Sunday, August 27, 2006

Snakes on a Plane

I watched the much talked about movie Snakes on a Plane today. There was a lot of discussion in both print and electronic media about this movie. So, I was expecting a great thriller. It turned out to be a bag of cheap humour and thrills.

For starters, the snakes turned out to be sexually oriented. They start of their kill by biting a female on her bare breasts. Then they move on to bite a male on his penis, when he is trying to urinate. A third snake (there were tons of them) gets into a sleeping woman's garments and the woman is aroused, by the movement of the snake on her body. Hats off to the person who came with these brilliant(sic) ideas. There were some really gross moments too, when they show a boy's hand being cut open to clean the poison.

Overall, not a great movie. One can watch for the sheer experience of watching such (I don't know how to describe) movie.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Great Day and Movie at Last

Just had a wonderful day here in US. I have managed to finally watch a movie in US, something I have tried since the first visit here and never succeeded. My friends were always against watching movie in US. They felt there are better things to do here. I came to US alone this time. Luckily, my old friend VA lives nearby. He drove me to San Fernando Valley (just north of LA -- couple of hrs drive from where I stay), and we watched a telugu movie -- Bommarillu -- along with some of his friends.

The hall, though, was not upto the mark. It was very small and apparently there is no numbering system in US. We have to hunt for seats. We entered the theatre just before the movie started, and had a tough time finding seats. We had to sit at different places. To compesate, the movie was very good. Siddharth and Prakash Raj were good. Music was good. Comedy was great. A definite must see for anyone. I bet it will be re-made in other south indian languages.

After the movie, spent some time at VA's friend's place in LA and headed back home. A nice end to a great weekend.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

A Place That Defined Me

Couple of weeks back, I had been to Pune University Computer Science Department on behalf of my company. Now, this place is very close to my heart. I strongly believe that this place made me, whatever little I am today. The education is by far the best one can get..move over the IITs. Maybe I am attached to this place, because this was the first time I stayed away from any of my nearest kin. Not just education, this place helped me realise about myself.

It was a great moment when I went back after all these years. I reached the place around 4pm on Friday. Some of the professors who taught me are still around. And what else, they remember you. It was fantastic. Our company threw a party to all students (all three batches).

The next day there was the yearly Rajmachi trek. Now, this is a 13km trek to the Rajmachi fort, and back. The trek started greatly.But, it soon took a turn to the miserable. There was continuous downpour throughout the 7hr of trek. We were completely soaked. I was prepared for some rain, but not for this deluge. I had severe cramps on both legs by the time we reached our hotel. Caught a flight and back to Bangalore on Sunday.

A trip that will remain in my memory for a long long time.