and you know its a worthy movie experince.
Score : 70 (but you may not remember much afterwards)
Harry Potter And The Order Of the Phoenix - I am kind of pre-disposed to like this one - but even then its a very good adaption of what is considered the "most boring" of the Harry Potter books.. A lot of liberties are taken with the story to ensure that the length of the movie is managable, the visuals are really awesome, the mood is darker and overall its a good watch in anticipation of Book 7.
Score : 73 (you are going to watch it anyways)
Oceans 13 - not many would consider this one too good - but the flow and the dialouges and the "ideas" are just too good - its obvious the cast is njoying itself - as I did - and Oprah - oh Oprah - was absolutely awesome - esp at the climax!! If u liked Oceans 11 - dont miss it!!
Score : 71 (must watch if u liked the first movie)
Die Hard 4.0 - to say the truth, I didnt expect much out of this one - but boy this is another super-fun ride. We have a series of outrageous stunts and actions sequences intersperced with wacky one-liners from the "one-and-only-McClane-Willis". Add to this a "futuristic" storyline, a nerd as a sidekick and a spunky daughter who gets kidnapped - and you know its a worthy movie experince.
Score : 70 (but you may not remember much afterwards)
Harry Potter And The Order Of the Phoenix - I am kind of pre-disposed to like this one - but even then its a very good adaption of what is considered the "most boring" of the Harry Potter books.. A lot of liberties are taken with the story to ensure that the length of the movie is managable, the visuals are really awesome, the mood is darker and overall its a good watch in anticipation of Book 7.
Score : 73 (you are going to watch it anyways)
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Sivaji - the "boss" is back!!
Just got back from watching Sivaji - and I must say that the "too-much" hype leaves the feeling that the movie should have been a bit better...
First things first - Rajni is back with full vigour and looking several years younger thanks to some "cool" costumes and makeup - Shankar sticks to his usual formula - though the main theme this time is black money and corruption...
I wont bother with writing the story here because either you already know it or you dont want to know it - (u dont care/u wanna see it live in a theatre).. The film starts with what is a feeble introduction by Rajni's standards and then continues along very light lines..
The entire first half is a fun-riot, nothing really serious happening - with just the establishment of the characters and their relations - Vivek is quite equal to Rajni here playing his "mama" and they evoke quite a few laughs..
Then, tragedy falls just before the interval - after this the Rajni "formula" starts and the adrenaline rush never stops till the very end - with the "motta" MGR finishing things off!!
The fights are way better than "Chandramuki" but still the intermediate scene where Rajni bashes up some 20-30 people doesnt always look too good - the opening "comic" fight though is a classic!
The songs are all good and well-shot - a couple are really fun too - but they inevitably act as speed-breakers - they hold you attention by their sheer lavishness but I dont think - but if you have already seen the songs then you will feel irritated when the break the swiftly moving movie..
Shreya has a pretty good role considering this is a "superstar" movie - but still she is involved only in the songs and in the scenes which set up these songs primarily - she looks good and does her part well - All the other characters are adequate - Suman as the villain looked like a good concept - the underplayed bigshot - but I had the feeling that casting such an unknown here reduced the effect quite a bit - imagine if one of the long list of actors who refused to do this role actually accepted!!
The overall script is good - esp the comic parts - but there are some unbelievable things too - like when Shreya saves Rajni, the way the entire legislative-judiciary system seems to work and so on..
I think you have noticed by now from my writing that my overall impression was that this was a pretty good movie but there are some minuses which stop it from being the "great" movie expected from the stellar team working on it..
Rajni fans - they will surely enjoy this one - even though the "glorification" is not that continuous ; Others - can see it once too - its quite an entertainer!!
Score : 70 (Would have been a lot lesser if not for Rajni!)
PS : BTW, Pirates 3 too didnt meet my expectations - too little Jack, totally unnecessary story complications and leeeeeength bog down what should have been a great movie. Score : 64
First things first - Rajni is back with full vigour and looking several years younger thanks to some "cool" costumes and makeup - Shankar sticks to his usual formula - though the main theme this time is black money and corruption...
I wont bother with writing the story here because either you already know it or you dont want to know it - (u dont care/u wanna see it live in a theatre).. The film starts with what is a feeble introduction by Rajni's standards and then continues along very light lines..
The entire first half is a fun-riot, nothing really serious happening - with just the establishment of the characters and their relations - Vivek is quite equal to Rajni here playing his "mama" and they evoke quite a few laughs..
Then, tragedy falls just before the interval - after this the Rajni "formula" starts and the adrenaline rush never stops till the very end - with the "motta" MGR finishing things off!!
The fights are way better than "Chandramuki" but still the intermediate scene where Rajni bashes up some 20-30 people doesnt always look too good - the opening "comic" fight though is a classic!
The songs are all good and well-shot - a couple are really fun too - but they inevitably act as speed-breakers - they hold you attention by their sheer lavishness but I dont think - but if you have already seen the songs then you will feel irritated when the break the swiftly moving movie..
Shreya has a pretty good role considering this is a "superstar" movie - but still she is involved only in the songs and in the scenes which set up these songs primarily - she looks good and does her part well - All the other characters are adequate - Suman as the villain looked like a good concept - the underplayed bigshot - but I had the feeling that casting such an unknown here reduced the effect quite a bit - imagine if one of the long list of actors who refused to do this role actually accepted!!
The overall script is good - esp the comic parts - but there are some unbelievable things too - like when Shreya saves Rajni, the way the entire legislative-judiciary system seems to work and so on..
I think you have noticed by now from my writing that my overall impression was that this was a pretty good movie but there are some minuses which stop it from being the "great" movie expected from the stellar team working on it..
Rajni fans - they will surely enjoy this one - even though the "glorification" is not that continuous ; Others - can see it once too - its quite an entertainer!!
Score : 70 (Would have been a lot lesser if not for Rajni!)
PS : BTW, Pirates 3 too didnt meet my expectations - too little Jack, totally unnecessary story complications and leeeeeength bog down what should have been a great movie. Score : 64
Monday, May 21, 2007
Hoping to be back soon!!
Yeah - I know its been a long while, but it took today - when I had to "claim" this blog in order to move it from blogger1 to blogger2 - to make me finally enter an update - with some massive movies and games coming over the next few months - I hope to have some updates here..
I suppose the biggies started with Spidey 3 - but I was really disappointed with it - my score : 62/100
More on movies and games in the near future..
I suppose the biggies started with Spidey 3 - but I was really disappointed with it - my score : 62/100
More on movies and games in the near future..
Friday, February 03, 2006
Rang De Basanti - what the nation wants!!
After the debacle of Mangal Pandey, Aamir returns with RDB. As does Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra after the "far ahead of its time" Aks.. and this one is a winner all the way..
A young Britsh woman, Sue, comes to India to document on video the heroism of our freedom fighters.. she strings up with a gang of college misfits - DJ (Aamir), Karan (Siddarth), Aslam, Sukhi and Sonia (Soha Ali Khan) in order to achieve this.. the guys are all easy going "we-dont-care" types just taking life as it comes and living for the moment.. just like the majority of today's youth.. but as they get involved with Sue's project, they slowly relaise that they need to do something for the country.. but the final push comes when Sonia's finacee dies in a Mig crash.. and the corrupt government blames him for the mishap..
The entire first half is fun, mainly showcasing the antics of the gang.. the second half is filled with purpose.. slowly igniting the light of patriotism into the characters and the viewers very effectively.. the entire movie is leisurely paced.. Mehra takes his time to unfold the story and to drive home his point.. and he does a very good job of it..
Aamir shows that given a good story, he doesnt mind sharing the limelight.. all the main protogonists have weighty roles and they all deliver perfectly.. AR Rahman is brilliant in the BGM and with the songs which play behind the movie.. cinematography is also very good.. overall, its a slow movie.. but very well delivered.. I am not sure if the message it gets across will be implemented.. but I am sure it will get some people thinking..
Please note that my comprehension of Hindi is limited.. if I was following the dialoges 100%, I would have enjoyed the movie evn more..
Score : 75 - dont miss
A young Britsh woman, Sue, comes to India to document on video the heroism of our freedom fighters.. she strings up with a gang of college misfits - DJ (Aamir), Karan (Siddarth), Aslam, Sukhi and Sonia (Soha Ali Khan) in order to achieve this.. the guys are all easy going "we-dont-care" types just taking life as it comes and living for the moment.. just like the majority of today's youth.. but as they get involved with Sue's project, they slowly relaise that they need to do something for the country.. but the final push comes when Sonia's finacee dies in a Mig crash.. and the corrupt government blames him for the mishap..
The entire first half is fun, mainly showcasing the antics of the gang.. the second half is filled with purpose.. slowly igniting the light of patriotism into the characters and the viewers very effectively.. the entire movie is leisurely paced.. Mehra takes his time to unfold the story and to drive home his point.. and he does a very good job of it..
Aamir shows that given a good story, he doesnt mind sharing the limelight.. all the main protogonists have weighty roles and they all deliver perfectly.. AR Rahman is brilliant in the BGM and with the songs which play behind the movie.. cinematography is also very good.. overall, its a slow movie.. but very well delivered.. I am not sure if the message it gets across will be implemented.. but I am sure it will get some people thinking..
Please note that my comprehension of Hindi is limited.. if I was following the dialoges 100%, I would have enjoyed the movie evn more..
Score : 75 - dont miss
Zinda - Alive!!
Sanjay Gupta is back with his next offering starring Sanjay Dutt.. and this time its supposed to be a direct lift from a Korean movie.. but since I have not seen the movie in question.. I must say that I really enjoyed the movie..
The story is quite interesting.. Dutt plays a software engineer.. who seems to have all that he wants in his life.. a great job.. lots of money.. a beautiful wife.. expecting a daughter.. and a great childhood friend.. suddenly, one fine day.. out of the blue, he is kidnapped and locked away for 14 years.. his only contact to the outside world being the food he gets and the TV in his room.. which shows him how he himself is suspected of murdering his wife and other inportant world events...
Dutt dedicates his life to revenge.. biding his time and waiting for his chance for revenge.. the chance comes when he is released suddenly one day.. and the hunt begins.. he is helped in his cause by Lara Dutta, who plays a cab driver who can speak Hindi and the local language.. she may or may not have been planted by his rivals..
finally, he realises that the man behind his imprisonment is John Abraham, who is now a high profile businessman.. and the fight begins.. there are lots of gruesome scenes. making this a movie fit for only the young guys.. but in all other technical aspects the movie excellently made..
The story runs along fairly well.. and I really liked the way it all came around 1 full circle in the end.. but the last couple of minutes spoil the whole effect.. they seem added on to satisfy the Indian audience..
Overall, worth watching.. if u like this kind of style movies..
Score : 71
The story is quite interesting.. Dutt plays a software engineer.. who seems to have all that he wants in his life.. a great job.. lots of money.. a beautiful wife.. expecting a daughter.. and a great childhood friend.. suddenly, one fine day.. out of the blue, he is kidnapped and locked away for 14 years.. his only contact to the outside world being the food he gets and the TV in his room.. which shows him how he himself is suspected of murdering his wife and other inportant world events...
Dutt dedicates his life to revenge.. biding his time and waiting for his chance for revenge.. the chance comes when he is released suddenly one day.. and the hunt begins.. he is helped in his cause by Lara Dutta, who plays a cab driver who can speak Hindi and the local language.. she may or may not have been planted by his rivals..
finally, he realises that the man behind his imprisonment is John Abraham, who is now a high profile businessman.. and the fight begins.. there are lots of gruesome scenes. making this a movie fit for only the young guys.. but in all other technical aspects the movie excellently made..
The story runs along fairly well.. and I really liked the way it all came around 1 full circle in the end.. but the last couple of minutes spoil the whole effect.. they seem added on to satisfy the Indian audience..
Overall, worth watching.. if u like this kind of style movies..
Score : 71
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Narnia : Fantasy Rocks!!
Quite inexplicably, "The Chronicles of Narnia" had an highly delayed release in India.. and since I wanted to see this one on the big screen I was able to watch it only this week.. but boy it was well worth the wait!!
The story is simple.. the World War forces parents to send their children to foster homes where they will be safe.. and so our main characters, the Pevensie siblings -Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter are sent away by their mother to the house of an old professor who doesn't seem to be much fun going by what his housekeeper says..
While playing Hide And Seek (aahhh.. those days!!), little lucy discovers a wardrobe which actually opens out into a new world called Narnia.. her siblings dont initially believe her.. but then they too finally enter the magic world!!
In Narnia, it turns out that a evil white witch has taken over the land and that according to prophecy she would be killed by 4 humans (the Pevensie's fit the profile!) with the help of Aslan, the great king.. This sets the stage for the engrossing movie!!
As expected, the great plus for this movie is the sheer novelty of the things we are seeing.. the graphics are excellent.. and the kids.. especially Lucy deliver great performances.. but for me personally the second half didnt quite match up to the wonderment feeling we have while viewing the first half..
For fantasy addicts, this is a "dont miss" movie!!
Score : 73
The story is simple.. the World War forces parents to send their children to foster homes where they will be safe.. and so our main characters, the Pevensie siblings -Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter are sent away by their mother to the house of an old professor who doesn't seem to be much fun going by what his housekeeper says..
While playing Hide And Seek (aahhh.. those days!!), little lucy discovers a wardrobe which actually opens out into a new world called Narnia.. her siblings dont initially believe her.. but then they too finally enter the magic world!!
In Narnia, it turns out that a evil white witch has taken over the land and that according to prophecy she would be killed by 4 humans (the Pevensie's fit the profile!) with the help of Aslan, the great king.. This sets the stage for the engrossing movie!!
As expected, the great plus for this movie is the sheer novelty of the things we are seeing.. the graphics are excellent.. and the kids.. especially Lucy deliver great performances.. but for me personally the second half didnt quite match up to the wonderment feeling we have while viewing the first half..
For fantasy addicts, this is a "dont miss" movie!!
Score : 73
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
F.E.A.R.
First Encounter Assault Recon - a special unit to deal with extra-terrestrial forces.. this FPS starts off just like a lot of other similar games do.. no foreworks.. just a simple intro.. and straight into the story and the game..
But as I progressed I realized that this was no ordinary shooting game.. it actually freaked me out on a number of situations and the way in which the story plot is laid out is also very engaging.. the slow-mo feature which is now a std part of most games is used very effectively here..
graphics are up to the mark.. and AI is EXCELLENT - the enemies actually plan out methods to kill me.. absolutely stunning..
the climax is a bit of a let down.. but the last last shot is chilling!!
Score : 84 - great game.. dont miss!!
But as I progressed I realized that this was no ordinary shooting game.. it actually freaked me out on a number of situations and the way in which the story plot is laid out is also very engaging.. the slow-mo feature which is now a std part of most games is used very effectively here..
graphics are up to the mark.. and AI is EXCELLENT - the enemies actually plan out methods to kill me.. absolutely stunning..
the climax is a bit of a let down.. but the last last shot is chilling!!
Score : 84 - great game.. dont miss!!
Of Kanda Naal Muthal, 15 Park Avenue, Aathi and Paramasivan..
I caught a few movies over the last few days.. but as usual.. didnt find the time to update here.. so heres one blog with all the reviews!!
Kanda Naal Muthal : Excellent movie.. good potrayal of a soft romance.. good performances by all of the lead cast.. Prakash Raj gives a great offering to Tamil cinema again!! The only real downer in this one would be the duet songs in the 2nd half.. but Yuvan has ensured that the songs are good enough to overlook the intrusion on the story.. Dont miss!!
Score : 76
15 Park Avenue : Aparna Sen is back and this time she has Konkona Sen Sharma playing a schizopherniac.. The film is somewhat slow and though it has its moments I didnt really empathise with the central character.. All the actors give commendable performances but the climax completely spoiled the movie for me.. this is a movie for godsake.. not a short story!!
Score : 64 - skip the climax
Aathi : This one actually starts off quite unlike a Vijay movie (he is not in the first frame.. and there is NO intro song).. even the Script is quite decent.. but as we progress the normal Vijay elements come in.. amazingly huge logic loopholes.. useless songs.. unnecessary dialouge banter.. heavy fights with the Matrix BGM..
Vijay is getting better and better as an actor.. but the films he chooses to do leave a lot to be desired.. he better choose carefully if he wants to be a strong future top star!!
Score : 54 - average
Paramasivan : This is supposed to be Ajit's comeback vehicle.. and P.Vasu's great offering post-Chandramuki.. and it was quite disappointing.. the only saving grace was the lean and fit looking Ajit.. otherwise, there is little that really stands this movie up.. can be missed!!
Score : 52
Kanda Naal Muthal : Excellent movie.. good potrayal of a soft romance.. good performances by all of the lead cast.. Prakash Raj gives a great offering to Tamil cinema again!! The only real downer in this one would be the duet songs in the 2nd half.. but Yuvan has ensured that the songs are good enough to overlook the intrusion on the story.. Dont miss!!
Score : 76
15 Park Avenue : Aparna Sen is back and this time she has Konkona Sen Sharma playing a schizopherniac.. The film is somewhat slow and though it has its moments I didnt really empathise with the central character.. All the actors give commendable performances but the climax completely spoiled the movie for me.. this is a movie for godsake.. not a short story!!
Score : 64 - skip the climax
Aathi : This one actually starts off quite unlike a Vijay movie (he is not in the first frame.. and there is NO intro song).. even the Script is quite decent.. but as we progress the normal Vijay elements come in.. amazingly huge logic loopholes.. useless songs.. unnecessary dialouge banter.. heavy fights with the Matrix BGM..
Vijay is getting better and better as an actor.. but the films he chooses to do leave a lot to be desired.. he better choose carefully if he wants to be a strong future top star!!
Score : 54 - average
Paramasivan : This is supposed to be Ajit's comeback vehicle.. and P.Vasu's great offering post-Chandramuki.. and it was quite disappointing.. the only saving grace was the lean and fit looking Ajit.. otherwise, there is little that really stands this movie up.. can be missed!!
Score : 52
Thursday, January 05, 2006
The Matrix : Path Of Neo (PON)
This one has been a long time in development and has finally hit the shelves this year.. a video game which ACTUALLY allows us to play in the shoes of NEO!!
Straight away the game introduces a novelty.. in choosing the game difficulty setting.. we are allowed to play the lift lobby scene and based on how well we play the difficulty setting is chosen!! COOL..
From this point on, the game follows the oh-so-familiar storyline of the movies.. allowing us to play all the interesting parts!! One major change from "Enter the Matrix" (ETM) is that the special moves are much better defined here.. we can actually choose XYZ key combo to bring about that cool looking move!! Also the graphics and sound are much much better... one thing which is worse compared to ETM is the cutscene scenario.. in PON we basically have the film footage very hastily edited and put together for effect while ETM had exclusive video footage..
Also Neo acquires more and more powers as the game goes on.. and towards the latter stages.. we can pull off some really awesome link combos.. where Neo thrashes 4-5 guys at a time!! One thing which irked me was that as soon as the "reloaded" architect scene got over.. we r pushed to the grand finale "Smith" fight.. sure "Revolutions" has almost nothing going on inside the Matrix. but the game guys could have put something here..
Overall.. very interesting game.. even though u already know the story.. it is worth playing just to see all those cool stunts which Neo does..
Score : 79 - dont miss it if u plugged into the Matrix!
Straight away the game introduces a novelty.. in choosing the game difficulty setting.. we are allowed to play the lift lobby scene and based on how well we play the difficulty setting is chosen!! COOL..
From this point on, the game follows the oh-so-familiar storyline of the movies.. allowing us to play all the interesting parts!! One major change from "Enter the Matrix" (ETM) is that the special moves are much better defined here.. we can actually choose XYZ key combo to bring about that cool looking move!! Also the graphics and sound are much much better... one thing which is worse compared to ETM is the cutscene scenario.. in PON we basically have the film footage very hastily edited and put together for effect while ETM had exclusive video footage..
Also Neo acquires more and more powers as the game goes on.. and towards the latter stages.. we can pull off some really awesome link combos.. where Neo thrashes 4-5 guys at a time!! One thing which irked me was that as soon as the "reloaded" architect scene got over.. we r pushed to the grand finale "Smith" fight.. sure "Revolutions" has almost nothing going on inside the Matrix. but the game guys could have put something here..
Overall.. very interesting game.. even though u already know the story.. it is worth playing just to see all those cool stunts which Neo does..
Score : 79 - dont miss it if u plugged into the Matrix!
And so we start again...
Not very long back.. there were almost no matches (cricket or otherwise) being played between India and Pakistan due to political reasons.. this in turn led to big value being placed on any such match which did take place.. so finally when we started playing each other on the sub-continent the marketing gurus took over and ensured that the potential mega-bucks were realised.
There is no doubt now that the entire cricket world is dependent on Asia, and India in particular for its revenue.. lot of recent events incl India dictating schedules being evidence of this.. the Aussies play the best cricket but wherever we turn, ad revenue is from India, so everyone wants more Indian matches!! This is also the reson why we are having so frequent tours of Pakistan.. and so few tours of the Windies!!
Another recent phenomenon on the rise is the so called "mental wars" before a series with evry other player sounding off their verbal abuse on their opponents.. as can be expected, the Aussies indulge in this activity heavily.. but India-Pak? Surprise.. surprise.. Shoaib says he is better prepared (forgot the World Cup - ur career almost ended there man), Afridi says Sehwag is the only real prob (so what abt Sachin, Dravid and Laxman - BTW is Afridi going to be in the playing 11?), Inzi says we have "plans", bouncy pitches, we will stop Sachin (man u r going to eat ur words).. of course, the Indians are also mouthing off these days - but atleast they are not tall claims.. but I say that Saurav Ganguly has the best chance to emerge as the dark horse.. to make his critics eat their words..
So who is better prepared? The Pakis actually murdered the English team who just came of a historical Ashes win.. while the Indians are continuously notching up very very competitive victories under their belt..
My prediction : based on sheer talent .. India shld win 2-1.. lets see how it unfolds!!
There is no doubt now that the entire cricket world is dependent on Asia, and India in particular for its revenue.. lot of recent events incl India dictating schedules being evidence of this.. the Aussies play the best cricket but wherever we turn, ad revenue is from India, so everyone wants more Indian matches!! This is also the reson why we are having so frequent tours of Pakistan.. and so few tours of the Windies!!
Another recent phenomenon on the rise is the so called "mental wars" before a series with evry other player sounding off their verbal abuse on their opponents.. as can be expected, the Aussies indulge in this activity heavily.. but India-Pak? Surprise.. surprise.. Shoaib says he is better prepared (forgot the World Cup - ur career almost ended there man), Afridi says Sehwag is the only real prob (so what abt Sachin, Dravid and Laxman - BTW is Afridi going to be in the playing 11?), Inzi says we have "plans", bouncy pitches, we will stop Sachin (man u r going to eat ur words).. of course, the Indians are also mouthing off these days - but atleast they are not tall claims.. but I say that Saurav Ganguly has the best chance to emerge as the dark horse.. to make his critics eat their words..
So who is better prepared? The Pakis actually murdered the English team who just came of a historical Ashes win.. while the Indians are continuously notching up very very competitive victories under their belt..
My prediction : based on sheer talent .. India shld win 2-1.. lets see how it unfolds!!
Friday, December 16, 2005
PoP - SoT review
As promised, this is my review of "Prince of Persia - The sands Of Time".. and boy is it good..
once in a while a game comes along which has the ability to change the face of computer gaming.. Doom and Half-Life being cases in point.. and I think we can add this game to the list!!
The original Prince game was an icon.. but was followed by the very very disappointing and clunky "Prince 3D".. so Ubisoft was under pressure to deliver a hit with this game.. and deliver they do!!
There are many many innovative features in this game which make you go "wow - thats cool" even as you play it.. the usual Prince palace defence mechanisms involving blades, knifes, et al are all there.. the rope and pole tricks are aplenty.. sword fights are now looking even better and then we have the SUPERB "Time Dagger" - it actually has a "rewind" feature where we can go back a little in time.. if we feel we need to replay what we played just a moment back.. this is an unbelievably COOL feature
.. and is supported by an awesome storyline which actually makes this seen possible..
The dialouge is also quite witty and brought a smile to my lips on more than one occasion.. Farah ordering the Prince around is quite hilarious really!! Gameplay wise.. the 3rd person perceptive gives a lot of scope to to acrobatics and has been used well by the developers.. the puzzles to solve are also interesting enough..
The one really irritating feature of this game was the camera angles.. they have this uncanny knack of changing when we are trying to do some tough task.. just when we are jumping back and forth trying to scale a hiiiiiiigh wall.. the camera changes its angle.. which means that the ky bindings also change.. so unless we adjust very very quickly we are going to jump in the wrong direction.. most probably into a deep chasm!!
But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise fine game.. one more blip : this is actually the first of a trilogy - following up are "Warrior within" and "Two Thrones" - both are already out.. and I am eagerly awaiting tackling these 2 games!! ... assuming of course that I get a copy!!
Score : 88 - DONT miss it
PS : I also played Postal 2 - share The Pain in between.. its a pure time pass violence game like Serious Sam.. with the only real aim being inflicting pain.. which the game does amply well!!
Score : 74 - for the violence addicts!!
Coming up next : "The Matrix - Path Of Neo" - keep watching this space!!
once in a while a game comes along which has the ability to change the face of computer gaming.. Doom and Half-Life being cases in point.. and I think we can add this game to the list!!
The original Prince game was an icon.. but was followed by the very very disappointing and clunky "Prince 3D".. so Ubisoft was under pressure to deliver a hit with this game.. and deliver they do!!
There are many many innovative features in this game which make you go "wow - thats cool" even as you play it.. the usual Prince palace defence mechanisms involving blades, knifes, et al are all there.. the rope and pole tricks are aplenty.. sword fights are now looking even better and then we have the SUPERB "Time Dagger" - it actually has a "rewind" feature where we can go back a little in time.. if we feel we need to replay what we played just a moment back.. this is an unbelievably COOL feature
.. and is supported by an awesome storyline which actually makes this seen possible..
The dialouge is also quite witty and brought a smile to my lips on more than one occasion.. Farah ordering the Prince around is quite hilarious really!! Gameplay wise.. the 3rd person perceptive gives a lot of scope to to acrobatics and has been used well by the developers.. the puzzles to solve are also interesting enough..
The one really irritating feature of this game was the camera angles.. they have this uncanny knack of changing when we are trying to do some tough task.. just when we are jumping back and forth trying to scale a hiiiiiiigh wall.. the camera changes its angle.. which means that the ky bindings also change.. so unless we adjust very very quickly we are going to jump in the wrong direction.. most probably into a deep chasm!!
But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise fine game.. one more blip : this is actually the first of a trilogy - following up are "Warrior within" and "Two Thrones" - both are already out.. and I am eagerly awaiting tackling these 2 games!! ... assuming of course that I get a copy!!
Score : 88 - DONT miss it
PS : I also played Postal 2 - share The Pain in between.. its a pure time pass violence game like Serious Sam.. with the only real aim being inflicting pain.. which the game does amply well!!
Score : 74 - for the violence addicts!!
Coming up next : "The Matrix - Path Of Neo" - keep watching this space!!
Aaru - Hardly reaches the boundary!
Quite differently from all his recent films, which have all been "different", comes "Aaru" where Surya plays the normal tough-on-outside, good-at-heart action-rowdy hero. The first 45 mins of the movie are very disappointing going thru' the usual motions of song-character intros-comedy sequences in a predictble and jarrring manner.. I was left wondering what had got into Hari..
But then the movie picks up about 10 mins before the intermission and we realize that the director has started working from this point on only.. there are a number of "Hari" touches after this point.. and the movie maintains a rivetting pace till the very end..
Story : bad rowdy.. good at heart.. betrayed by his gang leader.. turns against him.. and wins.. side-story - romance ; even far away side story - Vadivel comedy track..
Surya plays his part well.. he has put in his full effort.. but there is only so much you can do to a character like this.. Trisha plays his love interest quite convincingly (though the reasons for her falling in love with him are hardly convincing).. interestingly she has a number of looong dialouges to mouth.. and she carries them off well enough... Aishwarya plays his "sister" and loud-mouths it thru the character..
There are 5 villains.. 4 of them brothers of the usual kind.. and the last one a cop (I really liked this part).. who can actually think.. He thinks and acts fast.. the way police are supposed to do.. Vadivel gives the comic breaks.. some ok. some falling way flat..
Music is by Devi Sri Prasad.. and he keeps it as loud as possible.. but most of the songs are ok and kind of fit into the movie.. so it all works out for him..
Overall.. a very routine action-violence flick with a lot of profanity which might serve well as time pass... but other than a few moments.. nothing special..
Score : 56
But then the movie picks up about 10 mins before the intermission and we realize that the director has started working from this point on only.. there are a number of "Hari" touches after this point.. and the movie maintains a rivetting pace till the very end..
Story : bad rowdy.. good at heart.. betrayed by his gang leader.. turns against him.. and wins.. side-story - romance ; even far away side story - Vadivel comedy track..
Surya plays his part well.. he has put in his full effort.. but there is only so much you can do to a character like this.. Trisha plays his love interest quite convincingly (though the reasons for her falling in love with him are hardly convincing).. interestingly she has a number of looong dialouges to mouth.. and she carries them off well enough... Aishwarya plays his "sister" and loud-mouths it thru the character..
There are 5 villains.. 4 of them brothers of the usual kind.. and the last one a cop (I really liked this part).. who can actually think.. He thinks and acts fast.. the way police are supposed to do.. Vadivel gives the comic breaks.. some ok. some falling way flat..
Music is by Devi Sri Prasad.. and he keeps it as loud as possible.. but most of the songs are ok and kind of fit into the movie.. so it all works out for him..
Overall.. a very routine action-violence flick with a lot of profanity which might serve well as time pass... but other than a few moments.. nothing special..
Score : 56
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Games I played - the reviews!!
here is the list/review of the games which I have enjoyed in the last 1 month..
NOTE : All of these are on the PC Platform only.
NOTE : This scoring scale is COMPLETELY different from my movie rating scale!!
Mafia : Very very interesting mafiaso story line with a huge city map and a number of intersting story taks to complete.. full entertainer.. but those who have already sampled the GTA series will be disappointed that it doesnt offer the sheer amount of interactivity and hidden missions that GTA does!!
Score : 74 - worth playing
Quake 4 : After a long 6 year gap, ID has finally released the sequel to the super famous "Quake 3 Arena". And is it worth the wait? Maybe..
The single player mode is back with a aliens vs. hero superbash storyline and it does well throughout.. the graphics are of course outstanding.. downers.. nothing really new in the multiplayers format.. if u play Quake only for mutiplayers anddont enjoy FPS single player games.. stay away.. stick to Q3A itself!!
Score : 77 - play if u like single player FPS's
Enter the Matrix : Of course, this game was released long ago.. around the time that the movie 2 was to come out.. but even keeping this in mind, I was a little disappointed.. we follow the course of events around Niobe / Ghost and the storyline really adds to the matrix movies, and this game has the most impressive set of cutscenes ever, but gameplay wise it is just above average.. but if u r a Matrix fan, dont miss it!!
Score : 71 - play if u r logged into the Matrix, otherwise u can give it a miss!!
Thats it for now.. of course I keep playing Q3A, no need to really score that.. it is a classic.. coming up next is "Prince of Persia - Sands Of time" and boy is it cool!! It is defenitely better than the games I have mentioned above!! Watch this blog for more!!
NOTE : All of these are on the PC Platform only.
NOTE : This scoring scale is COMPLETELY different from my movie rating scale!!
Mafia : Very very interesting mafiaso story line with a huge city map and a number of intersting story taks to complete.. full entertainer.. but those who have already sampled the GTA series will be disappointed that it doesnt offer the sheer amount of interactivity and hidden missions that GTA does!!
Score : 74 - worth playing
Quake 4 : After a long 6 year gap, ID has finally released the sequel to the super famous "Quake 3 Arena". And is it worth the wait? Maybe..
The single player mode is back with a aliens vs. hero superbash storyline and it does well throughout.. the graphics are of course outstanding.. downers.. nothing really new in the multiplayers format.. if u play Quake only for mutiplayers anddont enjoy FPS single player games.. stay away.. stick to Q3A itself!!
Score : 77 - play if u like single player FPS's
Enter the Matrix : Of course, this game was released long ago.. around the time that the movie 2 was to come out.. but even keeping this in mind, I was a little disappointed.. we follow the course of events around Niobe / Ghost and the storyline really adds to the matrix movies, and this game has the most impressive set of cutscenes ever, but gameplay wise it is just above average.. but if u r a Matrix fan, dont miss it!!
Score : 71 - play if u r logged into the Matrix, otherwise u can give it a miss!!
Thats it for now.. of course I keep playing Q3A, no need to really score that.. it is a classic.. coming up next is "Prince of Persia - Sands Of time" and boy is it cool!! It is defenitely better than the games I have mentioned above!! Watch this blog for more!!
The pleasures of gaming!!
Even normally. my blogs are very erratic and infrequent but now I think it is even more so.. and there is a very good reason for it..
That is of course that I have now acquired a PC built solely for the purpose of gaming.. within some budgetary constraints of course.. my comp doesnt have the latest dual display adapter "SLI" technology but it packs enough of a punch to run todays games smoothly and thats saying a lot!!
Heres the config.. budget gamers.. take note..
Intel P4 3.0 GHz (2MB L2) with xtended 64 bit memory (save Rs. 2k by going for same chip @ 2.8GHz)
512 MB DDR RAM @ 400 MHz (save Rs. 1k by going for 333MHz RAM)
200 GB SATA HDD (save Rs. 3k by going for 120 GB non-SATA disk)
Intel 915G MB (u can only get a better board than this.. so if u want one.. it will ADD to ur bill!!)
DVD Writer - sony (save Rs. 1.5k go for DVD\CDRW combo)
nVidia 6200 wTurbocache Technology (this is the best bet for budget gamers - if u have money to splurge, choose 2 7800 cards with SLI tech!!)
Creative 4.1 surround speakers (save Rs. 3k by choosing 2,1 speakers, add Rs. 1.5k for 5.1 speakers and REAL surround sound!!)
UPS (absolutely essential!!)
17" Flat CRT Monitor (save Rs. 2k for 15" flat - add Rs. 10k for TFT monitor)
thats it.. choose a proper table/chair combo to go with this.. nad you are all set for full entertainment :) It cost me abt 43k.. so u have an estimate now..
Which is what I did, now I am enjoying abt 5-6 hours of gaming everyday and it jacks up to even 12-14 in the weekends!! Of course, this means that all my other work (whether planned or current)suffers but who cares !!!
That is of course that I have now acquired a PC built solely for the purpose of gaming.. within some budgetary constraints of course.. my comp doesnt have the latest dual display adapter "SLI" technology but it packs enough of a punch to run todays games smoothly and thats saying a lot!!
Heres the config.. budget gamers.. take note..
thats it.. choose a proper table/chair combo to go with this.. nad you are all set for full entertainment :) It cost me abt 43k.. so u have an estimate now..
Which is what I did, now I am enjoying abt 5-6 hours of gaming everyday and it jacks up to even 12-14 in the weekends!! Of course, this means that all my other work (whether planned or current)suffers but who cares !!!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Harry Potter 4 - the best HP movie yet!!
HP is finally here.. and boy is it good!!
First of all, a note of caution for muggles - especially for those who have no ideas about the characters / background info / theories built into HP.. you dont stand a chance with this movie.. there is no attempt to introduce/familiarise the regular cast in this movie.. even the openinig credits have been done away with.. we see a blob with the movie name and we join he action right away.. Its upto the viewer to come prepared for the movie.. If you still haven't started reading HP.. no point in really seeing this movie :)
I always thought part 4 was best suited for onscreen adaptation and the movie doesn't disappoint.. The TriWizard Tournament with its tough tasks, Harry growing up and adolescent issues with girls and of course the parallel rise to power of Lord voldermot .. It all unfolds with rapid pace and the viewer is enthralled from the word "go"..
The screenplay writers (Steve Kloves & co) have impressed in shrinking this huge pillow of a book to its current 2.5 hours version.. of course a lot of lighter moments which add to the charm ut not to the plot, have been removed. Also suffering is "THe Quidditch World Cup" which really looks grandeously fabulous but is restricted to just a couple of minutes of on-screen time..
Also finally a director (Mike Newell) has restricted himself from religiously following the book.. he has taken some liberties (like the intro scenes of the other school students) most of which work out.. but some of them really miss out (like the always shouting Dumbledore - huh? y on earth would a calm old guy keep shouting?)..
I will refrain from telling the story.. as we all know what this movie is all about.. being a big budget production.. there are no problems with the graphics here.. the performances are also good.. the music score is kind of irritating at the beginning (the "Krum" theme).. but then as we near the end.. it becomes flawlessly suited to the situation..
All in all, this is as good as a HP movie can get.. but I think part 5 is going to suffer in this retrospect.. it is to be made on an already weak book.. also the cast is getting older.. u can see it on the screen.. they are outgrowing their screen ages.. but then.. we can always keep hoping.. cant we??!!
Score : 74
First of all, a note of caution for muggles - especially for those who have no ideas about the characters / background info / theories built into HP.. you dont stand a chance with this movie.. there is no attempt to introduce/familiarise the regular cast in this movie.. even the openinig credits have been done away with.. we see a blob with the movie name and we join he action right away.. Its upto the viewer to come prepared for the movie.. If you still haven't started reading HP.. no point in really seeing this movie :)
I always thought part 4 was best suited for onscreen adaptation and the movie doesn't disappoint.. The TriWizard Tournament with its tough tasks, Harry growing up and adolescent issues with girls and of course the parallel rise to power of Lord voldermot .. It all unfolds with rapid pace and the viewer is enthralled from the word "go"..
The screenplay writers (Steve Kloves & co) have impressed in shrinking this huge pillow of a book to its current 2.5 hours version.. of course a lot of lighter moments which add to the charm ut not to the plot, have been removed. Also suffering is "THe Quidditch World Cup" which really looks grandeously fabulous but is restricted to just a couple of minutes of on-screen time..
Also finally a director (Mike Newell) has restricted himself from religiously following the book.. he has taken some liberties (like the intro scenes of the other school students) most of which work out.. but some of them really miss out (like the always shouting Dumbledore - huh? y on earth would a calm old guy keep shouting?)..
I will refrain from telling the story.. as we all know what this movie is all about.. being a big budget production.. there are no problems with the graphics here.. the performances are also good.. the music score is kind of irritating at the beginning (the "Krum" theme).. but then as we near the end.. it becomes flawlessly suited to the situation..
All in all, this is as good as a HP movie can get.. but I think part 5 is going to suffer in this retrospect.. it is to be made on an already weak book.. also the cast is getting older.. u can see it on the screen.. they are outgrowing their screen ages.. but then.. we can always keep hoping.. cant we??!!
Score : 74
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