Middle-earth Revisited

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Good old funda

New sayings, naah?
Newly packaged..... maybe.
It's some good old funda, but I find it cool, spelt kewl.

Earlier such stuff was considered to be street smart graffiti
and it caught on mainly among the urban youth and those who were clued in about the underground culture were only the ones who had a passion for the same.
But now such fundamentals are an integral part of the social networking revolution.
Kids can quote such wisecracking texts faster than they can quote contents from their curriculum.
There are cool quotes for every occasion, every season, every rhyme or reason.
They deal with romance, heartbreaks, disillusions, disappointments, and attitudinal dynamics.
I find many of these being frequented in Facebook,
people of all ages are found using them increasingly as status updates,
or they choose to privately share them with their friends, in communities,
and they tag their friends with the same.
Some of them seem hilarious, some plain stupid;
some compel me to comment, and some I just chuckle over or ruminate on.
Most of the times, I smile or laugh all by myself.
So, for a change, I am making my readers have their share of joy as well.
The words or the graphics do not have a mention of the origin or source, so I cannot oblige,
however, no copyright infringement has been intended.

'Django Unchained'

Unchained..... not just so, but uninhibited, unorthodox, unnerving, and unreal.

Quentin Tarantino's new film is longish, violent, brutal, bloody, and politically incorrect, and yet let may state at the same time that it is fulfilling in a perverse sort of way.

The fans of Tarantino - a massive cult status that he enjoys thanks to an ever widening fan-base - are not going to be disappointed with the maker (so what if the majority of all others do) and can trust to up the violence quotient each time, with every new film he makes.

Tarantino loves to push the envelope, bend the rules, on one hand, and on the other, his work often has a tribute-like quality, he loves to pay obeisance to mainstream and non-mainstream (offbeat/underground) genres. 'Django Unchained' (2012) has remarkable passages of wit and dark humor, and stylized action and yet it also has visceral excesses, bouts of self-indulgence, and expendable artlessness.
I must admit, I am too fond of Quentin Tarantino's stylish presentations. I have been following his work rather closely, ever since I first set my eyes on 'Reservoir Dogs', it was an eye-opener of a film for me in many ways. With 'Pulp Fiction', 'Jackie Brown', the 'Kill Bill' films, and 'Inglourious Basterds', my admiration and awe continued. I was particularly interested to find out Tarantino's treatment to an epic western. 'Django' was, after all, this Franco Nero starrer from 1966, that spawned many other similar spaghetti westerns, the name itself having been referenced in over thirty films! But, Tarantino does not believe in mere reprisals or remakes, unless there is some radical add-ons. And that he has done successfully, to the favor or disfavor of the viewers. He has actually made a western-styled southern, the film being set in the pockets of deep south and old west back in the antebellum era. Jamie Foxx has given a no-holds-barred performance in the title role - a freed African American slave who goes to the extremes of risk-taking for the sake of true love - with a fulsome, meaty support from Christoph Waltz. Also in the cast are Kerry Washington, as Django's love interest, and Leonardo DiCaprio as a plantation owner, a brutal villain. Among the other players, I must mention Samuel L. Jackson, and Walton Goggins, who appear menacing on screen, and there's also a cameo appearance put in by Franco Nero (the actor who had immortalized the original screen character named Django).

Watch this film, only if you are not faint of heart or squeamish by nature, and if you adore Tarantino. Else, give it a miss, the blood and gore fest is not recommended in that case; it is hardly emancipatory.

The film is slated for a tentative release in the Indian metro cities in March but I am doubtful if the scenes of gratuitous violence and profanity would pass the censors..

Two Zero One Three

Once again a year has gone, 
a year has come. 
I wish all my readers 
a very happy new year. 
If Two Zero One Two, 
the year that has just gone past, 
did not bring joy, 
just leave it behind. 
I hope 
all of you begin this year 
in a fresh frame of mind. 
May the sorrows 
all be left behind. 
May you have 
only good things in mind. 
Let us forget 
the mistakes made, 
let the heartbreaks be 
a thing of the past 
and let the pain of heartaches 
just disappear. 
Get ready 
to make amends this year, 
and sincerely attempt 
to bring hope and cheer. 
May Two Zero One Three be a truly happy year. 
May contentment, abundance and peace be showered on earth.