Dec 23, 2011

Ghost of Mission Impossible for an Indian viewer

Although it has been a while that Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol released and raking money all over with "rave" reviews by critics. But still it was itching me to write something about the movie since I felt that the it was just a Ghost of what I went to see i.e Mission Impossible.
Still a large part of Indians and most people around the world go to see a Hollywood movie in theater because of the things they manage to show in the movies, all the cool stuff and the amazing actions explosions doesn't matter if they defy every logic or reason and the biggest reason of all there are no such movies made here of that caliber  in India. Though there have been honest efforts and some honest imitations also but still they don't stand anywhere near those of Hollywood but the Indian industry is catching fast and hopefully they will deliver within 1-2 years.
Many of us were waiting eagerly for Cruise's return as Ethan Hunt and promos were cool, with Anil Kapoor in the Indian version to promote the movie in India.Every one wants to be a part of ever increasing Indian market and no one wants to be late to the party.
Well movie started well as expected and with a good pace with no sluggish scenes. I don't know of it was me or you have also noticed when Simon Pegg the hacker turns red light to green of the prisoner cells,
( it always amazes me how simple is hacking, just turn red to green in a cool graphic interface with a click of a button and this very thing encourages us mere humans to pursue hacking but all in vain and only to get inspired by another movie.)
Ah I was telling about the prison scene, when the gates of prison cells are opened the prisoners don't try to escape alas they start a brawl there, fighting among themselves and even beating a lonely poor guard in a supposedly high security prison, either they were dumb prisoners or too smart to know that they would not escape. But our Ethan Hunt was smart enough to escape all this with a buddy of his. Though I know they were being paid for not escaping, but in the feel of movie I was uncomfortable with the idea, maybe its only my view or I am wrong. Also there were many other instances in which i felt uncomfortable with but the movie's pace was good and that didn't made me wondering about them for long.
Now the most anticipated scene of Burj Khalifa, that was awesome and I think Dubai part of the movie was the soul and what people wanted to see. There is no doubt that Khalifa scene was cool but again there were some moments that made me uncomfortable. First thing that suction gloves, the moment I saw Cruise climbing with that I was reminded of Shahrukh Khan's Baadshah movie. Well it seems like absurd, funny, out of the blue and vague or whatever you call it, if you are one of those ' fortunate ' souls who have seen Shahrukh starrer Baadshah  and remember it, Shahrukh also used similar technology but instead if gloves he used suction shoes and instead of climbing like Cruise on building he walked upright that too all the way to top without any nail biting moments. Well I am not making any comparisons its just that scene came rushing to me at that time. Those suction glove were lame though with that sound, with which director was trying to make the audience believe how much it is (sucking) exerting power, suction or pressure or whatever you may call it. May be by using those glass suction cups, he used to remove the window glass after cutting would have accomplished same with more realistic way ..... I wonder why didn't he used it when there was no shortage of cool gadgets in the movie, they were scattered all over and were too much for mind to take. Nevermind pace of the movie was good and the Dubai shooting was awesome.
There were many other impossibles in the movie but the pace kept it going and you can't mention all of them if you wan't to see another Mission Impossible and I want to, since movie is about all the impossibles that you can face during runtime of the movie.
Worth mentioning 5 minutes of Anil Kapoor only to be manhandled by the woman, poor IMF secretary no one seemed to be worried about his death, magical appearence of Michelle Monaghan aka Julia, Ethan Hunt's wife which he wanted to believe was dead and apparently he was successful in making poor Jeremy Renner believe and making him carry the guilt and curse himself for her death. Although it was supposed to be top secret between the IMF's secretary and Mr. Hunt but she was working freely in US. Ethan Hunt explained that he wanted to make world(audience) believe that she was dead since all the terrorist world over were after her husband and she was in the line of fire. Probably it was a lesson for agents consider anyone dead unless you yourself have seen the body with your own eyes and in case of doubt, if you want to search any one start with your own country first.
Not worth mentioning were the magnetic suit and robot that 'catches' Jeremy Renner, as far as I remember there was a huge metallic fan in between the two and I think the suit and the robot tray or whatever that thing was must have had opposite poles to make him float. In theory it's cool but the huge 15 ft diameter metallic fan in between disturbed me coz according to me one of them either the robot tray or the suit would have attracted towards the metallic fan. Again it maybe just me or my veiws or maybe that fan was of some high tech non ferrous compound since the movie was all about impossibles. Any enlightening thoughts on this topic are invited. Ahh.... on more thing I forgot besides freely firing Russians in the multi level parking at the end of the movie all the cars had international numbers not a single car had Indian number plate and not to mention there is no multilevel parking in Mumbai where the scene was supposedly taking place.
Nevertheless movie was good and watchable with my brain on my lap and i enjoyed it and kudos to PR department and advertising guys the movie riding hot coz of them and Tom Cruise.
Your Mission should you choose to accept it : Watch the next Mission Impossible.
This is to be noted that I was not paid by Paramount or Tom Cruise to write "rave" or any kind of reviews.

May 14, 2011

Syria and Yemen the half US allies


So here we are again in this mortal world fighting for survival every second and not knowing if we are going to see tomorrow. Still we hope that the coming will be better than the previous days...hope.
Well enough of mortal hopeful world crap, same old story going on brand Osama going strong people still running after Pakistan. By the way a another suicide bomber rocked Pakistan Frontier Corps training center killing approximately 80 people and at the time of writing just now another suicide attack claimed lives of 5 people in Pakistan.Taliban seems to going all guns blazing to avenge the death of Osama who is enjoying more popularity after death than he ever had while he was alive strange...huh?? One thing was funny that Gaddafi was challenging NATO that they can never possibly ever find him...he is perfect example of too much arrogance just like Saddam Hussien and probably will meet same fate.If US finds you country of importance in the region then you are lucky like Syria and Yemen. Then God blesses America and America blesses you but if you are not then better not be arrogant this Gaddafi could have learned. Having said that it also worth mentioning that if US would have not taken the initaitive the death toll in Libya which was already in thousands could have gone much far.Syria and Yemen have used all the means they could have from shooting unarmed protestors to scaring them away with tanks but they are still not able to suppress the protest. Does'nt those are enough signs to show that people of both countries wants changes and boy it does provide NATO and US to bomb the country rise a rebellion and support them arm them the same they are doing in Libya though Libya deserved that even Yemen and Syria deserves that or atleast international pressure like that of Egypt can be mount on both presidents. 500 people have been killed in Syrian and 160 in Yemeni protest approximately and more deaths are waiting to happen if steps are not taken. Although they are less than 6000 approx of Libya but a single human killed is also a loss of precious life. Atleast something should be done since US relations with Syria and Yemen have been of ups and downs but the basic US policy towards the two hasnt changed alot. Both are currently co-operating with US and Yemen has helped US in various Al Qaeda operations, since Yemen was also one of the biggest breeding grounds for Al Qaeda.
But still something should be done about the goverments of both countries after all every one needs change and Syria and Yemen are no China where you can't negotitate or apply pressure let alone interfering within the territory.
Let's hope there is some solution soon to the problem but big nations including US especially has to take initiatives other than the sanctions.
Sometimes the US policy makers would have argued about not being responsible about anything that happens around the world but sadly with power comes responsiblity and there is a price to pay for being big brother Uncle Sam.
Finally people if you like anything in this medieval way to express thoughts please do share atleast I will know that I am not talking to myself like a dumb fool since i am no expert infact a no one in this big world of important people.


Syrians Protesting
Yemen Protestors

May 11, 2011

The Pak Obsession

Now back to Pakistan and this time to India, one thing amazes me that people love conspiracies so much that they will buy anything you sell them and that's what the media and politicians have done on both sides of border. Indians should understand there are far more greater threats other than a  rogue nuclear state. Now since Osama the media is after every Pakistani diplomat they can get hold off and then starts the so tiring sequence of same old questions issues followed by same old replies and there goes your TRP skyrocketing people see discuss and forget. Again something will happen with Pakistan as a center figure, again goes same sequence and again people see discuss as if they are discussing post apocalypse world or something of great importance cherish in there minds that they knew more about the issue than their counterpart because they saw some irritating prime time news, and forget after a while. They are again busy in there daily chores. I agree that for a common man its not possible to analyze everything and no one is asking them to debate them but atleast don't become a stereotype don't encase or limit your ability to discuss or even think till the issues from across the border.
At the time there is so much happening China as usual is always in limelight there is Libyan crisis there is inhuman crackdown of Syrian protest Greek bailout and there are never any less issues in the country itself are they ?? I am no expert but I expect my countrymen to think beyond our rogue neighbour and media as usual has a big role to play which they are always expected to play and always they fall short by many leagues.
I am no expert but just imagine a peaceful life full of bliss.
Although its a nuclear state and we can in any case not ignore it, but there is not point discussing repeating things with no avail. Pakistan is a clever state and a gambler its not as foolish and as unstable as people think you can see by the fact that the aid its getting from 2 of the world's most powerful countries which don't get along either and the countries being US and China. On the international page of the leading newspaper there was a heading which referred to Pak being afraid that its ties with the terror groups will be soon uncovered by CIA and this was a day after the Osama death. LOL everyone knew the Pak ties Einstein and after Osama that was confirmed. Also why would it be afraid, Pak simply denies it as it has been doing for past years. What's bigger than a dead Osama to tell the world yeah!! we have connections. After dead Osama does that article even makes sense and that to targeted to an Indian audience which has a first hand experience of terrorism from across the border. I maybe wrong since I am no expert but seriously many other like that were in all the news networks across the country I simply cant fathom the reason why. They all had same messages like now no escaping for Pak the game finishes no US aid now what will Pakistan do now.... so on and it will continue till the next scam is found which is pretty common these days its like one scam per month. There is lot more to report other than a rogue neighbour state.
 just imagine life full of bliss.

May 10, 2011

The Microsoft Skype gamble or a calculated risk

Now here we are back again after some uneventful some days. Although there is all hue and cry for US aiding Pakistan and why was Laden killed unarmed some smell conspiracy in it as usual and some doubt the way he was killed. One thing I don't understand why does it even matter how he was killed and wether he should have been tried or not why the hell does it matter when he is dead now. People love conspiracies and media loves to feed them with it. Osama was a mission accomplished now there are more to get in Taliban and Al-Qaeda some of them are more hardheaded and rigid than their former leader. Second thing that is doing rounds why US is helping Pakistan and so on.
Btw big news of today was MS Skype deal worth a whopping 8.5 billion in caasshhhhhhh!!!! Hope MS has well thought up of it and not acting in desperation since the timing collided with the Google Developers Conference in San Fransisco. We should be expecting Skype integerated with Windows Live and included with the package. If MS does not act in a authoritative way which it has done in past and due to which its brand has become a sought of big evil in the software world, it could be worth the cash. Microsoft seriously needs to rebuild its image which is costing it user base. Internet telephony maybe the future of the way we communicate. With computers and mobiles slowly blending into handheld devices like smartphones and tablets may be we would not need a mobile network connection to call, just connect to net and call through Microsoft Skype ;) or some other thing like that. Since the increasing base of handheld devices net connectivity will not be a issue however providers maybe same as mobile providers which we have today. So through Skype Microsoft is targeting the handheld devices market cellular market mobile OS market where its rivals are already enjoying benefits and various other services and products which fall into this spectrum.If MS is able to convert only 5% of the target markets it will definatly make those billions of cash a smart investment and worth it. Since I am no expert and these are just my thoughts they percentage and benefits maybe more or less. Good thinking MS. Think Microsoft offers you its handheld devices with its WinOS ofcourse with Skype include as a package, hmmm.. quite lucrative. Above it if it also provides you with the net connection that would be overkill and Microsoft all over. Having said that I am no sympathizer of MS but 8.5 billion is ringing in my head ;D.
Sony still struggling with its Playstation network they are having difficulties in getting it online. The old saying is that internet was never meant to be used for commercial usage because it was too open. Why charge users let them play for free and you will not have to worry about your network.
Lets see what happens next for now Microsoft has launched its offensive lets see how it turns out to be.
I am not an expert I just try to Imagine Life.

May 6, 2011

Addicted and the Suppliers

So recent events of the world are creating ripples across those newsdesks where those non sleeping people always alert to not to miss a 'byte' of who said what work some times even dangering their lives for a breaking news,by the way we know them as reporters. A dead Osama is enough for a week but the plate is already full. Libya resisting all efforts of of Nato and America, Syrian and Yemeni crackdown on protesters and above all post Osama Al-Qaeda and world. Also there is the latest breaches of Sony Playstation network for which Sony is doing best to  put all the blame on hacking groups projecting Sony as a victim of a malicious effort to tarnish its image. I hope that saves a desperate Sony from some flying lawsuits which they know they will loose for not able to guard client data.
Nevermind having said that, the interesting thing is to see how US handles the state of Pakistan post Osama. With all America and even some countries like India also asking the question that "Why is the United States still funding and helping Pakistan?"
But if since it was clear from the begining that Pakistan was harbouring terrorist there has to be a reason to that the policy maker high in goverment  in Bush administration and now Obama administration continue to approve the funding and other help.
Although Pakistan was a US ally since the cold war era and played a crucial role in the Afghan Soviet war providing support for CIA and training Mujhaheedin. But Pakistan sadly didn't took advantage of the opportunity of being a strategic player in the global scene. Unfortunately the old school and India haters of Pakistan machinery turned those mujhaheedins to fight for Kashmir and in the process it didnt realised the limits it has crossed ultimately branding itself as a terrorist state. Love of Kashmir and hatred for India brought down the country. So back to a US funding after a stroll in history, since we all know the country is in state of collapse with ailing economy and various crisis the only hope for them is US aid. It has grown addicted to US aid and now finds itself completly dependent on US. Now this position gives US the crucial advantage to use Pakistani soil and other resources in fight on terror with Pakistan having little to say in the matter. This is the proved by operation that led to Osama's death and the frequency of drone strikes on Pakistani mainland. This is in contrast to the situation in 80's during Afghan Soviet war during which US went through back channels to secure arms and funding. Worth mentioning are the efforts of senator Charlie Wilson.
Now there is another reason US cant stop aiding Pakistan and that is of increasing persence of China in Pakistan and its increasing collabration with the latter
.Now that puts Pakistan in a win win situation with both China and US competeting each other to aid Pakistan. Although US has a clear advantage and it certainly doesn't want to loose it. Again I am no expert just 'imagine life in peace'.

Solitaire: remove the current piece to remove the next, last remaining piece wins you the game.


May 2, 2011

Death of Osama, amazment and curiosity of just another guy...

So writing again that means i am blank again and i have nothing to do which also means i have lots of things  pending which i want to do nevermind, anyways today 2nd May 2011 is the big day for America and Obama administration they finally got hold of Laden and pinned him. That very encouraging for everybody and the Obama was quickly praised not to forget those members of Seal Team who accomplished the mission. I am no expert or any kind of infromative freak following everything, I am just another guy but then also it amazes me that Osama who always appeared in tapes with the iconic AK-47 and called for worlwide campaigns and bloodspill was living in a beautiful town of Abbottabad a hill station with a pleasant weather. I as a commoner believed Osama to be living in some ultra secret cave in Afghanistan or in inhospitable North Waziristan but alas Mr.Osama had luxury scenic views in mind I don't blame him after all he was a super rich sheikh..guilty pleasures..huh?? Second thing that amazes me that Abbottabad is  a small town and home to Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul barely 1km from Osama's residence.
Hmmm...thats something I am getting confused with because PMA is elite academy training officers. Something fishy ...huh?? Cant comment on that I am no expert.
Third thing what amazing is the timing of the operation if you will strain  your brains  the Bush administration was also in same position after 9/11 and Iraq invasion as the Obama administration after the great Oil spill and other things in terms of popularity and then both decided to run for re election opposition was cornering Bush as Obama is cornerd for various issues and then came boom bang the big news,the capture of Saddam Hussien which you can interpret to boom bang Osama killing on 1st May. Capture of Saddam Hussien and Bush got re elected. Most probably same will happen with Obama, good for him since he is putting lot of effort to get his troops out of Afghanistan and again I am no expert and who knows which turn will life take in future just enjoy and imagine life.
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