Movie Review: Mankatha(2011)

Sort of like the movie poster but here are the lead actors:

Actor Arjun a.ka. Action King

 Actor Ajith a.k.a Thala

Actress Trisha, South Indian cinema top actress

Before you get any funny ideas about a threesome let me tell you it's not. Let's just say it's between 2 police officers, one goes by the book, one goes by the babes. Trisha belongs to ladies man Ajith. For a short while anyway. Mankatha means gamble in Tamil. And that is the theme of this whole movie, gambling money, unscrupulous people gambling on people's life, gamble, gamble and more gamble related thing.

This movie tries very hard to get that Hollywood-esque feeling and I must say, PROPS FOR SUCH A GOOD EFFORT. 

It is slow and misleading in the beginning but picks up halfway where the good stuff really comes in. I mean, real good stuff.

Things I learned in Mankatha:

1. In an out of area desert where you are about to kill a terrorist, a jeep would plunge out of nowhere and rescue the terrorist. 

2. If you wake up drunk, you ALWAYS bring someone home, even a man, in your bed. Huzzah.

3. If your plan didn't go well, you will have that maniacal smile pasted on your face while pointing a gun.

4. Police officers always gets the hot chick.

5. The heroine's father will not suspect if his early 20's daughter is hanging out with a 40 year old man.

6. You just have to brush your teeth to not reek of alcohol.

7. You dont have the key to your boyfriend's apartment but you can get in anyway. Magically, you will be in Brazillian seas dancing in sheer sarees.

8.  Good girls ALWAYS wears the kurta. Sluts always wear modern clothes.

9. Young men can become rich in just a few years with a booze shop.

10. When you are in a fight scene, make sure you give your coolest fighting pose, stay still for 10 seconds so people can drown in your awesomeoness.

11. When a gas tank blows up, you get away with minor injuries.

12. You ride motorcycles with only ONE WHEEL. Make sure your passenger is dangling for his life too.

13. You can wear a tuxedo, get in the bottom of a lorry and not get scratched.

14. A lorry can hide a 30 foot tall metal detector.

15. Always run to Thailand if anything else fails.

Just watch this movie to kill time.

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens(2011)

When an uber romantic girl like me stumbles upon such a catchy and cool movie title, I can't help but poke my head in and find out what's its all about. I mean Cowboys? And Aliens? How does that work? Well, it does.

You see, a bruised and battered man woke up in the middle of the desert remembering nothing about what has transpired before. He did notice the strange metal contraption on his wrist that wouldn't come off. He is picked up(sort of) by a few travelling cowboys who challenged him. Now you see, if logic transpires, you wouldn't mess with the guy who would be MI7 in the future(story was set in 1870's America - we know it as Wild, Wild, West). Our mysterious hero reached a small town and fixes up a commotion, rendering himself  recognized as a capable man in the town.

That night, strange lights begins to appear and POOF! People are fished, yes, fished from the sky. A strange phenomenon also occurred where the said metal contraption started up and releasing such powerful ammunition that it brought down an entire alien ship. The survivors were distraught at the loss of their family members and they gathered a few men to go after the aliens to retrieve their family members.

Our mysterious hero also picks up bit and pieces of his memories as he goes on this journey. 

Later, after many more men died due to the alien attack, our mysterious hero and the town's 'leader' joined forces with the mountain warriors who are personally in my opinion were complete badasses. Imagine the strength you need to have to kill a 10 foot tall alien with single blow on the head with a simple wooden club.

This movie was enjoyable for these following things:

a) Daniel Craig's amazing endless legs and gorgeous bottom.
b) A hot bitch who would appear naked. Im a girl and I went OH YEAH!
c) The Mountain Warriors who displayed fantastic fighting skills.
d) The superb grossness of the aliens.
e) Daniel Craig's in it, dammit.

Overall: 7/10

Movie Review: Rise of The Planet of the Apes(2011)

 

The premise of the story is very simple. A gifted scientist is working relentlessly to find a cure for his father who is suffering from Alzheimer's. He was *this* close to getting permission to test it on humans when his prized chimp who showed success on his experiment went bananas(pun intended) and kind of turned off the board of directors they were going to suck up to. The chimp was killed but later discovered the real reason she went bananas - she had a baby and she thought they were going to take it away from her.

The scientist himself took to looking after the orphaned baby chimp who displayed signs of extraordinary potential for higher level intelligence since the first day itself and the chimp was kept secret for 7 years. One day, an unfortunate accident happened that resulted him in the chimp facilitation center. This is where it begins.

See? Simple storyline but what really captivated me was the human-like animation of the chimp and how they carried out.  Each of the chimp in the captivity have their own personality and even without them uttering words you can understand the communication between themselves because the body language, facial expression and movements was so vivid.

Much surprise awaits for you but I wouldn't want to spoil your fun.

My verdict is that the movie was truly enjoyable and it has this unique effect of making it's viewers not aware of the timeline. You wouldn't even know it ended.

Overall: 8/10

My Favourite Animes in Memebase Style Part 2 ~ Yuyu Hakusho

Part 3 coming up within a week!

My Favourite Animes in Memebase Style Part 1 ~ Hakuouki

Part 2 coming up!

Anime Review ~ Genji Sennenki Monogatari

Written in the Heian era of Japan(11th Century) by a noblewoman named Murasaki Shikibu, it has since been hailed as the first novel written.

I am desperate to get a copy of this in my hand grrrr...

It follows a tale of Hikaru Genji who is the son of a much loved concubine, Lady Kiritsubo of the then emperor. Due to this, he cannot be a crown prince and was given the surname Genji thus giving him a commoner social status. His mother died when he was very young and the emperor having been heartbroken over his favourite concubine's death found a  princess by the name Lady Fujitsubo who is said to be the spitting image of Genji's own mother. The emperor hoped that by marrying this princess, Genji would receive a mother he had lost. 

Genji did love her as a mother but later he loved her as a woman. He developed forbidden romantic feelings for his mother and thus found solace in romancing many other woman who willingly became his playthings. Throughout the book and in the anime series, his beauty is often spoken of and regarded highly. His story mainly focuses on his romantic escapades with many woman often having sad endings with them because he leaves them after finding another woman, thus leaving these unfortunate women pine for his return. 

~:::Hikaru Genji:::~

 

A calm and gentle man with a quiet disposition. He is well liked by his peers and family and just about anyone who meets him due to his impeccable good looks and mannerisms. Well, we can attribute this characteristic of his to his charming nature and polite speech. Not one woman have not yet fallen for this man by the mere sight of him. I personally disapprove of him using women to fill the void in his own life by giving hope to these women and giving promises impossible to fulfill. His own twisted love for his stepmother is causing the grief for many woman who had truly loved him. His selfishness had also caused a young woman's life. An uber-romantic person who is more interested in finding women who resembles his stepmother.

~:::Lady Fujitsubo:::~

 

The object of Genji's forbidden love. She is around 5 years older than him and she had asked him to stop visiting her after confessing his romantic love for her when he was around nine years old and she, fourteen. Since then, both him and her have shut their hearts for fear of making a mistake. She lives in a constant guilt and dilemma of refusing his love and her loyalty to her husband, the emperor. After many years of losing contact with him, she accidentally met him upon a chance when he too visited an old shrine they both used to play at when they were close and she made the biggest mistake of not refusing him. A son was born from their forbidden union. 

~:::Lady Rokujou:::~

A haughty and aloof woman with a reputation of being both a gifted poet and epitome of beauty and very cold towards men who shows romantic interests towards her. It could be because she's still upset over her husband's death. She is the widow of the crown prince(Genji's brother). At first she refused Genji's advances but with much coaxing and persuasion from Genji's part, she relented and even became obsessive of him to the point that she sent a Poltergeist to his new lover when he ceased his nightly visits to her. She had always been a lonely woman, with Genji in her life she felt alive and when he left her for a much younger woman...we could see she is going to the brink of madness when she lights incenses and speak to it as if speaking to Genji himself. 

~:::Lady Yuugao:::~

 

 

Possibly the most unfortunate of all his lovers, Lady Yuugao was the 'replacement' for Lady Rokujou when Genji decided her obsessive love for him was too overwhelming. They spent many nights together in secrecy to avoid scandal as Lady Yuugao is of common birth and this would upset his other lovers who are ladies of high rank and birth.She was killed in her sleep sent by the Lady Rokujou in the form of a Poltergeist that stemmed from the grief, anger and hurt from her heart. Lady Yuugao was nineteen years old.

~:::Lady Aoi:::~

When Genji came of age, he was betrothed to her. She was 4 years his senior and she absolutely hated this engagement because since small she was led to believe she would marry the crown prince and become the next empress but she ended getting engaged to a man of common birth and he still shamelessly philanders while still attached to her. She is always angry and upset because of this as many women mock her out of jealousy. She blatantly gave him the 'cut direct' when he tried to be friends with her. Even if he comes for a visit, she quickly shoos him away giving myriads of excuses but in the end she too fell for his spell. She died due to the Poltergeist sent by Lady Rokujou.

~:::Lady Murasaki:::~

A little girl he adopts because of her resemblance to *SURPRISE* Lady Fujitsubo. The story is narrated from her perspective of her life with him. She is the one Genji finally marries in the end. Yes, the very child he adopted grew up to be a beautiful woman and Genji marries her. Genji now needs serious psychoanalysis evaluation. It is revealed that she was the illegitimate child of Lady Fujitsubo's brother, hence explains the resemblance. By right, she would be his step-niece and yet he marries her...@@;

~:::Lady Misty Moon/Sixth Daughter of the Right Minister:::~ 

Well, Genji does have a thing for getting himself entangled with dangerous affairs. All the women he bonked had all connections to his closest of families and this one was no different. This lady is the wife of new emperor - HIS BROTHER. She lured him on secret night liaison and had a passionate night with him, much to the dismay of her oldest sister and father(who was afraid the emperor would find out but later) intends to use this scandal to overthrow him. She is well known for being a 'peculiar' and promiscuous in the royal palace. She is is the only one who is not obsessed over him and merely uses him for 'nightly benefits' just as he uses other woman. (a big fuck you to Genji in my opinion).

As the book progresses, Genji's life takes a turn for the worst as he loses these women one by one. 

1. Lady Rokujou took her daughter to another district to train her to be a priestess.

2. His father died.

3. His wife died.

4. Lady Kiritsubo, the one he loves the most left him to be a nun on a far away mountain to ease her guilt.

5. He is slowly losing his power in the court and is left in distress.

Criticism:

1. Over-romanticization

2. Too melodramatic.

3. Too much focus on beauty and passion instead of the logic behind it.

4. Strange and incestuous relationships are considered beautiful and acceptable here simply because they're unattainable and forbidden.

5. It greatly reminds me why I'd rather be a middle-class girl than be borne in a wealthy family. Geez, are rich people really that fucked up in the head?

6. Watch this anime if you don't wish to read the book, that is all.

Anime Review ~ Mononoke

Mononoke is a spin off from series of the anime Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales that encompasses classic tales from Japan. Just like how we have Ramayan and Mahabharatha in my Indian culture this is their version of classical tales. Each classical tales consists of elements of redemption and important lessons learned by each characters of the story. Though I really should have started with the first series which is the Ayakashi Samurai Horror Tales, the spin-off is worthy of it's own mention.

If there is one thing that would capture an audience to this anime is the breathtaking artwork that uses spectacular surrealism art. I have watched surrealism art animation only once and it belongs to the French people who made Fantastic Planet and I personally thought the Surrealism is nightmare fuel even for saints but with  Mononoke, you would have mouth agape with beautiful, colorful animation and symbolic elements that challenges its viewer to decipher them.

Mononokes or Ayakashi are unnatural creatures that simply come into being. Their existence roots from the malice stemmed from the heart of a person, much like a Poltergeist. A peddler, simply known and called as the Medicine Seller travels from place to place solely to 'cleanse' the world of Mononoke.

It is highly known that the Medicine Seller himself is not of human origin but it is not explained either how he came to the profession of eliminating Mononokes. One can only assume he had been doing this for a long, long time since he seems to be able to predict a Mononoke's fate upon meeting him.

The Medicine Seller does carry medicines in his medicine chest that he straps at his back but obviously it is a decoy to hide his true profession. He carried a sword, much to the surprise of the people he encounters. You see, back then in olden Japan, only Samurais were allowed to wield a sword and a lower-class citizen like merchant and peddler are forbidden yet this formidable Medicine Seller carried a very fanciful looking sword.

However, in order for him to use the sword, he need to extract Truth, Reasoning and Regret from the Mononoke he is about to slay. Each story is not the same as we get to see people he encounters and their suffering, their hopes and regret and their redemption, starting anew to good and honest life.

The Medicine Seller is indeed a very good person though he doesn't flaunt it. He does his job and leaves for the next. Although the anime display some cheekiness by giving remarks on how good-looking he is. Sometimes, the Medicine Seller displays his own mischievous side.

First story(2 episodes) - about a lone woman who sought shelter in an inn that holds a dark and unforgivable past.

Second Story( 3 episodes) - The Medicine Seller is on board of a beautiful ship with passengers who have their own dark histroy but only one is the root of the Mononoke that haunts the ship when it accidentally(you sure?) sailed to the terrifying Dragon's Sea. Why are they all here?
 
Third Story: A depressed woman who was abused by her husband is sentenced to death for killing him and the entire in-law family. The Medicine Seller thinks otherwise.

Fourth Story: Four men are vouching to marry Lady Ruri, the only sole heir to the almost-extinct incense expert. Among them is the Medicine Seller, who came disguised as another man also vying for her hand in marriage. But knowing him, is it really his intention? Something evil comes this way.

Fifth Story: This time, the story is set in 1920's modern Japan and many people are attending the opening ceremony of their renovated subway trains. Interestingly, only a few selected people ended up in the first coach and a girl murdered on the train track who seeks her vengeance may have something to do with it. But what does a waitress, a policeman, a widow, the mayor and a milkboy got anything to do with it?

Spoiler: You would hope to see the Medicine Peddler to don modern clothes as per time but regrettably, he still goes around wearing a blue-orange kimono carrying that strange medicine chest around.

:

Our hero.

These are some of the screen-captures I personally took whilst watching this anime. You judge for yourself if the surrealism art is indeed breathtaking or otherwise. 

And a little gallery of our hero due to my very obvious crush on him. <3 XD

Our hero showing his soft side to an injured kitten. Watch the anime to know how it came to be.

That where he keeps his 'medicines' and...

His unusual looking sword.

Rating:

Art: 11/10
Storyline: 10/10
Plot: 10/10

This deserves an award, dammit! Watch this anime for its pure aesthetic value combined with badass artwork and plot. DO NOT MISS IT.