Superfluous Rants

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
- Martin Luther King

Happy New Year everyone.

The second trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Inception in glorious Quicktime HD can be found here.
I would still consider it a teaser since it does not give away the plot  other than whatever is revealed by the voiceover in the beginning. I would like for them to stick to this strategy however, as many movies of late  tend to give away the whole story in trailers. Avatar, for example. 

I am looking forward to it for two main reasons. 1) Inception is an original movie with an intriguing plot about the architecture of mind. 2) Its directed by Christopher Nolan – of whom I have been a fan since Memento.
The trailers are making it look fantastic thus far and I am sure it will be Nolan’s first big blockbuster that doesn’t have a billionaire dressed up in a costume with pointy ears.

Inception will open on July 16, 2010 in conventional and IMAX theatres and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe and Michael Caine.

Flashing lights. Paparazzi. Propaganda. Publicity.
Life is better unravelled in the mouths of other people. Advocacy, it is all about the advocacy.

Ode to you, Poster Boy. You strive to set an example. No, in fact you ARE the example. You and your PR team will stop at nothing when it comes to setting the bar for the rest of us mere mortals. From golden spoons to glitzy shindigs to simple devotion and acts of faith and trust. You are the beacon of light for the kommyouneety in these dire times. You instil hope in the defeated, you thrive to pave the ideal path. And in process, you discovered the secret of immortality – word of mouth.

I salute you Poster Boy. Keep on posterizing!

Season’s greetings, happy holidays and HAPPY FESTIVUS to all.
Have a safe one.

I recently started watching this show and I am liking it very much. It is consistently funny, has a great cast and reminds me a lot of Arrested Development.
It airs on Wednesdays at 9pm on CityTv and ABC.

PS. Word to my friend for watching it in class and introducing me to it.

Holy shit!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/

And what do we have here. The Star makes a cameo!

Behold unlimited!
Wind mobile is finally up and running. They have a few simple, affordable plans and awesome add-ons, especially for Blackberries. I am really contemplating on getting the Bold 9700 with the Talk35 and Social Blackberry add on. Alas, I still have a year left on my Fido contract :-(
Check them out at: http://www.windmobile.ca/

The first trailer for Karan Johar’s Shahrukh-Kajol starrer “My Name is Khan” was released today. You can find it on Youtube by clicking here.

According to IMDB, the film is about Rizwan Khan, a Muslim from the Borivali section of Mumbai,  who suffers from Asperger syndrome (a form of high-functioning autism complicating socialization). The adult Rizwan marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After  9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who mistake his disability for "suspicious" behavior. Following his arrest, he meets Radha, a therapist who helps him deal with his situation and his affliction. Rizwan then begins a journey to meet US President Obama to clear his name.

In all honesty, when I first heard about this project I was very skeptical. Karan Johar doing a serious film on humanity. Hmm will it be another Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna? A supposedly “mature” film about infidelity but in fact a big forced tear fest.
Having seen the trailer, however, I am more optimistic.
I understand everyone and their grandmother will already make the assumption of dismissing this film based on any/or all of the following:
- Karan Johar cannot make anything but bubble gum candy flavoured films that follow the typical outline for the massses.
- Shahrukh Khan always overacts
- Karan Johar…seriously? GTFO..Lots of Kanta-behn references, homoerotic jokes, scantily clad skanks, poorly dubbed foreigners etc.

Granted these assumptions are fair and understandable, consider the following:
- Shahrukh Khan did an extensive study on Asperger syndrome. It has been reported that he has stayed in character even at home, while on break from filming.
- A copy of the script and a director’s cut was sent to the National Autistic Center to make sure the disability in question was portrayed properly.
- Karan Johar and screenwriter Shibani Bhatija has met and constantly worked with Chris Aston (Asperger syndrome sufferer) and his wife, the couple who was the inspiration behind relationship of Kajol and Shahrukh in the film.
- Following the current trend of new-age Bollywood cinema, songs inspired by the film are either situational or in the background. (Yes, no extended romantic duets featuring Shahrukh and Kajol in the wheat fields of Punjab)
- 20th Century Fox will be distributing the movie worldwide and the trailer will be attached with James Cameron’s Avatar.

Why am I stating all this? Well, from personal experience….I have seen many dismiss Shahrukh Khan often quite unfairly on the basis of the vast number of type casted roles he usually portrays. While I completely agree he has hammed up more than often (can’t blame the producers for making films with guaranteed returns)….he has also done gems like Maya Memsaab, Hey Ram, and more recently, Chak De India.
I am interested in seeing how Karan Johar handles a realistic film dealing with underlying socio-political themes for the first time. He is a proven formulaic director, no doubt about that. So this will be something completely different from him. The trailer gave me a feel-good-Forrest-Gump-like vibe. 
Will this movie be great/flawless/epic? Who knows. But at least come February, those who wish to see it, I hope leave their biases aside and make judgements after having seen the film. 

PS. All that and I didn’t even mention how hot Kajol is.

This will blow minds off, literally….the second trailer will be attached with Sherlock Holmes.
Wonder how many people will look at the poster and think the movie is about a flood or something…hahaha

Adidas Superstar 80s Special Edition with Tricolour.

They are so beautiful!
Unfortunately, I cannot unleash them until the weather gets better :-(

Why robbing a donut store is a very very bad idea!

Just finished watching the draw of groups for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. The ceremony was co hosted by Charlize Theron and featured legends from the past and today such as Eusebio, Roger Milla and David Beckham. Anyways, this is how the groups stack up:
Looks like Group G is the proverbial “Group of Death” with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and Korea DPR. I feel sorry for Kim Jong Il’s men, returning to the World Cup after some 40 years….they will be torn apart. Argentina got grouped with familiar foes:- Nigeria (94 & 02 World Cups) and Greece (94 World Cup) while the hosts will play with former winners France and Uruguay and the perennial underachievers Mexico. The rest of the groups look fairly balanced out.
The first game of the World Cup will be between the hosts South Africa and Mexico on June 11, 2010  at Soccer City, Johannesburg.
The full schedule of the 2010 World Cup can be found by here.

Here are my picks:
Winner of the 2010 World Cup: SPAIN
Sentimental pick: ARGENTINA
Darkhorses: ENGLAND, NETHERLANDS
Underdogs to create upsets: SERBIA, IVORY COAST
Teams with good chance to win (but I don’t want them to): BRAZIL, GERMANY

What of the defending champs Italy? Well, I predict they will flop around and make it to the round of 16 where they will exit via shootout.

[FIFA] | [ESPN Soccernet]

Any one else find the new fade-in feature on the Google home page annoying?
I hate it. I don’t understand why they would experiment with something that was simple and effective other than trying to look cool. I have read that it is supposed to emphasize the search box on the page but I find it on the contrary. Its distracting, feels tacky and utter garbage. First they increase the size of suggested search and now this. What next?
Stop messing with us…Google…you haven’t taken over the world …..yet.

Fucking hilarious!

So will the poster boy of the society set an example with his  course of action in the near future and put an end to the import/export industry?
Only time will tell…