The Sane Lunatic

My old man reads a lot of books. Often, I get to hear of some random quips, quotes and facts from whatever he's been reading or if something catches his fancy. In one of our discussions, he mentioned this phrase that is sometimes used to curse one's enemies: "May you live in interesting times". It's funny, it made me laugh and it was catchy enough to stick in my brain. Looking at how things are today, I can't help but think of it as one of the most devious curses one could wish upon someone. I have abstained from my rants for a long time now as the political discourse in my country of residence is a risky topic. As a person who wishes to take sides with no party, good or evil, it's in my best interest to prioritise survival, even if that means lurking in the shadows. While those issues have been plaguing my surroundings for a few years now, I have managed to find a sort of nihilistic calm in my chambers. After all, these are democratically elected oppre...

Sonic The Hedgehog is yet another in a new trend of video game based live-action feature films. After many delays, including a main character redesign and a few extra million US dollars, the movie is finally out. It was first meant to come out in 2018. Then something happened with the studios and they decided to push it to 2019. When the first teaser trailer dropped, most of us were aghast at the humanoid version of our favourite blue hedgehog and the internet was awash with memes ridiculing it. Thankfully, the studio paid heed, put the right bunch of noggins together and put together a much more likeable version of Sonic. Thank goodness they got the perfect guy to play Dr Robotnik, aka, Eggman from the start: Jim Carrey. I've been hyped for this one since the first trailer, just for Carrey's performance alone. I've not played many SEGA games as a kid, but I was lucky enough to own a Sonic game on the first-gen XBOX and enjoy watching one of the cartoon series on te...

I love a good Guy Ritchie movie about British gangsters. Snatch and RocknRolla are among my top picks for a good viewing experience with cool music and adequate violence. The geezer has now got a new one out on the cinema screens called 'The Gentlemen'. The premise, without too many spoilers, is quintessential Guy Ritchie. A marijuana kingpin, a dumb but ambitious son of a rival drug lord and a third conniving drug lord who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. Add a gang of youths eager for cash, their much cleverer mentor and a third perspective from an equally scummy character playing the narrator and you have all the elements for Guy Ritchie film. 'The Gentlemen' packs an impressive ensemble of actors too. The lead character Mickey played by Matthew McConaughey, his right-hand man Ray played by Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell as the Coach, Hugh Grant as Fletcher the scumbag and it even has a character for Eddie Marsan. Awesome! The overall plot? Mickey ...

Yep, I just watched the movie that won the Oscars. Funnily enough, it's not the first Bong Joon Ho movie I've seen but we can talk about that another time. My first thought after watching 'Parasite' was that it's not a great movie. It's a really good story, told extremely well through film.   The plot, without spoilers, is quite straightforward but features many layers to it. A poor family of four living in a sub-basement of a Korean metropolis. They're hopeless and unmotivated but sharp when it comes to making a quick buck. The family's patriarch Kim Ki-taek is played by the awesome Song Kang-ho, who is particularly relaxed about the difficulties of life. His supportive wife Chung-sook Kim (Jange Hye-jin) is shown to be a former athlete of competitive level in the field of ball and chain. Their son, Kim Ki-woo takes after his father while daughter Kim Ki-jung has a shorter temper with a more cynical view. Times are tough until Kim gets reco...

Ladies and gents, we have another one! A racing docudrama! One of the best stories in motorsports that birthed possibly the most iconic race car in history. This is the 1960s saga of Ford vs Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I have been waiting for this movie since I saw the first trailer a few months ago and it did not disappoint in any way. Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale as Ken Miles and Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II were impressive support cast for the real stars - the cars. Given that this is a record in history, a summary of the plot won't exactly count as giving out spoilers. In the early 1960s, the Ford Motor Company was struggling to compete against its rivals who were offering more exciting models to a younger generation. Marketing head Lee Iacocca suggested the idea that Ford should go into racing but starting a motorsport division would be quite costly and time-consuming. At that time, a Ferrari had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five years in a row b...

Ten years! Ten years since Zombieland came out and became a cult classic z-movie. For me, it was instantly one of my favourite zombie movies and in my limited viewing repertoire, it's second to Shaun of the Dead. Now, we get a sequel with the same amiable characters - Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock. It's everything you hoped it would be... and a lot of what you'd fear a sequel to be. The movie timeline follows the same ten-year progression of the characters. For three of them, it doesn't change too much but a decade can change a lot for a kid like Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who went from being a girl to a woman. In the apocalyptic world, puberty would be unimaginably more difficult, when the only non-Brain eating company you have is a gun-toting loon as a father figure (Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson) and your older sister (Wichita played by Emma Stone) who is dating the ballsy, good-guy nerd (Columbus played by Jesse Eisenberg). So, the...

25 years. To the aged and more experienced, that's not too significant a landmark but when that's the maximum number of years you've been alive, it feels like a big deal. Once you're 25, you're officially "old", especially in the 21st century. Here's a short version of how it has been for me... Turning 25 feels kinda sucky to be honest. I've often felt like an old person in terms of my thought process but now I feel like my body is catching up to it. At this point, the worries about the future start hitting you way harder than at 24, for no logical reason. It's like going from young interesting prospect to being expectedly stupid and boring. At 25 in India, if you're not pursuing an MBA, a masters degree, a start-up idea, a big salary hike or a marriage prospect, people find it hard to understand you. But if you're a male, nobody really cares. Because at 25, to the society, you become perfectly average. While that's not a dama...