I am so glad I watched this.

Wow, exhilarating flick that one! I really did not expect much but District B13 will not be forgotten anytime soon. It's a little French film, (pretty poorly) dubbed in English (can't believe how I can like one of those). But there's so much that it leaves you with. The breathtaking free-running, inconceivable action sequences, awesomely appropriate background music and incredible camera-work, this one's a must watch for action junkies. I was craving a *good* mindless action flick for days now and this one turned out to be quite a recommendation. Don't watch it for the plot, 'cause there isn't one. But do watch it for an absolute treat to the eyes!

Sample this.

Or, watch this.

I'm amused and disgusted all at once. But a little more amused. I usually can't tolerate slapstick Hindi comedy, but I just had to get this weird urge out of the way. To be honest, I really didn't have this kind of movie in mind when I wrote that, but I guess I've been wearing my Punjabi genes a bit often these days. I was so into it today that I even started digging the music. Seriously, listen to it.

Heck, try calling me!

P.S. - My namesake was fun too :D

A couple of days back, I finally managed to catch the (10) Oscar-nominated 'piece of art', Slumdog Millionaire. Yeah, right. The moment I finished watching it, I knew I wanted to write about it. But as always, I was too lazy (and sleepy) to bother.

Then today, I happened to revisit this blog post that my friend had rather eloquently written, and I read, long back, but had totally forgotten about 'it. Today I see what he was talking about. And seriously, he's said exactly everything I wanted to say about Slumdog Millionaire.

"Well, there's nothing to it really. Very simply, it hasn't touched Indian audiences to that degree because we're quite accustomed to watching 'uplifting' and inarguably illogical tales (a slumboy from Mumbai who speaks in chaste English with a Brit accent?) that Bollywood keeps churning out as it endeavors towards its mindless target of producing 200-300 mindless movies every year. While Slumdog may have enough in it to instill 'hope' in Americans, for a people that has to tackle corruption, abysmal governance, politics of hatred, and unbridled competition with a billion of its own kind on a daily basis - not to mention a terrorist attack thrown into this cesspool every month or so - Slumdog can't make the grade for 'uplifting' entertainment."

Read it here: http://blog.avirup.com/2009/02/much-has-been-made-of-rather-lukewarm.html. It's way better written than I could ever write.

Today, almost exactly 2 years after it released, I have this immense desire, to watch The Pursuit of Happyness. That movie I can easily call my favourite - right up there with Saving Private Ryan - both, obviously, for different reasons.

For some reason that I cannot recollect, I was thinking of that line from Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. I remembered what Chris Gardener had to say about it in the movie:

"It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking: How did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it, no matter what. How did he know that?"

Really, how did he?

Being a non-American and with zero interest in history, I wasn't aware of this quote before I watched this movie. And honestly, this is what struck me most in the entire movie. I spent a lot of time reading up on the movie all over again and I just fell all nice and inspired from inside. That's what this movie does to me; it's an instant motivation pill - even just thinking about it. I really feel very strongly about this movie and what it stands for, but I don't want to discuss it with anyone. I have my reasons. Anyway, I really want to watch the movie right now and get a strong dose of inspiration/motivation (God knows I need it), but it's past 1 a.m. now and tomorrow's a work day.

Chris Gardener will have to wait another day.