Villa Diodati

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Villa Diodati, nee Belle Rive, is the magical place where in the rainy summer of 1816, Lord Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley, and John Polidori indulged in an awesome adda  which resulted in the birth of two gruesome and horrifying babies :

Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein".

John Polidori's "The Vampyre".

Have always loved Boris Karloff as the definitive Frankenstein's Monster.

Also loved Ken Russell's "Gothic"...


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Bala, the Dark and Disturbing Knight

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Bala is right now the most interesting Tamil film director. His films are totally a genre in themselves. Some would find it difficult to digest his films but I simply love them a lot. 

His first film "Sethu" was a surprise hit and helped Vikram Kennedy to make a great comeback. Word-of-mouth only helped this film to become a cult classic. Watch out for Chiyaan's performance. Later re-made in hindi as "Tere Naam", which was not even half as good as the original film.

His second film "Nandha" was a gripping tale. Watch out for the climax.

His third film "Pithamagan" was an unique experience. Watch out again for Vikram Kennedy's awesome performance.

  





His fourth film "Naan Kadavul" was so dark, brutal and disturbing that after watching it one could hardly sleep peacefully. I've never seen any film like this one. Watch out for the performances of the physically and mentally retarded beggars. 

His fifth film "Avan Ivan" was his first comedy, except the climax. Watch out for Vishal Krishna's eyes.

Eagerly waiting for Bala's sixth film "Paradesi"...


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Matt Groening

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Matt Groening is a living GENIUS.

He created the funny comic-strip "Life in Hell".

He created the fantastic "The Simpsons". 

And He created the futuristic "Futurama"...

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Midnight in Paris

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I thoroughly loved the one and only Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris". I can safely say that if one sees each and every film of Woody Allen, he/she will be a changed person. This nostalgia driven Parisian film is a true Woody-Allenesque experience.

And I particularly enjoyed and watched this scene over and over again where the protagonist meets Salvador Dali, Man Ray and Luis Bunuel, and tells them about his predicament and about his visits from the future into their era, but being Surrealists they find it perfectly normal and interpret the situation in their own free styles...

And here is that scene :

[P.S. Only one regret about this magnificent film, Woody Allen himself should have played the role of the central character.]



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Monk

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"Monk" was one of the most interesting and captivating series on TV. I have always loved Tony Shalhoub. The stories for each episode were very well written. But above all there was the great detective with his phobias and his obsessive-compulsive-disorder. When the series ended, it made me a bit depressed... 

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Ring Tone

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A few years back this song was my Ring Tone.

Now a days this song is...

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Terminator 2

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Having seen all four "Terminator" films, I can safely say that "Terminator 2" is the Best till date. Some magic can never be re-created...

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Bodyline

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Back in my childhood days, I never missed a single episode of this fascinating series. A film should be made now on this topic and no one else but Danny Boyle must direct it...

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The Infidel

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For everlasting peace in the Middle-East, and the rest of the world, everyone involved in spreading hatred among different religions must watch this film...

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Making Fun Of Hitler While He Was Alive

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Here are some gems that made Fun of Hitler while he was still alive.

The Three Stooges' "You Nazty Spy" :

and "I'll Never Heil Again" :

Donald Duck's "Der Fuehrer's Face" :

Bugs Bunny's "Herr Meets Hare" :

And last but not the least, "The Great Dictator" by the God of Cinema, Charlie Chaplin, will be the subject of a later post...

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"Black" and "The Miracle Worker"

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Loved this Sanjay Leela Bhansali masterpiece. Words will fall short in describing this film's magnitude.

Again after seeing "Black", I just had to see the 1962 film "The Miracle Worker".

Both the films are great, though if I have to compare, I think "Black" is better...

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Some Kind Of Fruit Company

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Last year, overcoming my 'short-attention-span', I read every word of this book and enjoyed it immensely. Steve Jobs was a real iCon, a billion dollar hippy.

The counter-cultural Bible that sparked Him to try LSD for the first time and lead an alternative lifestyle :

In the mid 70's, Forrest Gump, with the help of his friend Lieutenant Dan, had invested in "some kind of fruit company". That investment made them super-rich.

In the late 90's, I saw an iMac in one of MTV's shows, most probably 'MTV Most Wanted', and let me tell you that the show was good, the 'hostess with the mostess' was cute, but the iMac was the coolest. Steve Jobs used to boast then, "The back of our Computer looks better than the front of anyone else's". 

Came across this poster and liked it and thus sharing with you all. With his Apple Mac, NeXT, Pixar Films, and the recent iPod, iPhone and iPad series, the Man was the new 'Messiah' of the digital age.

And now the original Apple Logo which featured Sir Issac Newton and the words on the border were "Newton - A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas Of Thought - Alone", taken from 'The Prelude' by William Wordsworth.

Lastly, after Steve Jobs death, two images went viral on the net, and I have combined those two images to create this one :

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I Eat Politicians For Breakfast

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Back in the early 90's when the great T. N. Seshan was the Chief Election Commissioner of India, I remember one very famous dialogue doing the rounds then, "I eat politicians for breakfast". 

If my memory serves me right, during those days he was also seen in a television advertisement. Most probably the ad was about organic food, or something else, where Seshan was seen biting on a carrot and saying, "Mein Politicians Ko Kachcha Kha Jata Hoon". Now I don't remember the details exactly but back then this was one of my most favourite ads.

However I can't find it in Youtube now. If anyone remembers it or has the video of the ad, please share it with me...

And if possible, read this book...

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Seinfeld

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Though some of the episodes are really hilarious, but on the whole this show is pretty ordinary. Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up comic act is damn lame. George Costanza and Elaine Benes are only good in parts.

However two characters take this show to stratospheric levels. They are Kramer and Newman. 

Kramer is wackiness personified. His sudden energetic entry into Jerry's apartment is worth waiting for.

And the funny yet devilish Newman brings in chuckles of evil laughter into our lives. But we all forgive him for his hatred towards Jerry considering his overweight pathetic and lonely life.

And lastly, George's faceless rambling Boss brings in a degree of mysterious humour into the sitcom...

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Corpus Clock

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This "Time-Eater" was supposed to run accurately for the next 300 years, but it stopped three times in the first month of its operation...

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Stephen Hawking

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Again in the early 90's this book got me interested in theoretical physics. Loved this book and all the subsequent books later. One of the greatest ironies in this world is that one of the strongest, brightest and super-intelligent brain resides in one of the weakest human body. 

Here is a photo of a young Hawking with his wife Jane Wilde :

And have loved his presence in various documentaries, films, sitcoms and especially this song :

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