Grandma

This is my dad's side grandma who's been with me since my birth. Lean, frail woman with almost an endless supply of energy. Unfortunately, she is one person whom I've never given much thought about. Thats not surprising since my brain cells hold and generate much fewer thoughts than I'd hoped. Trying to work on that.

Being a frustrated but genial kid in my child hood, my grand parents were another source of frustration for me at times but dare I say, my grandma has been one of my ardent supporters and critiques. Being a homemaker, she has very limited real world experience other than providing food for the family and eking out a place in the family tree hierarchy.

Grandpa died of prostate cancer 10 or 11 years back (damn my time keeping skills) but she still stood strong. Now she is 82 years old, hard of hearing, trying hard to maintain her status in the family, still steadfastly putting up a meek fight in the power struggle battles with mother and enduring mockingly exaggerated but caring attentions from dad. And she's still got my back.

To think that we can't spare a few thousand to get her treated for her ear condition sounds pathetic indeed. Well, dad refuses to acknowledge that she has any significant hearing problems. It has come to the point where we have to repeat everything we say to my grandma about 3 times. She is always responding to other conversations as if the questions were directed at her. And she's still out there in the kitchen irrespective of the weather, day in and day out still doing her long-paid-up part for the family.

Myself and my sis did promise to have her checked up soon enough. Hope that materializes soon. I really hope that we can do something before my sis's marriage but i am not sure. but i do hope. I have always been a libertarian believing in 'the best man for the best job' adage. If you are sharp, alert, resourceful and helpful, you are respected. Otherwise strangers despise or ignore you and family members chide you. Love and affection are simply error margins to the above treatment. It is indeed disheartening for us to see her commit silly mistakes inviting 'playful' ridicule from all in the family including yours truly. I had tried to show her through real world responses when she seems to act 'stupidly' or says 'stupid' things or does not abide by conversational or personal space rules in general but it all seems to go right about her head. I never judge her but I guess she is slowly taking a few hints at this age. This is all for her good IMO. The enduring power struggle between a emotionally trigger happy mother and a nosy grandmother is indeed an ugly thing. It is literally a fight till death (not caused by the fight itself of course :)).

Before I ramble more, I'll conclude by wishing her that her aims in the, dare i say, fag end of her life are fulfilled and she gets to participate well in my sis's marriage and is there for many more events to come.

X Men : First Class movie experience and review

Went to a good english movie in a good theatre after quite some time. Owing to factors like office friends liking mostly tamil movies and cousins/friends busy with their own families or moving away and of course the budgeting (:-)), it's been a while since I did something like this. My cousin Arjun had come by from Delhi and since he was interested we made plans. At the last minute. Despite a day of postponement, the experience was still pretty good. Firstly, I was ON TIME, which never happens. My parents had just come back from shopping and they scared us with warnings of 'snarling traffic' and such. So I left sooner than usual. Reached Express Avenue mall (where escape cinemas is located) about 25 minutes in advance. We slowly ambled up to the theatre, wistfully stopping by at a Gamestop store and looking for Dominos Pizza in the food court for some double-cheese-thing that my cousin thought was out-of-this world. Sadly, no Dominos pizza and my gut's roundness did not increase further. We got the tickets and bought half a cup of overpriced coffee and shuffled up to the theatre. Found our seats and sat down to see the movie already in progress! Damn. And then my cousin says its 'The Hangover 2' movie! Finally, the goof-up was detected and the right movie was on! XMen:First Class on RDX! Caution: Please do not read on if you do not want spoilers or if you are bored out of your mind already :-)

Here is my 2-cent review. It was a much better improvement on the XMen:The Last Stand and also Wolverine Origins movies. It was directed well, was fast paced and kept me guessing. The special effects on RDX was a treat too! The Xmen movie series always hints at how Professor X and Magneto were friends before their 'present' animosity. Among other things, it explores how 2 friends who stuck by each other had to walk away from each other in the end over differences in a fundamental belief . It throws more light on Magneto's past and the cruelty he had to undergo. It explores the sibling-bond of Professor X and Mystique, another bond shattered on the fateful day when the mutants split up into 2 groups.

Similar to her daughter 'Rougue' (the mutant who absorbs powers/life energy from anyone she comes into contact with), it explains the plight of Mystique who has to constantly hide her true appearance by shape-shifting into a beautiful woman so that people don't think her scaly-blue skin and brushy hair is ugly. This feeling is shared by another mutant hank mcCoy who has a prehensile foot. This shared suffering brings them together where one finally makes a choice to try and appear 'normal' with disasterous unintended consequences. The movie then delves into how the mutants come to understand and develop their powers as usual. The cuban missile crisis sets the stage for the climax of the movie where different viewpoints collide and various bonds are put to the test. Revenge, compassion, loyalties and betrayal.

A gnawing plot point in retrospect : I did not know how charles (professor X) intended to stop schmidt, the seemingly indestructable, energy absorbing mutant. He did freeze him with his telepathy but Schmidt cannot be destroyed if he is conscious. He could be drugged indefinitely but that sounds like torture. He cannot be reasoned with too, since he is very dangerous and cannot be controlled when he is rational unless professor X could use Cerebro but schmidt already destroyed that too.

Anyway, Professor X's freezing of schmidt allowed magneto to handily dispatch-off schmidt in a gruesome manner but is he responsible for schmidt's death? He was mereley restraining a dangerous person but he knew that magneto intended to exact his revenge on schmidt by murdering him. Points to ponder.

So, watch this movie for its cool visual effects and for its moderate story lines in a good theatre. Love to hear what you thought!

Oh well, its already past 2 AM and have to send-off cousin @ 5 AM so good bye and take care of yourself and each other (thanks Jerry Springer).

vaanam movie review

Its 2:24 AM and I am determined to put the pillayar suzhi to my blogging :). Better late than and never and tis always good to set the ball rolling.

Went to see the movie today with cousins. Tickets booked for 'ko' movie but your truly 'lost time' like graham norton in 'primal fear' and started late. So we reached the theatre 40 mins late and had to book fresh tickets to Vaanam.

Vaanam is a good movie. The end :). No seriously, its predictable and coming from my mouth that means, it is really predictable. The movie is a roller coaster of rip roaring laughs followed immediately by heart wrenching situations. The 1st half is good and had me interested. The movie progressively became boring after the director probably thought, 'ok, i've introduced the main characters and their interestingly realistic story segments'. Now they all have to 'reform' suddenly and at the same time and at the same place and i'm gonna put in a deus ex machina to do that'.

Simbu's performance looks good while anoushka's character (while a bold portrayal of a controversial role), lacks luster. Santhanam provides his usual laughs. Bharath's performance is also usual. To finish it like a sun movies top 10 one-liner for a movie, vaanam : vaanavil.

Why vaanavil?, vaanavil (rainbow) occurs when there is good sunlight as well a sufficient rain like in this movie resulting in a rainbow (which can be beautiful to some and cloying to other'

Definitely worth a watch