Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving Day, and although it actually has been an American tradition for more nearly 400 hundred years, I think it has grown in appeal, if not in the exact same observance, around the world.
Here in India too people do wish each other on this day and many of us take the opportunity to pause to pause and be thankful for the bounties enjoyed. 
Some of my friends have asked me what is it that one needs to be thankful for, and my answer would be something that I had read a long time back and has stayed with me, it is: If staying alive is not something to be thankful for, I don't know what is.
Life is too short to be sitting around all glum and miserable. We may keep complaining, as much as we like, that life hasn't been fair to us, but complaining can hardly make us feel better. Can't afford to be cynical all our lives, I don't think even the grumpiest person on earth can be so!
Life fails to be perfect - that's something people would unanimously agree upon - but it never fails to catch us unawares and surprise us with its beauty. Sometimes it is the beauty of life that overwhelms, sometimes I find it heartbreaking; sometimes it's just too much to soak in, to absorb.
I have come to realize that it is not happy people who are thankful but thankful people who are happy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

'The Lone Ranger' - The Fun Western

'The Lone Ranger' is a fun Western...... now does my mentioning of it make you squirm, or raise your eyebrows? Well, you may ask, aren't the Westerns by the very definition of the genre fun to watch? Yes, and not necessarily so. I must point out, dear friends, that there are too many sub-genres - you may either not be familiar with all of them or maybe you haven't been too scrutinizing as a viewer. Those of you who might not have warmed up to the reworking of this time-tested swashbuckler, this particular big budget adventure, were probably expecting something and got something else in return. However, I watched the movie without any pre-occupation, and felt handsomely rewarded. The film pokes fun every now and then but does not fail to thrill one with the cowboy-esque stunts and edge-of-the-seat action. The silliness and the weirdness are supposed to make one chuckle and feel delighted. The presence of Johnny Depp in the film elevates the experience by many notches. Armie Hammer is the pseudo hero - likable just in parts though. Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson, Barry Pepper, and William Fichtner eminently enrich the proceedings in this Gore Verbinski film by their individual portrayals. The CGI job and the 3D effects are neat, and the spaced out treatment given to the screenplay is what had me hooked in the first place.

Wholesome entertainment

Wholesome entertainment, unapologetic, unadulterated, absolute fun to watch..... 

'The Wolverine' 

Inspirational Fight Flicks

Here's my list of top ten inspirational fight flicks:

'Raging Bull'

'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'

'Rocky'

'Kill Bill'

'The Karate Kid'

'Cinderella Man'

'Fight Club'

'Snatch'

'Enter the Dragon'

'Never Back Down'

1. Raging Bull (1980)
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
3. Rocky (1976)
4. Kill Bill (Vol. 1 and 2) (2003/2004)
5. The Karate Kid (1984)
6. Cinderella Man (2005)
7. Fight Club (1999)
8. Snatch (2000)
9. Enter the Dragon (1973)
and
10. Never Back Down (2008)