Movie Review - X-Men First Class

The moment I came out of the theatre, I bought the tickets to the next show.

Few things in life - and mostly movies - turn out to be better than expectations, and their trailers. 

Apart from the amazing visual effects and substance of the script, the one thing to look out for is the rich, exquisite soundtrack of the film. This kind of extensive format, array of violins, the gripping tension filled with a lot of emotion can be achieved by the evergreen Hans Zimmer. But the compositions seemed little more radical, though. 

As it turned out, the apple didn’t fall far away from the tree and it was Zimmer’s protégé after all, Henry Jackman. He assisted Zimmer on films like ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ series, 'The Holiday', ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and ‘The Dark Knight’.

Listen to ‘X-Men First Class: First Class’ here and you’ll know what am talking about. It's like a hundred violins charging up... so Inception-esque. 

Professor Charles Xavier’s dialogues constituted the philosophical soul of the film: “The true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity.” They will be in the top dialogues of all time list, for sure. James McAvoy plays the part to the tee, as a beacon of wisdom, and brings the right amount of likability to his character. Like his older version (which reflects a seasoned sobriety – and now we know where it comes from) he displays a Gandhian sense of thinking the lesser evolved mortals (human species in general) have a chance. 

So much so, when Magneto/ Eric Lensherr, played by Micheal Fassbender, diverts all the missles towards the Russian and American fleet, and we hear respective Army Chiefs saying what an honour it was to have served with the Officers who're staring at their inevitable death, Professor Xavier says, “That’s enough, Magneto. There are hundreds of people on those ships… They’re just men following orders!”

He actually believes that a truce can be served; and we certainly don’t mistake his compassion for naïveté. McAvoy convincingly portrays his character, as a person who has had the gift of understanding phenomena, nature and accepting reasons and facts, adding it with a great deal of humanity and faith. He was the only reason besides Aslan, of course, that I watched Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe a couple of times.

Magneto or Eric Lensherr, on the other hand, has seen the darker side of human nature up close at the hands of one mutant named Shaw, portrayed by Kevin Bacon, straight from one of the darkest times on Earth: the Holocaust. 

And so, when the wise Professor tells him that there are men on the ships and that they were only following orders, Magneto replies, “I’ve been at the mercy of men just following orders before… Never again!”

Okay I need to stop.... else I might just write the entire movie here…

Oscar winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra gave the film those super-cool moments. Only two words and you will know what a magician this guy really is: Battlestar Galactica. He’s also worked with George Lucas on Star Wars series.  

Based upon the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1960s (with a pre-cursory 1942 Nazi occupied Poland) the film deals with the inevitable process for all mutants – taking sides. Now this is the second most favourite and the most important dilemma for any mutant: whether or not to trust humans. The first being their having to come to terms to their gifts, and worse, their looks. The theme is really getting a bit monotonous, am afraid. 

I love the humour in the film. Professor X and Magneto go about recruiting new mutants in their army-to-be, they also approach Wolverine, a cameo (and what a cameo it was!) by Hugh Jackman. So Jackman is at the bar, with his back towards the approaching Professor and Magneto, and - 

Eric Lensherr: "Excuse me. I'm Eric Lensherr."

Charles Xavier: "And I am Professor Charles Xavier-"

Wolverine: "Go fuck yourself."

...... And both of them just take a sudden U-turn.

To Angel, when she displays her unique wings in a strip-tease booth:

Charles Xavier: "How would you like to have a job where you get to keep your clothes on?"

The challenge for director Mathew Vaughn (Director of the immensely delightful 'Stardust') was to incorporate every character’s detailing, weaknesses and strengths into one story line that justified every moment up on the silver screen. Both the journey as the plots unfold, and give way to the climax provide for a fulfillment of the senses and sensibilities. He's made this edge-of-the-seat entertaining film, complete with deep psychological brooding about compassion, survival and human nature, and a delectable sense of humour. The film reminds you just how powerful cinema can be.

And I just have one litmus test for the greatness of any movie. My Mum is the most stringent woman on this planet, and if she tells you the movie was worth odd 400 bucks (arrived at after calculating the cost of fuel, coffee and pop-corn) then it definitely is a good movie.

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The (anti) iPhone Dream

Okay, so this is way before I became besotted with a BlackBerry, so offence to no one in particular. Generally...? May be. It's basically a self-derogatory dream, if anything.

So I am at a U2 concert in my city. Now that's surprising enough (yes, my dreams surprise me, to say the least) because as much as I love (and I really love) U2, I haven't really wanted to go to their concert. I guess it kills the whole "personal" space that one enjoys with the artist's creation. You're more likely to connect at a deeply personal level with a certain artist when you're heartbroken, staring at a sunset or jogging alone at 4 AM rather than scream and shout in a concert or steal some memento backstage of your favourite artist or their Managers. So no such desires for me to really attend a concert... but in my dream, I am there, all right. 

And suddenly am standing in a long queue. Adam Clayton (now I had to practically Google him out to really know he was the one; blogging is a big responsibility) is personally signing autographs, memorabilia, souvenirs, under garments, etc. and I am in that queue. Apparently lost, because in my waking life I'd never stand in a queue for a celebrity. Part vanity, part boredom, I guess.  So it's my turn... and he sees me and says, "So! It's you... You're a real big fan."

Real big fan? You kidding me?? I LOVE YOU GUYS! I know all of your songs by heart and the history behind each of them! I first heard you a decade back and I never get tired of listening to you guys. I've listened to each song like a thousand times! I would love to go to dinner with you guys, or just Bono and Jackie Chan and Denzel Washington, or all of you at once! Awesome videos! Loved the way that airplane went over you guys and you were just jammin' like there's no tomorrow in the 'Beautiful Day' video. That was so cool! You guys are so dedicated to your craft. I love you guys! And I say, "Yes, I am."

He pulls out his swanky iPhone and places it in my hand. "Punch in your number," he says.

I take a nice long look at the iPhone.................. and give it back to him. "Nevermind."

*

Note from the author: This dream really disturbed me.

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Ramdev, Manmohan Singh and the Art of Misdirection

Last week, my Dad and I were driving to a client's place. There was a road around Shree Nagar, Thane, that needed fixing. Like rest of the city, the Government promised to repair the roads before the monsoons arrived. And unlike rest of the city, this road was actually fixed. However my Dad interrupted my moment long relief by asking me to look at the "finishing" of the recently repaired road. It was bad. Huge chunks of stones were lying right next to the road, the place where cars are parked, and pedestrians walk. 

This observation preceded the following conversation:

Me: "Why doesn't the Government do its job properly? If it decides to get something done after all, why not take the pain to do it perfectly?"

Dad: "This is India, beta.

After 160 seconds. Me: "What if people actually went to the local offices of the Municipal Corporation and demanded that their roads be fixed properly, and not budge until and unless the Government agrees to do so?"

Dad: "Then the Government will call for Police and tear gas, and more tear gas."

Me: "- but they wouldn't fix the problem [?]"

Dad: "No. That they won't."

That was more or less the end of the discussion we had. Two days later, Ramdev actually held a fast till the time Government came up with a plan that stated how much Black Money was accounted for, and what would be their next step. Couple of months ago, the Swiss Bank actually conceded to the demand of providing details to the respective governments around the world about the accounts held by the latter's citizens. India was one of them. Astronomical figure of black money was stashed by Indian (take a guess) Politicians, of course. 

Now Ramdev took to this cause. This was in the spirit of the international popularity and praise earned by Anna Hazare's Lokpal campaign. Guess he also wanted a slice of this earnest respect. We all know he enjoys being called the harbinger of prosperity and peace, through Yoga. If the magnificent Judi Dench decided to grace us with her cameo appearance in the latest installment of Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, who are we to judge, really, about people's claim to a few moments of fame? 

A lot of people, including me, thought that Ramdev's move was politically motivated. And let's face it, he can never be compared to a man as saintly as Anna Hazare. Anyway, let's not cloud our perspective. Back to objectivity: so, Ramdev really goes on a fast-cum-rally in New Delhi. Congress tells him that he's on a hit-list of dangerous terrorists. Baba says well, humour me more. Congress then calls the super cops, unleashes tear gas on the thousands of "supporters" of the cause of Yoga/ Ramdev/ Black Money accountability.

This obviously is noticed by the Opposition and they compare the entire incident to be a reminiscent of the Dark Times of Emergency circa 1975-77. Anna Hazare asks what is the difference between the white English and dusky Indians and says the incident is akin to the  Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 

The Congress bites its nails, and then publishes a report on how Ramdev has 34 companies, one of them being a front for supplying popular Ayurvedic medicines, and how the turnover goes up to Rs. 1100 crores. Right next to this report, PM Manmohan Singh is justifying why the tear gas was unleashed on the commoners in New Delhi that night.  

On the same page, there's a small but significant news article that says the Government will not try and "woo" Anna Hazare's team. What did Anna Hazare's Team want? They simply wanted to put the Prime Minister's Office under the Lokpal Bill, and hence under the independent authority to be investigated. What is it about the Lokpal Bill that flusters the Government so much? The irony is Ramdev was supporting the PM on this ground!

I wonder what the Government is really trying to do here. Are they trying to hide the accounts of Black Money holders? Are they trying to show that Ramdev really is not the right candidate to lead this anti-corruption movement? Is the Congress trying to indulge in a massive character assassination of someone who stands up and asks for accountability? Or all of the above? We all know that Ramdev's Rs. 1100 Crore assets is actually peanuts compared to the astronomical figures of Black Money held by one politician at any given point. 

If a country's Prime Minister can go to the extent of actually indulging in libel and slander against someone who demands an explanation, an accountability - which is the Prime Minister's job, by the way - what really can be inferred from this? Agreed, even if that "someone" is not really who he seems to be, the Prime Minister's job is to ensure the welfare of its people and respect the spirit of Democracy. It is indeed a serious problem if the Prime Minister is not on the same side as his country's people. 

So basically, no citizen can really stand up and hold the Government accountable. If I were to do it, the Government will tell me to shut up because I've broken so many hearts, and I drive an Audi and have a bunglow in Alibaug and I killed a rat once in my life and so on. I'd have to be a monk of Mother Teresa's proportion to point a finger at the Government. Probably the Congress will dig up some dirt on me, even then. Kudos, gentlemen and Madam, Chanakya would be proud. 

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A Day in the Life of.....

I

Okay so it's my dog's 4th birthday with us. The four years with Daku have been really awesome. He's my Aslan, he is my cutie pie, and he's also the one responsible for 3 anti-rabies vaccine shots that sometimes I have managed to get in between flights. 

We take him to Domino's. Ordered for a Spicy Chicken and Cheese Pizza for him. He loved it, of course. 

The guy at the counter takes my order and asks for my number (to feed in their machines, I guess). Instinctively, I take my Black Pearl out and say, "Can you give me yours as well? It'll be easier for us to place orders." The moment he goes, "9-9-6-7-," I interrupt: " I was asking for the Domino's number..."

"Ah, the landline, of course," he smiles. And I had to nod with a smile!

***

II

It's been an evening of  hard, beautiful rain.  My client decides to drop me till a point were I can get a cab/ auto. But during rains, most of the autos and cabs disappear from the face of my city. And the client wouldn't let me go till he ensures I am tucked in an auto. He drives around 10 kms away from his point of convenience, hunting for an auto.

At last we spot one. And by the time we reach him, he starts moving on, blissfully unaware of my urgency. It's close to 11 PM. I am worried about him getting back home through the traffic, to his wife and kid. My client levels the car with the auto, and rolling down the window, I ask the guy, "Mulund Checknaka......?"

He looks at me, asks me to repeat and says, "Take the bridge, and then turn first right," and whisks away.

***

III

Waiting for the autos further back to my place, around midnight now, a middle aged guy asks me if we could travel together. His place was further than mine and he offered to drop me. I said fine, since I was waiting for almost 45 mins. 

So we started hunting for autos for his place. He offered me his umbrella till then. I was wearing a light blue white shirt. I was relieved at his second offer. 

We got the auto, and he asked me if it was usual for me to be this late, returning home and all. I refused, citing rains and traffic as the reason for the delay. Before I could tell the auto guy to stop for my point, this guy says that he'd drop me first at my home and then take the auto back at his place. I accepted his third offer too, albeit hesitatingly. 

Now there's quite a bit of distance between the point I was supposed to get down and my home. I had decided to walk it out. The guy observes the distance and asks, "You were planning to walk all this way?"

"Umm... Yes... No other option, right?"

"Are you a black-belt?"

***