Gentle Please...

Slide it in, but gently
If you are forceful, you might damage the delicate head
Be patient; don't bang it about
The glow will come when it will come
When it gyrates inside at tremendous speeds,
You know all is well
But then again, be gentle when you pull it out.
In no case must you put any fluid inside... remember... No Fluids

For these words will prevent you from suffering great loss,
It will ensure your CD player never goes for a toss!

Hope...

I am but a weak, insignificant mortal who dares to write about a feeling as vast and engulfing as Hope. We are all but insignificant at the knees of this god of feelings. Hope is the optimist's everyday fix; it is the pessimist's deep dark secret; it is the sweetest memory of a victor and the last drop of wine in the goblet of the sufferer. It is that one final string at the end of the infinitely long & twisted rope we call life.

I wonder what the nature of hope is. I can categorize most feelings into two baskets of good or bad. But Hope is one that outwits me. Hope is one that has outwitted grey, wise philosophers whose minds graced time before time as we know it existed. Hope is one that balances mankind on it's sharp blade.

When Prometheus gave Fire to man, Zeus was enraged. With vengeance, Zeus created Pandora to ruin all of mankind; A woman who would bring deceit to the world. This woman was as beautiful as the goddesses. Her velvet like skin glowed softly. Her presence was like a heady scent too powerful to resist.With Pandora, Zeus sent a jar. A jar filled with Ruin, Illness, Misery and Grief. Pandora was never to open this jar but she could look at it all she wanted. Thus this beautiful woman lived seemingly content, but with Curiosity eating her away from the inside. It wasn't long before Curiosity got the best of her and Pandora opened the jar. Thus came about the beginning of the end.

But what is not appreciated enough is the last inhabitant of that jar. This little fellow never did manage to make it out of the jar. This little fellow outsmarted Curiosity herself. His name was Hope. This brings us to a fork in the road. What was Hope doing in the jar with Misery, Grief and Ruin in the first place? If he was in the jar of death, then is Hope evil? Is Hope the final mirage in the desert before the sands give way to the dark abyss? Is Hope the trickster that promises, but never delivers? Is Hope the masterstroke that will destroy mankind?

Or is Hope the one speck of gold in all the gravel? Is hope the grandeur amongst the grime? Is Hope the reassuring beam of light that bathes you in joy? What is Hope? What is its nature? Where does it come from? Will we ever know? And so the ambiguity lasts forever.

Hope is the edge of a coin. One face of the coin is Good. The other face but of course, is Evil. This coin was tossed before any man existed. This coin will continue to flip till the last man breathes. And the blade of this coin shall glisten forever and smile the most charming smile. For such is the nature of Hope...

Movie Review: The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

Set in the times when World War 2 was reeking with anti-semitism, madness, brutality and death, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas does a one up on the Diary of Anne Frank and presents before the viewer, the brutal graveyard of a world through the eyes of an eight year old.

The movie tells the tale of young Bruno, son of a Commander in the German Army during WW II and how he finds an interesting friend after moving to a new home situated in the vicinity of The Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It pained me to see the innocence in those soft brown eyes contrasted against the icy truth behind the fate of the Jews. In his innocence, Bruno befriends Schmuel, a Jew from the camp without the knowledge of his parents.

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a touching tale comprising vivid descriptions, tiny bursts of joy that make you smile, harsh Karmic justice, irony and a final stroke of horror which almost made me cry. Though the last movie I shed a tear for was The Green Mile, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas reminded how that felt. The script is steady and the narration is so simple, it impresses instantly. Quite frankly, this is one of the best stories told on film. The impending doom in the final few scenes is apparent but it only adds to the effect as you are left shaking your head in disbelief and horror.

This movie has touched me very deeply; probably more deeply than I would have liked it to... I am looking forward to reading the novel which I am sure will be worth the time spent.

Final Verdict: 4.5 on 5. A classic...

Review: Donnie Darko

When I heard the name Donnie Darko, i was expecting a mindless slasher film. What I was in for was quite different. The movie managed to hold my attention for an hour and a half and then anti-climaxed so badly, that it ruined my already ruined day.

Richard Kelly directs this obscure mixed plot heading straight to disaster. The good thing about the movie is that the viewer has no idea that it's headed that way! Or maybe its a bad thing! Hell I'm confused. The plus about the movie is the cold gripping portrayal of a supposed paranoid schizophrenic by Jake Gyllenhaal. I could relate a lot to his visions and hallucinations and at one point, I paused the movie to reflect on my own thoughts and decide who the best shrink in the country was!

The minus is the transition of the plot from the levels of the mind to the levels of the unexplained and time travel. I was expecting a smoother transition and clarity towards the end. Since the whole movie was making me hold my breath, I expected the end to offer some explanation and get some air back into my lungs. Sadly, the movie does not do that.

Ultimately, at the end of it all, I'm left disappointed, slightly irksome and very confused. I need a cup of coffee guys. Later.

Final Verdict: 2 on 5. Shabby.

Movie Review: Shutter Island

I am writing this from the hospital. I needed a decent rush of adrenaline. So, I watched Shutter Island. Now my adrenal cortex is fried. Ladies and gentlemen... drum-roll...the ideal "Plot movie" is here.
All you atheists out there better watch this one. God has directed this movie. The entire 2hr 15min run is flawless defined. Shutter Island deserves to be put on a pedestal and worshiped. If I ever doubted Martin Scorsese's talent as a director, then I must start rigorous self chastisement right away.
The movie revolves around a detective exploring the case of a missing patient on Shutter Island, an asylum for the mentally unfit and violent. That's all I can say. From that point, the number of gut wrenching turns the story takes is unbelievable. I think I finally found a cobweb in a screenplay woven more intricately than the one across the script of The Usual Suspects.
And ofcourse, If you have the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio and Ben Kingsley in the lead, what the bloody hell else is going to happen? I think Kingsley and Dicaprio are in a race to out do each other in this dark, lucid thriller. The story is unpredictable to say the least and unforgettable to say a little more.
The cinematography is so-so but it is compensated for by the eerie settings and gradual murderous pace of the movie. I don't think I'll need a nail clipper for a few weeks thanks to Shutter Island. This is one hell of a nail biter. Do not miss this. I repeat... DO NOT MISS IT.

Final Verdict: 5 on 5. Probably the best movie I have ever seen!

Ode To Exams

You loom where devils roam free
Hell bent on robbing our glee
A trouble no man must bear
Examinations... at you I bravely stare.

You drive decent souls to the edges of insanity
Our Freedom deprived: useless numbers now measure our vanity
You're nothing but dirty, disgusting and crass,
To you the student community says "Kiss my pretty ass"...

May the creator of exams rot in Hell's Tunnel!
May Satan thrust pineapples up his anal canal!!
Let the world ridicule this thoughtless deed!
As we sit in dim lit halls and perspire as we proceed!!

Bring this nonsense to an end,
Before our spines stay forever bent.
Read, learn, revise and recite.
By the end of it, our bodies lie in coffins and our souls drift towards the ethereal light!

Author's Note: Tomorrow is the first of our board exams... My feelings for the system are summed up quite vivdly above. Comments welcome.

Ode to Maiden

In our AGE OF INNOCENCE, we WASTED YEARS and sat aimless at 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT.

In such times, you taught us to be a TROOPER and overthrow the CHAINS OF MISERY.

You rid us our FEAR OF THE DARK by shining BRIGHTER THAN A THOUSAND SUNS.

We were EDUCATED FOOLS but thanks to you we're RUNNING FREE now. By becoming the GHOST OF THE NAVIGATOR, you showed us a DIFFERENT WORLD.

You turned us into men who can proudly show their ACES HIGH. Now as you leave us, we become CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED. The world is bland, THESE COLORS DON'T RUN anymore.

Who if not you will clear the thick HOLY SMOKE to tell us the tale of the FLIGHT OF ICARUS. Now as you leave us behind in this BRAVE NEW WORLD, with only your LEGACY to cherish, we kneel and chant... HALLOWED BE THY NAME.

IRON MAIDEN...we stand by the golden GATES OF HEAVEN and await...we await THE FINAL FRONTIER.

You guys are legends... We'll miss you...