Oscars 2011

Another year where I took a day off to see the Annual Academy Awards for one and only reason, A.R.Rahman. Again this year he was nominated in two categories. I thought he would get in any one of the category but failed in both. But I am satisfied with the two awards that he got last year.

The choice of the host was not good. I think James Franco was not the right choice for this year. Anne Hathway was stealing the show and he was not able to cope. Last year Hugh Jackman bedazzled everyone with Anne Hathway. I think he could have done this year also. With the bad hosting the Annual Academy Awards started.

Colin Firth proved that he is the best of the lot in the Best performer as an actor in leading role in the movie King's Speech. The movie was ethnic in its own way not spoiling the traditions of the english culture.Colin Firth was the right choice for the award. He has done an excellent job in King's Speech. Colin chooses his character in an efficient way. I liked him from Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and today I like him as the King. I expected Leo to be nominated either for Inception or Shutter Island. But he did not get nominated. This was the disappointment for me.

Natalie Portman who did the queen role in the Star wars swept the actress award. The role of Black Swan really needed a performer actress and it was Natalie Portman. Black Swan was an amazing movie which captures the dark and lighter side of a ballet dancer and how she pushes herself to become the black swan performer in the stage. Natalie Portman has given her best in doing both the negative and positive side of the role. Inception proved as a competitor in most of the categories for Social Network and King's Speech.

Focusing on the biggest hit (Facebook) in the general public life, Social Network grabbed the Best Motion Picture of the year. Christian Bale swooped the award for the Supporting role as an actor in the movie The Fighter and the best supporting actress was bagged by Melissa Leo for the same movie. I am yet to watch the movie and hence I cannot comment on their performance.

Animation world has its own imaginary world. Lot of films has made impact. Toy Story is no exception. The third sequel of Toy Story and most probably the final episode bagged the award of the best animated picture. The most talked movie Inception got the award for the Visual Effects. I need not speak about the movie for the movie itself has spoken.

When Eli Wallach came on to the stage get his honorary award from the legendary director Clint Eastwood it was awe inspiring. Eli Wallach has given lifetime's worth of indelible screen characters to the Hollywood. According to me Hollywood is very privileged to have Eli Wallach in its pocket.

Irving G. Thalberg Award was given to the legendary producer Francis Ford Coppola for a consistently high quality of motion picture production. Some pf his works include "American Graffiti", "The Black Stallion" , "Koyaanisqatsi" and "Don Juan".

The Lord Of the Rings - Book?? or Movie???

For a long time this question haunted me. Book or Movie??? Finally I got the answer. They all say that it is great epic and I accept that. But nothing can equal our Mahabharata.

It took me nearly 6 months to complete LOTR book. I made up mind and challenged myself to finish this book when few of my friends and one of my cousin gave up in the middle. Today I finished the book completely. With this I should mention that I have also watched the movie for umpteen number of times (Lost track of the count).

BOOK:

The essence of the book entirely lay on the vocabulary and language that was used. More than that the number characters that were brought together at some points. When I completed the first part (with respect to movie) I was so sure that the book and the movie are different. It was very difficult for me to complete the second part (with respect to movie) since it was very dragging. I was reading only 10 pages per day. But eventually took all the effort and speed and came to third part (with respect to the movie). I found that there was lot of difference. I even felt that there were certain unnecessary parts in the book like Frodo and Sam fighting in the shire. This is just an instance and there we were lot of things that branched out and confused me. Still I feel that the book is quiet good in its own way. All it requires is the patience and time by the reader. I was amazed by the maps that were drawn by the author. This shows his creativity and more than that the clarity in his approach.

MOVIE:

I need not speak for the movie for it speaks for itself. The movie is too good that I watch it like a mad women. I was not able to identify any flaws in the movie other than the dragging part of the gollum in the third part. Otherwise It is a must watch movie. I think I have put a separate post earlier about the movie which speak about the movie itself.

Both Movie and Book are different and I would surely give a 100% for the movie and not the book though it is considered the epic. Please check Mahabharata which is the greatest epic in the world and then think why I have not supported the book.

Movies Vs Books

When I was idle for 8 months before my training period and also during my 6 months in bench period I took a simple task. I have been reading books and also I crazily watch movies, but I have never tried to see a movie which was printed in the first place. I watched a few of them and my views are as follows:

A Walk To Remember - Nicholas Sparks
Well I saw the movie first and then read the book. I do not know if it is because of that I did not feel the neither the romance nor the emotions in the pages. I felt that the movie was taken well in my view.

Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
Both movie and book left its trace in my heart. They both were good in their own way. In case of movie the cast was good in such a way that there was an impact. In case of book I was having tears when I kept turning the pages. Hats off to both the writer and director.Tagline - Behind Every Great Love is the Great Story

P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern
A book and a movie which is cherished by myself forever. In case of book I ended up with tears and the plot was good. In case of movie right from cast, screenplay, acting and dialogue delivery had been awesome. I was shocked to such a romantic book to be take on the screen with the same essence. In the movie there was a small modification to mold the plot. Totally, both book and movie are good. The tagline of both book and movie makes very much sense. Movie Tagline - Sometimes there is only one thing left to say.Book Tagline - Sometimes it is about living life one letter at a time

Message In A Bottle - Nicholas Sparks
The movie was very touching than the book. In case of book, the messages and the letters were very touchy than in the movie. I would go for the movie since the cast is good. But I would recommend anyone to read the book and then watch the movie.

Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The movie was such a disappointment starting from the cast with left out interim details in the plot. So sad that the common people would not understand the movie without reading the book. The plot was too vague that even I felt being left out in the middle of a desert without a compass.

Angels & Demons - Dan Brown
The movie was good in its own way. But I would recommend the book only. The book has all the essence than the movie. The movie should have been better with some other cast line up. More than that most important character and turn of events were left out from the book. So the book fills all those gaps. I would recommend anyone to read the book and not to watch the movie with much hope. But the movie is far better than Da Vinci Code.

Harry Potter Series - J.K.Rowling
The most disappointing movie series. I found lot of changes in this series. There were two parts, Goblet of Fire and Order Of Phoenix which was worst of the lot. The entire plot was changed and confused. Of the series, the first part Sorcerer's Stone and the Deathly Hallow - Part 1 was a better version of the book. Other than that all the series is total waste and I wonder how the author allowed this to happen.

Montana Sky - Nora Roberts
Better and best to go with the book and not the movie. Book has all the romantic essence and also the suspense that are required for the plot. The movie starts with worst Cast selection and total collapse in the screenplay section. The plot was totally forgotten and it never turned out to be a romantic/suspense movie. Guess the director worked out something and funny things happened.

The Firm - John Grisham
A good book which dealt with the law. In case of movie the cast selection and screenplay were good. They both worked in a different way. They both have their own essence. My recommendation is to read the book before watching the movie which also gives a clear idea about the plot.

Over all till now I feel that the essence in holding a book and turning pages is not felt in the one hour fifty minutes screening. The movie can not be fully sculptured since the book would have already made all the impacts with the reader. It is better to turn the pages and feel the rhythm in your heart than to waste any time.

Ice Station

Matthew Reilly proves his excellence in writing in this book. I was not able to put down my book. As the title says the entire plot takes place in the cold regions of Antarctica. It was amazing and gripping. He can bring the chillness in every drop of your blood. By his writing he took me to the coldest region on this earth and experience the chillness. In this book he reveals how the American secret services fight among themselves and also how they terminate the evidences to keep them surviving. HE also exposes some of the darkest secret services in this book and how they terminate people to let out the details that threatens the nation. More than that he also shows how allies pose as friends in the world and how they act behind your back. This book nails all of my fiction list and is the top most in my list.

I would recommend this book to all of my fellow readers.

Yen Samayal Araiyil - Episode 5

This time is the Worst experience I had. I was not able to taste the food that was cooked by me. I planned to keep Milagu Rasam. I called up my manni for the recipe. I was following her exact instructions. Finally the rasam came out and I had the first taste. It was totally sour. I had added lot of tamarind where I have to put a pinch only. Then I called up again my manni to somehow fix this. so I added lot of Pepper and salt. But the tamarind gained the upper hand. When my bro came for dinner I told him what I had done for dinner. I also added that it tastes bad. In spite of that he planned to taste it. Then he accepted that it was worst.

My original plan was Chappathi and sabji. But it was my mom who suggested that I keep rice. I would not blame my mom for my ignorance. Anyways this gave me another opportunity to learn a new dish. Now I know what mistakes should be avoided in making a rasam and also knows some way to fix a rasam in case of emergency.

I also know that I m terrible cook but I am not giving up now. I will definitely improve annd prove myself. Catch you all in my next post.

Aus Open 2011

Well, this year Aus Open turned out be different for 5 players in their career. They are none other than Roger,Rafa,Djocker,Kim and Li. The saddest part is that Serena did not take part in the event.

Men's Draw:

In the first round there were no major upsets than the home town hero Hewitt's exit. In the second round, the come back hero Del Potro tasted his defeat. This is the first open for him after his return from wrist injury. The third round became the land of exit for two french men, Tsonga and Monfils.

Two time Wimbledon finalist and former champion Andy Roddick failed to enter into the last 8. Wawarinka eased past Andy Roddick in straight sets. I think it is high time Roddick has to think about his retirement.

Everything happened in the quarter finals. Rafa who was aiming for Rafa Slam was not able to make into the final because of injury. He was forced to lose to fellow compatriot David Ferrer. Rafa was brought down to tears before exiting the tournament. This is the second time in a row he is existing. This gave Roger chance to regain his title. Roger was progressing well except for his scare in the first round. He was so elegant in his progress which made everyone to think that he will regain the title.

Roger again met Djocker in Aus Open. I thought it would be easy for Roger to clinch the title. Djocker shattered all of Roger's dreams. He won the semis in straight set. Roger did not even stretch to 5 sets. He gave away the game easily. I bunked my work and came early to watch the match,hoping that it wold last for 5 hours and go to 5 sets. But as soon as I entered home my mom gave me the news that Roger lost the match. It was unbelievable since Roger was leading in the 3rd set. I think Roger has to change his tactics and form a new plan.

Murray reached the finals with Rafa out of his way. Everyone expected the scott would clinch his first slam title. The finals was different with Roger and Rafa missing. I wanted Djocker to win and not Murray. I guess my wish worked very well. Djocker took only three sets, straight sets to get his title. Murray was shown again that the slam is delusive for him. In fact it is high time he gets a new coach or he should get used to his despair.

So after two weeks with both top players out, Djocker lifted the Aus Open trophy for the second time. He is the next threat to both Rafa and Roger now.

Women's Draw

Dominoes starts falling when one falls. This is what happened in the Women's draw. Number one ranking Wozniacki who is yet to add a title to her cupboard and Kim preparing herself for the next slam title were the favorites in the tournament.

The Serbian former champion, Ana Ivanovic was expected to better her results in here. But she failed to do so and exited in the first round. Following her Jelena also exited in the second round.

Lot of dominoes fell in the third round. The come back heroine, Henin exited in the third round. With younger sister in the player box cheering, Venus failed to reach the finals. She pulled out of the tournament due to injury. This is first time both the sisters failed to make into the open in both singles and doubles. Then the home town lady, Samantha also exited. With the last Australian player in the tournament exiting the home crowd was disappointed.

Russian model, Sharapova who made much effort to regain her title did not make past fourth round. Andrea Petkovic from germany crushed Sharapova in straight sets. The surprise rise in the game was the Chinese Player Li Na.

The semi finals was very different. Wozniacki was sent home by Li Na. Li Na who crushed Azarenka in the earlier rounds was in a good form. The semis went to decider and finally Li Na entered in to finals. Li became the first Chinese as well as Asian to enter into the finals of the singles slam. On the other Semis Kim eased past Zvonareva. Now Kim was one win away from the title.

The much awaited finals ended pretty exciting. Li secured the first set and sent a message that she can become the first Asian to win a singles slam. But Kim recovered fast and blasted Li in the next 2 sets. Kim sent a message that she has more years of tennis career after returning from her retirement.

Well this time the men's draw was different with Djocker becoming the champion and in Women's draw Kim is planning to create a history.

Catch you all in French Open 2011.

Happy 2011!!!!!!!!

A new way to begin my new year (my last new year as spinster). Me and my family took off to my mom's native place for a family function. My parents left two days ahead of myself and my bro. Me and my bro left with our cousin on Friday night for the function. Since it was new year's eve it was a celebration all over the place. It took nearly past mid night to leave the city limits. We reached a near by place around 5 in the morning from where we have to take another bus to reach our destination. We were joined by another cousin for this short trip.

The day we reached was a bit busy since the start of the function was happening in a grand way. We, youngsters attended the function for sometime and one by one started going out. Since we have two home there the function was in one place and the other home was free. We bunked the function and started playing cards. This continued till noon. After finishing our lunch we started with the Roll and Dice game. The game lasted for some 2 hours. Then we had no other choice than to sit in for the function till 2 in the night. Then it was time for everyone to sleep. By the time we went to sleep it was 3 and was woken up early. The next day was very mandatory that we should sit for the function. Post lunch was the gaming session for us. Again some lap of cards and a game of roll and dice. It was fun filled.

Later part of the evening was filled with carnatic musical concert. This was skipped by most people. I attended a small part of the concert. Then we had dinner and left for our night journey to Chennai. We had to come out of 20kms from village to catch our train.

The station had nothing but some notice board for the passenger list. There was no station master or any other kind of officials. Our train was delayed for half hour. The train was scheduled around 11:20, but we boarded around 11:50. I had sleepless night.

Next day we arrived at the correct time at Chennai. But since there was no sleep for 3 days I called in that I missed my train and would not be able to make to work. My PL was convinced and I had a nice 15 hrs sleep.

Feeling fresh after attending this function. The new year was different. More than that it gave us a chance to be away from technology. Every year we used to sit and scan the so called idiot box. But this time we got to spend some valuable time with our family and loved ones. It was also pollution free and Eco friendly new year. I also felt good living in a Terra Cotta roofed home.It gave a different environment feeling than the usual concrete roof buildings. I can never forget this new year function in my life.

Hope I have a good year ahead. Wish all of you a Happy 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!